Since 1925, LSU has been tucked away in southwest Baton Rouge on a charming campus “where stately oaks and broad magnolias shade inspiring halls.”  Those of us who had the opportunity to seek an education on this campus have a personal connection to the beautiful setting.  We remember days when we tried to speed from Lockett to Tureaud in the brief ten minutes between classes.  We meandered in front of Himes hoping that a special someone might happen by, and that a friendly “hello” might lead to a date for next week’s football game.  We talked until the wee hours of the morning in dorms called Garig or Graham or Laville.  Some of us even managed to find the Middleton Library now and then.

Everyone who has ever attended LSU carries special memories of the experience.  But have you ever stopped to consider those who went before, or the legacies they left behind?  Who were Lockett, Tureaud, Himes, Middleton, and the rest?  Why are theirs the names that shaped our university experience?  This book hopes to shed a little light on our school’s storied past and introduce you to the people whose names are already so familiar.  It is not intended to be a complete inventory of every building on campus, but it is meant to give the reader an appreciation for the history of LSU and how it became the great institution of higher learning that it is today.