Ray Authement
| Ray Paul Authement, Sr. | |
|---|---|
| President of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette | |
|
In office 1974–2008 |
|
| Preceded by | Clyde Lee Rougeou |
| Succeeded by | Joseph Savoie |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
November 19, 1928 Near Chauvin Terrebonne Parish Louisiana, United States |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Barbara Braud Authement |
| Children |
Kathleen A. Prouet (1952-1999) |
| Parents |
Elias Lawrence Authement |
| Alma mater |
University of Southwestern Louisiana |
| Occupation | College president; mathematics professor |
Kathleen A. Prouet (1952-1999)
Julie A. Johnson
Elias Lawrence Authement
University of Southwestern Louisiana
Ray Paul Authement, Sr. (born November 19, 1928), is a retired university president who holds the national record for longevity as the head of a public university in the United States—34 years. From 1974 to 2008, he was the fifth president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, formerly known as the University of Southwestern Louisiana in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Authement was born near Chauvin in a rural section of Terrebonne Parish to Elias Lawrence Authement and the former Elphia Marie Duplantis; both parents were natives of Terrebonne Parish and born in 1904. In 1950, Authement received his bachelor's degree from UL Lafayette. He subsequently procured both a master's degree in 1952 and a Ph.D. in mathematics in 1956 from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge.
Authement and his wife, the former Barbara Braud (born c. 1932), had two daughters, Kathleen A. Prouet, who died in 1999 of leukemia and Julie A. Johnson of Lafayette. Their son is Ray Authement, Jr. (born c. 1965) of Lafayette.
He began his career in higher education on the LSU faculty in 1954. He is also a former faculty member at McNeese State University in Lake Charles and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Prior to his UL Lafayette presidency, Authement taught mathematics and was thereafter the academic vice-president of UL Lafayette from 1966 until 1970.
Under Authement, UL Lafayette launched a $130 million construction program, moved from open enrollment in the manner of a community college to selective admissions, and joined NCAA Division 1, the highest level of collegiate athletic competition. In 1990, he hired the lawyer and former state legislator Carl W. Bauer as the chief lobbyist, or "Coordinator of Governmental Relations," for UL Lafayette, and the two worked together to expand the campus and modernize the institution. Bauer remained at UL Lafayette two years after Authement retired.
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