LSU Funding: BR Gets the Cash; Shreveport Gets Scraps

Lawmakers from Shreveport and northwest Louisiana are fighting for more funding for LSUS and the local med school. State Representative Thomas Pressly told his colleagues the funding formula calls for $1.500 billion dollars for the LSU System. Of that, LSU Baton Rouge gets $1.350 billion dollars.

Pressly says LSU Shreveport splits $29 million with LSU Eunice and LSU Alexandria. The total enrollment of the 3 north Louisiana schools is about 16,000 while the enrollment at LSU Baton Rouge is about 36,000. If you do the math, that is about $37,000 a student for those studying in Baton Rouge and $1,800 dollars for the students in Shreveport, Eunice and Alexandria.

Representative Pressly also says there is a wide gap in funding for the Med School in New Orleans and the Shreveport Med School. He says the New Orleans school gets 34% more funding. He says it is time to change that.

Another big problem is that LSU wants to bring a new cyber military corridor at the Baton Rouge campus. But he says the natural fit for that would be LSUS where we have Barksdale, a 4-star commanded Air Force Base that has a priority in cyber.

Pressly says Louisiana must build on the area's foundation of health care excellence, expand research and drive opportunities to the region. He says the LSU brand has ignored the needs of north Louisiana for decades.

Members of the local delegation say it is squeaky wheel time and area residents are urged to contact LSU President Dr. William F. Tate IV and other state leaders to change this funding deficiency.

Click here to send a message to Dr. Tate or write to him at:

LSU President William F. Tate IV
3810 W. Lakeshore Dr.
Baton Rouge, LA 70808

You can also click here to send a message to Governor Edwards.