Deanie was a successful local businesswoman and friend to many who spent her life in service to others. She was the consummate hostess and real estate professional who was devoted to her family, her business, and her community. Because of Deanie’s devotion to giving...

Growing up on a rural Louisiana farm where his father worked as manager, Van McGraw believed education and hard work would open opportunities for his life. As valedictorian of his class at Northwestern State University, he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration...

Don started his career at NLU (ULM), where he earned his BBA and MBA, and served in various roles from 1976 until his retirement in 1999. His positions at the university included: Coordinator of School Services; Director of Alumni Affairs; Associate Director of...

The scholarship is in honor of Alex John, Jr., Ed.D., the first Black dean at the university. John was an early champion for diversity and inclusion at ULM. As a faculty member, John advised and encouraged Black students to persevere in their quest for a college...

Dr. Anita Sharma, the ULM holder of the Joseph A. Biedenharn Eminent Scholars Endowed Chair in Gerontology, is the Director of ULM’s GERO Institute (Gerontology, Education, Research, Outreach). The GERO Institute was born out of Dr. Sharma’s personal history of...

David W. Turrentine Mr. Turrentine entered Northeast Louisiana State College (now ULM) in January, 1962 after graduating from Ouachita Parish High School in May, 1961. He was married and had two children while attending college. He graduated from Northeast in...

Dr. Joshua L. Comer graduated from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in upstate New York. Dr. Comer moved to Louisiana and joined ULM in 2017 as an Assistant Professor of Communications in the College of Arts, Education, and Sciences. In 2019 he received the Doll &...

Dr. Richard Baxter was coordinator of the Journalism department at ULM from 1977-1984 and was a faculty member in Mass Communications for 15 years. He was Executive Assistant to the President from 1991-1996 and also served as the VP of Advancement & External Affairs.

Dr. Thomas Edgar Stricklin was born on November 12, 1932, in Eden, Mississippi, a small delta farm village of 200 inhabitants. He was the youngest child of Avery & Julia Stricklin. After graduating from Yazoo City High School in 1950, he attended Mississippi...

Emma Louise “Emy-Lou” Biedenharn was a noted opera singer and philanthropist from Monroe, Louisiana. The only daughter of Joseph Biedenharn, the Coca-Cola bottling magnate and co-owner of the company that became Delta Air Lines, she used her inheritance to create the...

David W. Turrentine Mr. Turrentine entered Northeast Louisiana State College (now ULM) in January, 1962 after graduating from Ouachita Parish High School in May, 1961. He was married and had two children while attending college. He graduated from Northeast in...

George T. Pratte, Sr. was born in1921 in St. Mary, Missouri, a rural community of 700 people in Southeast Missouri. He was the youngest of seven children raised by Jules and Genevieve (nee Sietz) Pratte. Upon graduating from high school in 1939, George moved to St....

Respected educators and longtime ULM supporters, Glen & Jo Ann Williams fund a scholarship for prospective teachers from Franklin Parish. Passionate about their former profession, they established the award over 20 years ago with the goal of luring quality teachers...

Helen Elaine Schwent was born in 1924 in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri, the second oldest continuous settlement in the Louisiana Purchase. She was the oldest of five sisters born to Thomas and Aleda (nee Winters) Schwent. After graduation from high school, Helen moved to...

Mr. Kalil, the son of immigrant parents from Lebanon, held the Rayville, Louisiana, mayor’s post; from 1970 until 1994. For ten years prior to that, from 1960 until his election as mayor in 1970, he was a member of the Board of Aldermen. Active in state levels as...

Miss Tollett was a graduate of Ouachita Parish High School and the salutatorian of her class. She graduated from NLU with a degree in elementary education. She was a 5th grade teacher at Green Elementary School in Clear Creek, TX.

Dorothey Phillis Hall DeGree, known as Kitty DeGree, was a real estate developer, civic figure, and philanthropist in her adopted city of Monroe, Louisiana.. In the last years of her life, she was the largest single donor to the University of Louisiana Monroe. Born...

Lauren was a 2011 graduate of Bastrop High School during which time she enjoyed cheerleading for the Bastrop Rams. She was a senior in the Dental Hygiene program at University of Louisiana Monroe at the time of her passing.

Lettie Pate Whitehead Lettie Pate Whitehead Evans was a generous philanthropist and accomplished businesswoman. She was the wife of Joseph B. Whitehead, one of the original bottlers of Coca-Cola. At his death, she assumed management of his business affairs,...

LIPA is dedicated to the continuing growth and prosperity of independent community pharmacy, representing the professional and proprietary interests of community pharmacists throughout Louisiana. We work to rigorously uphold the right of free enterprise, and are...

LWD was established in 1979 as a Full line Pharmaceutical Wholesale who deals with only independent pharmacies. We currently service around 250 pharmacies across the states of Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. We have a proprietary ordering system called LWDRX.com,...

Maj. Gen. Claire Lee Chennault was a World War II leader of the famed Flying Tigers in China, for whom Chennault Air Force Base, Lake Charles, La., is named. He was born Commerce, Texas, 1890; died New Orleans, La., July 27, 1958. Claire Chennault, legendary hero of...

Ryan graduated from Caldwell Parish High School in 1976 and attended Northeast Louisiana University (now University of Louisiana Monroe) , where he graduated with a degree in accounting along with an MBA. As an undergrad, he met his lifetime love, Susan Elizabeth...

David W. Turrentine Mr. Turrentine entered Northeast Louisiana State College (now ULM) in January, 1962 after graduating from Ouachita Parish High School in May, 1961. He was married and had two children while attending college. He graduated from Northeast in...

Bailey Grant served as sheriff of Ouachita Parish during eight consecutive four-year terms from 1948-1980 making him the longest serving sheriff in Ouachita Parish history. A native of West Monroe, Sheriff Grant was from a well known and prominent pioneer family. ...

Silas Simmons, LLP is an expert in all areas of accounting, bookkeeping, consulting, outsourcing, payroll and business services, with offices in Natchez, Mississippi and Monroe, Louisiana. We believe in the value of relationships. We view every client relationship...

ABOUT US The Louisiana Cancer Foundation was founded in 1999 by the Northeast Louisiana Cancer Institute and obtained its 501 © (3) status in early 2000. The purpose of the LCF is to increase public awareness, early detection, treatment and research for cancer...

Our name embodies the entrepreneurial spirit of timber industry pioneer and family patriarch Roy O. Martin, Sr., who began the family’s first business with a small sawmill in Alexandria, Louisiana, in 1923. Today, we are one of the several wholly-owned,...

The scholarship has been named the Tianyu Wang Endowed Scholarship, established by Tianyu Wang’s eldest daughter, Xiaoan Wang, BA, ‘97, journalism-public relations, and MA, ’98, communication; his son-in-law, Jun Tan, MA, ’91, communication, and PhD, ’00, pharmacy...

The Women’s Symposium seeks to empower, motivate, and encourage girls and women from all backgrounds and all educational and professional levels to pursue their passions and seek leadership roles in their desired career paths. To embrace the support of both men and...