Jan. 30, 2015 RUSTON -- One of Louisiana Tech University's most distinguished and influential leaders is set to receive one of the institution's highest and most coveted athletic honors.
President Emeritus Dan Reneau, Louisiana Tech's 13th and longest tenured president, will be enshrined as the 88th member of the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame at 3 p.m. Saturday, in the Waggonner Room of the Thomas Assembly Center.
The ceremony is open to the public and will be followed by the Bulldogs basketball game against the Marshall Thundering Herd at 4:30 p.m.
"During his tenure as president, Dr. Reneau led one of the most transformative periods in the history of Louisiana Tech Athletics," said Louisiana Tech President Les Guice. "His vision and leadership helped position Louisiana Tech to compete nationally while also providing our student-athletes with a first-rate education and college experience. The growth and success that our athletics programs have enjoyed over the past few years are rooted in the decisions that Dr. Reneau made on their behalf.
"I congratulate him on his induction into the Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame and thank him for all he has done to elevate our programs and our student-athletes."
During his service as president from 1987 to 2013, Louisiana Tech teams won nearly 70 regular season or tournament conference championships, earned 42 post-season tournament or bowl game appearances, and captured a women's basketball NCAA National Championship in 1988. Reneau also led Louisiana Tech's move from the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly known as I-AA) to the Football Bowl Subdivision, resulting in more national exposure for the Bulldog football program.
Louisiana Tech Athletics also made monumental strides under Reneau's leadership on the conference front, steadily progressing from the American South (1987-1991) to the Sun Belt (1991-2001) to the Western Athletic Conference (2001-2013) to Conference USA (July 1, 2013).
"Although I didn't have the privilege of serving during Dr. Reneau's tenure at Louisiana Tech, I understand and appreciate the commitment that his administration made toward the athletics department," said Athletics Director Tommy McClelland. "It's vital to the success of any athletic department that the university president be as supportive as their resources allow. So many great things were accomplished in Tech Athletics during Dr. Reneau's time leading the University. He is very deserving of this honor."
Reneau's history and relationship with Louisiana Tech is almost as lengthy and impressive as his list of achievements. It began with earning a bachelor's degree in chemical engineering in 1963 and a master's degree in chemical engineering in 1964. After earning his bachelor's and master's degrees, Reneau's passion for learning grew into a desire to pursue a doctorate in chemical engineering at Clemson University. He graduated with a Ph.D. in 1966, having worked with some of the nation's most accomplished engineering faculty and researchers.
Drawn back to Ruston and his alma mater, Reneau returned to Louisiana Tech in 1967 to take a position as an assistant professor of chemical engineering and quickly distinguished himself as an academician and researcher. One of his cornerstone achievements came in 1972 when he established Louisiana Tech's Department of Biomedical Engineering Department - one of the first of its kind in the United States and only the fifth undergraduate program to become accredited in the nation.
Throughout the 1970s, Reneau continued to demonstrate his outstanding vision and leadership abilities, resulting in his appointment as Louisiana Tech's Vice President of Academic Affairs in 1980. In this capacity, he served as chief academic officer to some 400 faculty housed in six colleges and three professional schools, offering 160 different degree programs. Under his direction, every major program at Louisiana Tech with an accrediting agency was awarded accreditation.
As a result of his exemplary leadership and vision, the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities selected Reneau as the 13th President of Louisiana Tech University on February 20, 1987.
"Louisiana Tech has been at the center of my life's work and I have always measured my professional success by that of the university's," Reneau said prior to his retirement in 2013. "I am extremely proud of what we have accomplished together and feel blessed to have made so many good friends along the way."
Reneau says Louisiana Tech's move to Division I athletics and invitation to join Conference USA are among his proudest and most important accomplishments as president. These achievements, along with Louisiana Tech's move to selective admissions in 1992, the development of first-rate, world-class research facilities to attract the best and brightest students and faculty, the establishment of innovative doctoral programs, and the construction of facilities such as the Institute for Micromanufacturing and Enterprise Campus have helped to define Reneau's success as Louisiana Tech's president.
Turning his focus to athletics facilities that would enable Louisiana Tech to compete on a national level for top coaches and student-athletes, Reneau launched the Quest for Excellence campaign - a multi-million dollar effort to construct a state-of-the-art, multipurpose facility in the south end zone of Joe Aillet Stadium to position Tech among the most progressive programs in the nation.
"The top research universities in the nation are complemented by outstanding athletics programs," Reneau said at the Quest for Excellence announcement press conference in 2010. "As a premier research institution, Louisiana Tech recognizes the value of providing superior facilities and resources to future Tech student-athletes so that they have every opportunity to perform at the highest levels of intercollegiate competition."
Within the University of Louisiana System, Louisiana Tech achieved the System's highest graduation rate, highest retention rate, highest average freshman ACT score, and fastest time-to-completion rate for first-time baccalaureates under Reneau's leadership, as well as achieving record graduate student enrollment and doctoral graduates. Louisiana Tech also earned its first Tier One National University ranking by U.S. News & World Report, and was twice ranked in the nation's top ten for graduating students with the least amount of debt.
"Louisiana Tech is such an important part of our lives and we've had so many wonderful experiences over the past 50-plus years," said Reneau. "We raised our family with Bulldog pride and passion, and with the cherished traditions of our beloved university. The Tech Family is our family and we will always be faithful in our support and affection for Louisiana Tech."
The Louisiana Tech Athletics Hall of Fame started in 1984 when the inaugural class of Joe Aillet, Terry Bradshaw, Atley Donald, Garland Gregory, Pam Kelly, Maxie Lambright and Jackie Moreland was inducted. The Hall of Fame Committee votes to induct a five-to-six member class every other year. In alternate years, either a team or a significant individual (non-athlete) can be voted on by the Committee and inducted into the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame.
