Success Stories spotlight McNeese professors that have been chosen as recipients of endowed professorships for their excellence in the classroom.

Each story will share how professors have utilized the professorship's funds to enhance their teaching, which in turn benefits their students and ultimately the community.

Endowed professorships are established through the Foundation with a $60,000 private gift and matched with a $40,000 donation by the Louisiana Board of Regents, bringing the endowment to $100,000.

 

Click on the names below to read their "success story."

 

Recipient, JPMorgan Chase Bank Professorship in Business Research

 

When Dr. Banamber Mishra developed a proposal to apply for a professorship, he knew it was not a simple undertaking. Cultivating an idea from concept to publication can take anywhere from three to five years.

 

Dr. Mishra obtained all of his degrees in economics, including a bachelor's degree from Ravenshaw College, India, a master's degree from Jawaharlal Nehru University, India, and a second master's degree and a doctorate degree both from the University of Alabama. With such a extensive education and 22 years of employment at McNeese State University, he serves as a tenured professor certified to teach economics and finance at the baccalaureate and graduate levels.

 

When McNeese awards a professorship, it signifies that the faculty member is highly knowledgeable about a particular subject. Professorships, often linked to research, are awarded to faculty who are academically qualified from an institutional point of view. Professorships provide a financial stipend which may be used at the recipient's discretion. These funds are expended to further the project and may include purchase of supplies, software or equipment or for travel to industry conferences. Dr. Mishra has received several professorships over his extensive teaching career including the JPMorgan Chase Bank Professorship in Business Research, which he now holds.

 

To be awarded a professorship, a faculty member must first submit a proposal on an appropriate topic. According to Dr. Mishra, "Topics often originate from the researcher's previous work on a related issue or from a subject area where the researcher has a great interest." The proposal may be a short-term project of one-year duration or a long-term project carried out over multiply years. Once the proposal is developed, it is submitted to the respective college for review. Professorships are awarded each fall pending available funds. Research results are submitted for approval for presentation at industry conferences and published in discipline-specific journals.

 

McNeese's College of Business is one of only 14 percent of all business schools internationally to be accredited by AACSB International-The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business. According to the AACSB Web site, "Accreditation is a process of voluntary, non-governmental review of educational institutions and programs." To meet the high standards required of AACSB, faculty members must publish at least two articles in refereed journals within the past five years for undergraduate instruction or at least three articles in the past five years for graduate instruction.

 

Faculty utilize their own research as well as the research of others to create value in the classroom. Dr. Mishra's current project, "dynamics of Stock Market Return Volatility: Evidence from Singapore and Thailand," helps students to understand the global economy, to comprehend global markets and to invest on a global scale. With 52 foreign countries represented at McNeese, or 5 percent of the student population, integrating global understanding into the curriculum is sound business practice.

 

 

 

Recipient, Calcasieu Parish Development Board Professorship for Industrial and Economic Development

 

About 10 years ago, Dr. Ron Darbeau and his student researchers discovered a novel approach to making polymers – a discovery that could have a profound impact on industrial manufacturing.

 

The finding, made with the assistance of fellow chemists Dr. Ulku Ramelow and the late Dr. Mark Delaney, could not have been discovered without the preliminary data funded by the endowed Calcasieu Parish Development Board Professorship for Industrial and Economic Development, according to Darbeau.

 

“This endowed professorship allowed us to purchase chemicals, supplies and equipment and to support student researchers among other things.” Although he was the principal recipient of the professorship, Darbeau prefers to delegate credit for the patent to his fellow researchers, both faculty members and students.

 

“If not for the three of us – Dr. Ramelow, Dr. Delaney and myself – being in the same building at the same time, we would have never earned this patent. It was a dovetail of each of our interests and areas of expertise,” Darbeau said. “And if not for the endowed professorship, we could have never funded the preliminary data to get to that point. Everything just came together.”

 

According to Darbeau, the professorship not only serves as seed money for future endeavors, it also demonstrates a university’s commitment to education and research.

 

“Without student-assisted research, particularly in the field of science, aspiring scientists may not receive the training they need to make breakthroughs that could shape the future, Darbeau explained. “That is why it is so important for universities to create a culture of research. There is nothing more encouraging to undergraduates than to do hands-on research with their professors. Students benefit from their research experiences and many continue their research studies in graduate or medical schools.”

He added, “People think it takes hundreds of thousands of dollars to perform research, but that isn't always true. This patent is just one example of that."

 

 

 

Recipient, Violet Howell Professorship in Environmental Science

In 1988, public concerns about the manufacture, distribution and use of chemicals prompted the International Council of Chemical Associations to develop an initiative known as Responsible Care, a voluntary program that encourages chemical companies and associations to work together to improve health, safety and environmental performance. When the initiative reached Southwest Louisiana in the early 1990s, Dr. Harold Stevenson, professor of biological and environmental sciences, was on the long list of potential members to serve on the organization's local community advisory panel.

“I was on the B-list, but I made it,” Stevenson said. “After about three meetings, I realized how great it was for the plant administrators and community to have an open dialogue and I realized I could utilize the university to do my own research about the relationships between industry and Southwest Louisiana.”

Stevenson was awarded the Violet Howell Professorship in Environmental Science through the McNeese Foundation and used that leverage to meet with plant administrators face-to-face and arrange his own community meetings. These meetings dealt with issues, problems and concerns specific to the area.

Community members, media, plant officials, scientists, doctors and activists packed into Baker Auditorium for Stevenson's first forum, which focused on regional cancer rates.

“My goal was for the public to know what's going on – the good and the bad,” Stevenson said.

Unlike the panels sponsored by Responsible Care, Stevenson had the flexibility to gear his forums toward a variety of biological and environmental concerns. He followed-up the forum on cancer rates with informational meetings on birth defects and other health concerns that had nothing to do with local industry. His students were able to use the forums as a foundation for research work.

“I learned new things and I was able to transfer that knowledge in my classroom,” Stevenson said. “The professorship with the foundation gave me the credentials and the opportunities to do things I otherwise would not have done. It provided another window to the world for myself and my students.”

 

 

Recipient, Henry C. Alexander Endowed Professorship in Music

Recipient, JPMorgan Chase Endowed Professorship in Music

 

For Dr. Michael Buckles, teaching and playing music go hand in hand. Buckles, an assistant professor of performing arts at McNeese State University, is also an accomplished violinist who has traveled and performed in concert and recital halls across the South.

 

Funding for his performances stemmed from two professorships, the Henry C. Alexander Endowed Professorship in Music and the JPMorgan Chase Endowed Professorship in Music.

 

“Until you have name recognition, you have to find venues that are interested in listening to you play. If you are invited to play, you have to have your own money for travel and expenses. It’s not easy, but it has to be done. Performances provide name recognition and money provides for the initial performances,” Buckles said.

 

Buckles has performed in Lafayette, Baton Rouge, New Orleans, Tennessee and Texas with recitals at Texas Christian and Loyola universities planned for this fall. This summer he cut a recording at the University of Virginia for Innova, the music label of the American Composers Forum.

 

Another challenge he is tackling includes learning guitar solos from rock ‘n’ roll history. While other musicians may have played music outside their preferred genre before, it’s a different kind of situation for Buckles, who has listened mostly to classical music throughout his life and is only vaguely familiar with rock ‘n’ roll. Add that to the fact he’ll be playing a violin rather than a guitar.

 

His performance career may keep him busy, but Buckles emphasizes that being an educator is just as important as concerts and recital halls.

 

“I can’t place a monetary value on the endowed professorships because I’m still seeing the fruits of those awards. I have received calls based on my recent performances, and I would not have been able to make those performances without the professorship,” Buckles said.

 

Communities are also benefiting from Buckles’ knowledge and talent. String programs were developed in both the New Orleans and Lake Charles areas, and he has served as director of the Lake Charles area youth orchestra.

 

According to Buckles, in the end, it all comes back to where it started.

 

“The seeds of my current successes came from those initial awards. When you have a moment to stop, reflect and celebrate accomplishment with your colleagues and friends, it’s definitely special.”