Southeastern Louisiana University

Southeastern Louisiana University

Motto	Fidelitas Integritas Fortitudo
Motto in English	Fidelity, Integrity, Fortitude
Type	Public
Established	1925
Endowment	$34,218,453
President	John L. Crain
Academic staff	800
Students	14,594
Undergraduates	13,567
Postgraduates	1,027
Location	Hammond, LA, U.S. 30°31′01″N 90°28′05″W / 30.517°N 90.468°W / 30.517; -90.468Coordinates: 30°31′01″N 90°28′05″W / 30.517°N 90.468°W / 30.517; -90.468
Campus	Urban
Colors	Green & Gold
Athletics	NCAA Division I FCS – Southland
Nickname	Lions / Lady Lions
Mascot	Roomie the Lion
Affiliations	UL System
Website	www.southeastern.edu

McGehee Hall, Southeastern Louisiana State University
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, Louisiana
Coordinates	30°30′42″N 90°28′02″W / 30.5116°N 90.4671°W / 30.5116; -90.4671
Area	0.7 acres (0.28 ha)
Built	1934
Architect	Weiss,Dreyfous,and Seiferth
Architectural style	Colonial Revival, Other, Neo-Georgian
NRHP Reference #	85000094
Added to NRHP	January 18, 1985

Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a state-funded public university in Hammond, Louisiana, United States. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims, the principal of Hammond High School, as Hammond Junior College, located in a wing of the high school building. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it became known as Southeastern Louisiana College. It achieved university status in 1970.

Enrolled are 14,594 students representing 43 states and 66 countries. During the 1990s Southeastern was the fastest-growing college in the United States. The university is the third largest in Louisiana, trailing only LSU and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Southeastern's colors are green and gold, and the mascot is the Lions. Southeastern's sports teams participate in NCAA Division I (FCS for football) in the Southland Conference.

The Hammond campus is located 45 miles (72 km) east of Baton Rouge and 60 miles (97 km) northwest of New Orleans.

What began as a junior college supported by local taxes developed into a major university as Southeastern has grown to meet the evolving needs of southeast Louisiana and the Florida parishes.

On July 7, 1925, the voters overwhelmingly approved a bond issue that created Hammond Junior College. Operated under the auspices of the Tangipahoa Parish School Board, Sims opened the doors on September 13, 1925, with a faculty of three women and two men and 40 students. The two-year coeducational institution offered basic undergraduate work in arts and sciences that culminated in a teaching certificate.