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BRAC Releases Strategy for Transforming LSU into a Premier Research University

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information, contact Mike Odom
at 225.339.1167 or mike@brac.org

BRAC Releases Strategy for Transforming LSU into a Premier Research University

BATON ROUGE, La. (December 19, 2007) - The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) announced today that it has released a white paper detailing a strategy for transforming LSU into a top-tier public research university by 2025. Transforming LSU into a Premier Public Research University: An Investment in Louisiana's Economic Future lays out the steps that Louisiana would need to take for LSU to climb the rankings of such publications as U.S. News & World Report and describes how a national-caliber LSU would be a catalyst for economic development success for the entire state.

The white paper is segmented into three distinct sections. The first describes the attributes associated with current top-flight universities, such as the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the University of Texas at Austin. The attributes include a world-class, productive research faculty; outstanding research facilities; superior graduate and undergraduate students; and a culture of translating research discoveries into commercial opportunities.

The second section outlines the overall funding commitment needed to bring LSU into line with top-tier public research universities and describes how these dollars should be spent. The paper suggests that the state increase general purpose appropriations, allow LSU to control its tuition and fee policy, and commit to building new state-of-the-art facilities. It also recommends that LSU raise tuition and/or fees and ensure that other revenue sources (e.g., endowment earnings) are optimized as part of the overall funding strategy. Implementing the full set of recommendations would provide LSU with an additional $113 million in recurring funding for annual operations and $700 million in capital funding.

The final section recommends performance metrics that should be monitored to ensure success and accountability. They include the growth of sponsored research at the university, LSU's improved attractiveness to exceptional graduate and undergraduate students, increased university commercialization successes, and ascension up the rankings of national rating organizations. It also describes how a national-caliber LSU would add to the state economy, generating more than $300 million per year in net economic impact and more than 4,000 new high-paying jobs from increased federal and privately supported research activity alone.

"We believe that this strategy can lift LSU to the upper echelon of public research universities," stated Steven Grissom, BRAC's Executive Vice President. Grissom added, "Although it will not happen overnight, a commitment to this plan will have a dramatically positive impact on our state's economy for years to come."

The white paper is available at www.brac.org.

About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber leads economic development in the Baton Rouge metropolitan area. Serving as the voice of the business community, BRAC's membership includes more than 1,500 organizations whose employees represent over a third of the Capital Region workforce.

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