News at Lamar University

The City of Beaumont has recently awarded the Lamar University Department of Communication and Media more than $700,000 to support the department’s plans for renovations, new equipment and relocating the widely known LUTV studio on campus.

The history of Beaumont’s Black community will be on display Thursday, Feb 2. in the Dishman Art Museum auditorium where a screening of “Beaumont’s Black History – In Moving Pictures” will take place. The historical fiction short film “The Example” and the documentary “They Will Talk About Us: The Charlton-Pollard Story” will be screened, followed by a reception and a question and answer session. The event runs from 5:30-8 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Lamar University is pleased to announce the recipients of the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Award. This year, four alumni –– Hester Bell, Carl Griffith, George Hirasaki and Fred Vernon –– will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award, the highest award Lamar University bestows upon its graduates.

The Lamar University Alumni Advisory Board has elected Lila (Creamer) Stevens ’01 of Beaumont to serve as 2022-2023 president. Nga “Tea” (Nguyen) Do ’08 of Beaumont will serve as past president and Sharita Gardner ’12 of Beaumont will serve as president-elect.

As the spring semester kicks into gear, the Lamar University Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music has begun preparations for their loaded schedule of concerts and events that will take place all over Southeast Texas this season.

On Wednesday, Jan. 11, the College of Engineering hosted their annual Teacher STEM Seminar. This seminar gives a chance for local K-12 educators to receive the latest content and applications to drive future engineers and scientists.

To kick off the new year, 20 members of the Lamar University Department of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education took off from the runway and traveled 9,000 miles to study, explore and adventure in the hills and coast of Thailand.

Two new exhibitions will soon open at the Dishman Art Museum on the Lamar University campus: “Our Back Pages” featuring works of LU alumni and a collaborative exhibition alongside The Art Studio, Inc. featuring works of Maudee Carron and Lynn Sweat. The exhibitions will run Jan. 21 through March 4 with a reception being held Jan. 27 from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m.

The Lamar University Department of Theatre & Dance is pleased to announce their performances for this spring semester; “The Heidi Chronicles” by Wendy Wasserstein, “The Revolutionists” by Lauren Gunderson and “Dance Unleashed” choreographed by LU dance faculty and guest artists.

The Deans of Lamar University’s five academic colleges have announced a total of 1,158 students to the Fall 2022 Dean’s list.

Recent College of Education and Human Development graduate Katelyn Long '22 just landed a job teaching 2nd grade at Highlands Elementary Schoo. In this Q&A, the Pasadena, Texas, shares what sparked her passion in education.

Lamar University’s President Jaime Taylor has announced a total of 789 students to the Fall 2022 President’s list.

Former Lamar University communication student and LUTV sports anchor Brooke Kirchhofer was awarded the “Louisiana Sportscaster of the Year” award from the National Sports Media Association on Monday, Jan. 9.

Lamar University Ambassadors represent the study body at official executive level university functions. Individuals chosen to serve as LU Ambassadors work to promote university pride among students, alumni and friends of the university.

From Jan. 13-20, Lamar University will celebrate and reflect on the life and legacy of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with a series of events and days of service.

The Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum has been booming for 122 years and it’s no wonder the Southeast Texas community can’t stop gushing over it.

For the 5th year, the Lamar University Office of Admissions, Reaud Honors College and Texas Academy have partnered together for a special holiday project called “Home for the Holidays,” an initiative that seeks to bring together current LU students with high schools in both regional and local areas in Southeast Texas during the academic holiday break.

Lamar University is pleased to announce that Bo Stults has been selected as Lamar University’s associate vice president of human resources and talent management. Stults brings more than two decades of expertise in human resources to LU to focus on recruitment and retention of top talent.

Just last year, students of LUTV News along with Gordon Williams, studio operations manager, released “They Will Talk About Us: The Charlton-Pollard Story,” a 32-minute documentary that chronicles the people and legacy of the Charlton-Pollard neighborhood. Now, the documentary is an official selection of the EdiPlay International Film Festival in Paris, France Jan. 5-8.

When the word “legacy” was mentioned, KVLU Station Manager Byron Balentine had to pause. It was a word he had not thought of until that moment. As he stared off thinking about that word, he prepared to talk about it, because after 45 years of service with KVLU radio at Lamar University, Balentine will be signing off for the final time and leaving his legacy imprinted on the university at the end of 2022.

For a decade, the Lamar University Office of Undergraduate Research has championed undergraduate research and creative activities efforts at Lamar University. As the program moves into the start of a new decade, Dr. Cristian Bahrim, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, reflects on the success of the program for the 2022 year.

The Texas Association of School Administrators has named the 2023 recipients of its Johnny L. Veselka Scholarship, which recognizes the leadership of Dr. Johnny L. Veselka, who dedicated nearly 44 years of service to the association, including 32 years as TASA’s executive director.

Ashley Wilbourn '13, along with several other educators in the Beaumont Independent School District, has been honored with the Above and Beyond Award, given to educators within the district for their dedication to student success.

In late November, three Lamar University communication students –– Alexis Miller, Katie Bourgeois and Willie Carrierre –– attended the 38th International Radio and Television Society Foundation Multicultural Career Workshop in New York, New York.

In the third in a series of articles on the production of N*s for The Innovation Platform, Lamar University’s Professor Philip L Cole discusses the importance of using both high-intensity pion and electron beams for revealing the inner structure of excited protons (N*s) in the second and third resonance regions that decay through the two-pion channel.

The holiday season is fast-approaching and there's been a lot to celebrate on the Lamar University campus! 

For senior public relations major and upcoming graduate Mattie Hamilton, it all started as a standard research paper for an eight-week online class during the fall 2021 semester. Following a conversation with Professor Andre Favors in the Department of Communication & Media, Hamilton continued her research.

The Lamar Department of Art and Design invites you to join them for “Sanity Not Found,” the fall 2022 senior thesis show in which art students fulfill the requirements for their degree by presenting their thesis projects. “Sanity Not Found” will be in exhibition Dec. 2-10 at the Dishman Art Museum.

Lamar University choirs of the Mary Morgan Moore Department of Music will present one of the most beloved choral works, Handel’s Messiah, on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. at St. Anthony’s Cathedral Basilica.