Recent LSU News
LSU News chronicles the university's outstanding academic accomplishments, innovative research, and world-changing partnerships and achievements. Find more stories of high-performing students, faculty, staff, researchers, and alumni at our university blog.
![LSU CELEBRATES MOST ACADEMICALLY ACCOMPLISHED FRESHMAN CLASS IN HISTORY, RECORD-BREAKING GRADUATION RATE AND INCREASED RETENTION](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/lsumostaccomplishedclass.jpg)
LSU Celebrates Most Academically Accomplished Freshman Class in History, Record-Breaking Graduation Rate and Increased Retention
LSU is celebrating its most academically accomplished freshman class in history, with a record-high average ACT superscore of 26.5, up from 25.5 in Fall 2022. The class also has a record-high GPA of 3.82, compared to 3.78 in Fall 2022.
![LSU Emerges as Louisiana's Top Ranked University in the Wall Street Journal's 2024 Best Colleges Ranking](https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000290274/www.lsu.edu/images/wallstreetjournal_lsu_2024.jpg)
LSU Emerges as Louisiana's Top Ranked University in the Wall Street Journal's 2024 Best Colleges Ranking
In the latest 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S. survey conducted by The Wall Street Journal in collaboration with College Pulse and Statista, LSU has claimed the top spot among both public and private higher education institutions in the state of Louisiana.
![LSU Computer Science Professor Leading Project to Increase Security in Federated Learning](https://www.lsu.edu/eng/images/NewsArticles/haowangweb.jpg)
LSU Computer Science Professor Leading Project to Increase Security in Federated Learning
Federated learning is a technique that has gained attention for its potential to improve privacy, security, and efficiency in various sectors. At times, in order to improve the quality and robustness of this technique, it is subject to periods of “critical learning.” However, it is during these periods that outside agents have an opportunity to launch precise and damaging attacks.
![The Legacies They Built: Honoring Pinkie Gordon Lane, Lutrill and Pearl Payne, and Julian T. White](https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000290274/lib.lsu.edu/sites/default/files/slideshow/630x300legacies.jpg)
The Legacies They Built: Honoring Pinkie Gordon Lane, Lutrill and Pearl Payne, and Julian T. White
In 2022, LSU's Board of Supervisors voted to recognize the significant contributions of four Black LSU pioneers by naming two programs and one building in their honor: the Pinkie Gordon Lane Graduate School, Lutrill and Pearl Payne School of Education, and Julian T. White Hall (formerly the Design Building) to honor their legacies. But who were these inspiring figures?
![Experts, Advocates to Discuss Voting Rights, Suppression at LSU Reilly Center Event](/_resources_fierce/img/lsu-memorial-tower-morning.jpg)
Experts, Advocates to Discuss Voting Rights, Suppression at LSU Reilly Center Event
The Reilly Center for Media & Public Affairs at LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication and partners will host the first installment of season seven of the “Racism: Dismantling the System” series. The new episode, “Equity at the Ballot Box: Discriminatory Obstacles to Voting,” will take place Sept. 19, at 3:30 p.m. CT, via Zoom.
![$428 Million in LSU System Research Activity](https://lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/09/2023-09-11-100-1152_2023-research-activity_d_ix.jpg)
LSU Eclipses $400-Million Milestone in Research Activity
Powered by its Scholarship First Agenda, which drives solutions-focused research investment in agriculture, biomedicine, coast, defense and energy, LSU reports a record $428 million in total research activity in just one year with an estimated $1.2 billion in economic impact on Louisiana.
![LSU Shreveport University Center](https://www.lsu.edu/images/campuses/lsu-shreveport-university-center.jpg)
LSUS Ranks Among Nation’s Best in Economic Mobility for Low-Income Graduates
LSU Shreveport is among the nation’s best universities in helping low-income students improve their socioeconomic level, according to an annual Economic Mobility Index released by the national think tank Third Way.
![Kenneth J. Schafer Honored as Boyd Professor, LSU’s Highest Professorial Ranking](https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000290274/www.lsu.edu/physics/images/people/faculty/schafer_profile.jpg)
Kenneth J. Schafer Honored as Boyd Professor, LSU's Highest Professorial Ranking
On Friday, Sept. 8, the LSU Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to designate Kenneth J. Schafer, Ball Family Distinguished Professor in Physics & Astronomy the rank of Boyd Professor--the highest and most prestigious academic rank at LSU.
![Yan Le](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/09/07-tiger-den-yan.jpg)
LSU's Tiger Den Data Storage System to Provide 'Ease of Life'
LSU researchers have been awarded $500K by the National Science Foundation to build a shared data storage system to elevate the research experience not just at LSU, but at universities across Louisiana.
![Rural Resiliency: LSU Researchers to Help Communities Adapt to Climate Change](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/ruralresiliency_climatechange.jpg)
Rural Resiliency: LSU Researchers to Help Communities Adapt to Climate Change
Faculty in the Department of Environmental Sciences, or DES, hope to begin remedying this situation with a new, $1.1 million grant from the National Science Foundation. It is part of a larger $6 million multi-institutional effort intended to help rural areas adapt to climate change.
![LSU Professor of Journalism John Hamilton Honored with American Journalism Historians Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award](https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000290274/www.lsu.edu/manship/images/jack-hamilton-web.png)
LSU Professor of Journalism John Hamilton Honored with American Journalism Historians Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award
John Maxwell Hamilton, professor of journalism at the LSU Manship School of Mass Communication, has been named the 2023 recipient of the Sidney Kobre Award for Lifetime Achievement, the American Journalism Historians Association’s (AJHA) highest honor.
![LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Distinction Inductees and Outstanding Young Alum Award Winner](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/businesshallofdistinction.jpg)
LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business Announces 2023 Hall of Fame Distinction Inductees and Outstanding Young Alum Award Winner
The LSU E. J. Ourso College of Business is proud to announce the 2023 Hall of Distinction inductees—Kip Knight and Joaneane Smith. In addition, this year’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award recipient is Jacques Bourque. The college will honor Knight, Smith, and Bourque at a banquet on Thursday, November 9, at the Business Education Complex.
![Brandon Common](https://www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/mediaimages/2023/09/05-common-brandon-lsu1470.jpg)
LSU Names Brandon Common Vice President for Student Affairs
LSU has named Brandon Common the permanent Vice President for Student Affairs, effective September 1, pending approval by the LSU Board of Supervisors. Common began his career at LSU as Associate Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students in December 2020, and has served as Interim Vice President for Student Affairs since January 2023.
![LSU Names Anzilla Gilmore Associate Vice President for Facility & Property Oversight](https://marvel-b1-cdn.bc0a.com/f00000000290274/www.lsu.edu/mediacenter/images/anzilla_gilmore.jpg)
LSU Names Anzilla Gilmore Associate Vice President for Facility & Property Oversight
LSU has named Anzilla Gilmore to the position of Associate Vice President for Facility & Property Oversight, which includes executive level planning, policy development, and administrative
![Brad Ives](https://lsu.edu/energy-innovation/images/iei_ives.jpg)
LSU Selects Brad Ives to Lead LSU Institute for Energy Innovation
Ives will join LSU in October from North Carolina’s Catawba College, which became the first certified carbon-neutral college in the Southeast U.S. under his leadership.