RUSTON, La. — Louisiana Tech University has been selected to join the Gulf Scholars Program, a five-year initiative designed to prepare undergraduate students to address environmental, health, energy and infrastructure challenges facing the Gulf Coast region.
The program, run by the Gulf Research Program of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, recently added six universities to its network. Louisiana Tech joins Alcorn State University, Millsaps College, Texas Southern University, the University of Mississippi and the University of South Florida in the program’s fifth and final pilot cohort.
With the addition of the new schools, the Gulf Scholars Program now includes 30 institutions across the five Gulf Coast states. The expanded network is intended to strengthen collaboration among universities focused on building a more resilient and sustainable Gulf region.
At Louisiana Tech, the initiative will bring together faculty and students from multiple academic disciplines to study regional challenges.
“Because of all these social and environmental challenges of our region, the great thing the program allows is for all of our five colleges to engage,” said Dr. Jennifer Hill, associate professor of biological sciences in Tech’s College of Applied and Natural Sciences and director of the university’s Gulf Scholars Program.
“The program is framed around integrated education across multiple disciplines informing students and the community of the interdisciplinary nature of our regional challenges,” Hill said.
As part of the program, Louisiana Tech will develop a curriculum that includes place-based courses, workshops and an internship program. Students will complete research, service-learning or creative projects in partnership with local or regional organizations focused on environmental and community issues.
“This is very much a team effort with faculty from various disciplines on the steering committee,” Hill said. “This program is designed to be engaged by the entire University community.”
Projects could examine a wide range of topics, including recycling programs, health disparities and construction materials designed to better withstand flooding.
“There are so many different things that we need big solutions for,” Hill said. “And we want to find solutions by engaging the public, our alumni, and the community, not just working behind the scenes in our labs.”
The program will begin next academic year and is supported by $600,000 in funding from the Gulf Research Program. Louisiana Tech expects to commission between eight and 13 undergraduate interns annually.
The Gulf Research Program was established in 2013 through legal settlements tied to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The program supports scientific research, data monitoring and collaborative networks aimed at improving offshore energy safety, protecting the environment and strengthening the well-being of communities across the Gulf Coast.