On Wednesday, October 28, LSU Health Shreveport leaders, faculty, staff and students will celebrate the institution’s 40th Founders Day.
The date marks the anniversary of the day Governor Edwin Edwards presided over a ribbon cutting ceremony for the new medical school building in 1975. Nearly 1,000 people attended the dedication ceremony of the $30.8 million complex.
The path to establishing and finding a permanent home for a medical school in north Louisiana was far from straight. The idea was first proposed in 1950 by Dr. WE Reid at a Shreveport Medical Society meeting. It would be a full 15 years later until Governor John McKeithen signed a bill into law establishing the LSU School of Medicine in Shreveport—but without funding.
Ultimately funding was secured, and the first class of 32 students began medical school on September 15, 1969 at the VA Hospital. Construction funds for a building were approved the next year and the five years of construction leading to the October dedication began.
“At each hurdle, the founders regrouped until all of the obstacles were overcome,” said Chancellor Robert Barish, MD MBA. “We will remember and honor their vision and perseverance on this milestone anniversary.”
Join the Founders Day Celebration
Wednesday, October 28
11 a.m.
LSU Health Shreveport Medical School Auditorium
Guest Speaker: Former Vice Chancellor/Dean Ike Muslow, MD
Parking available on campus
