The Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board has elected Vernon Durden of China to serve as 2013-2014 president. Ellen Rienstra of Beaumont is past president, and Stephanie Molina of Beaumont will serve as president-elect.

Lamar University’s Student Academy of Audiology hosted this year’s White Coat Ceremony for third-year doctoral students on Saturday, April 27, 2013. The ceremony honored eight students who have completed their academic training and are heading out to do their clinical residencies.

Lamar University invites students of all ages to a variety of summer camps to be held on campus this summer.

Lamar University’s Dishman Art Museum will host “Family Histories,” featuring murals by contemporary South African artist Mary Sibande.

In recognition of the 20-year anniversary of the tragedy at the Branch Davidian compound near Waco, Stuart Wright, chair of the Department of Sociology, Social Work and Criminal Justice at Lamar University, was one of several scholars invited to speak at the Institute for Studies of Religion at Baylor University.

Lamar University is scheduled to confer a record 1,619 degrees at spring commencement Saturday, May 18, in the Montagne Center. President James Simmons will be the keynote speaker.

Lamar University honored three students for exceptional service at the 2013 Toast to Leadership Banquet. The event welcomes newly elected student leaders and recognizes other campus leaders who devote their time and energies to the university throughout the year.

Lamar nursing student Cara Shrontz has been selected by the Mayo Clinic for the Summer III Nursing Externship in Rochester, Minnesota.

Lamar University has honored Catalina Castillon, associate professor of English and modern languages, as the Distinguished Faculty Lecturer for 2013.

Lamar University voice students from the Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music earned numerous award placements in a regional voice competition at the University of Houston.

Senior thesis projects, ranging from graphic design and photography to painting and textiles, will be on display at Lamar University’s Dishman Art Museum May 3 - 16.

Lamar University doctoral student Jiahua Zhu recently received two prestigious awards and international recognition for his research.

Three Lamar University MBA students recently placed first in graduate level value funds at the Global Asset Management Education (GAME) conference, officials announced.

A group of 10 LU senior mechanical engineering students, also known as “Cardinal Racing,” who designed, built and raced an all-terrain vehicle took first place in a sled-pull event, and finished 30th overall out of the 100 teams at the 2013 SAE Baja East competition in Cookeville, Tenn., April 18-21.

Nine senior and two junior electrical engineering majors at Lamar University received top honors in a recent competition in Denver, sponsored by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers), the world’s largest professional association for the advancement of technology.

Lamar University invites students of all ages to a variety of summer camps to be held on campus this summer.

Sanaz Alasti, assistant professor of criminal justice at Lamar University and a native of Iran, has been named a Fellow of Scholars for Peace in the Middle East.