2022 LSU Gumbo - Book - Page 135
LSU President William Tate laid out his plans for LSU’s
future at his Presidential Investiture speech Friday, which
included investing in cancer research and upholding the
university’s military roots. Tate hopes to put scholarship
first at the university by seeking truth, demonstrating
empathy and operating with courage.
Tate said he is looking to the future but wants to
remember the history that formed the modern LSU. He
said LSU’s historical connection allows him to focus on
aspirations for the future.
“The great force of history is what we carry in us,” Tate
said. “It is history that we owe our frames of references,
identities and aspirations.”
Tate said he learned from the leadership of Bishop John
Fisher and Thomas Jefferson to create top-tier educational
institutions. He said their approach to classical education
and pursuit of truth is how LSU operated when it was first
established in Pineville, La.
“Jefferson believed in the pursuit of truth and so do I,”
Tate said. “LSU is a foundational institution that will help
us reach aspirations.”
Tate also said he wants to prioritize cancer research
at the Pennington Biomedical Research Facility. He said
Louisiana is 10th in the U.S. for cancer deaths, with 183 of
every 100,000 people dying from cancer. He said it is “our
duty as a flagship” to eradicate that number.
LSU garnered $160 million in research funds this past
year, which had a $490 million economic impact on the
state of Louisiana. Tate said he wants to invest in several
fields, including mental health services and coastal
sustainability, among others, during his presidency.
“We must build on and recommit to our investment in
agriculture,” Tate said. “We need better infrastructure in
science, engineering and technology.”
He also said energy and alternative forms of energy
“remains a target we must double down on.”
Tate said he wants to continue the university’s military
traditions and make LSU a premier ROTC university.
Tate concluded his speech by saying the institutions he’s
been at in the past have always had a comparative view to
other universities. He said he wants LSU to focus on LSU
and its future.
“We are outstanding at what we do,” Tate said. “We are a
great institution.”
Photos by Savanna Orgeron & Matthew Perschall
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