Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           publicinfo@selu.edu
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: xx/xx/98
      Contact:                           Tim Ardillo   xxx

UNIVERSITY OFFICIALS' REACTION TO NEWS FROM
CONGRESSMAN DAVID VITTER
     HAMMOND --Southeastern Louisiana University is excited about the call they received
Friday afternoon from Congressmen David Vitter, R-La.  A call worth $1 million to the
university.  
     As soon as Congressmen Vitter was elected to the Congressional 6th district, he
successfully infused this $1 million into the congressional budget for Southeastern.  That was the
beginning of a lengthy process that involved debates over the congressional budget which ended
up in conference committee without Southeastern's money. Congressman Vitter had it restored.  
     "The first step is to get money into the budget," Southeastern President Sally Clausen said.
"The final step is to have it remain in the budget process until the end. Fortunately for
Southeastern, Congressmen Vitter was successful."
     Congressmen Vitter visited SLU upon an invitation from Clausen. During this visit
Clausen reminded him that Southeastern was the only public university in his district. "I was
impressed with his keen interest in our students' and faculty's needs.  He spent several hours
listening to students, administrators, and faculty members discussing the university's goals and
plans for the future.  He even took time to speak to parents during orientation. He wasted no time
in responding and fighting for Southeastern's needs, and we appreciate his efforts," Clausen said. 
     Dr. Randy Moffett, provost and vice president for academic affairs, was excited upon
learning of the confirmation of the new money.  "This new money will enable us to expand our
education outreach services utilizing the expertise of our biological sciences, teacher education,
and math faculty.  The support will also enable us to apply for other matching funds to expand our
research, teaching, and public service initiatives at our Turtle Cove Research Station.  It is a
 win-win' for the university and our faculty and students."
     Arts and Sciences Dean John Miller also responded to the news. "Our goal is to make
Turtle Cove a center for excellence for teaching and research for the Lake Pontchartrain estuary
ecosystem," Miller said. "This allocation secured by Congressman Vitter, plus the recent filling of
our Schlieder Endowed Chair, by Dr. Paul Keddy, puts us closer to reaching that goal."
     Clausen concluded, "Turtle Cove is well on its way to becoming a world renowned
environmental research station and thanks to Congressman Vitter, this can now become a reality.