New Book Spotlights UL Lafayette’s History

A new book from Arcadia Publishing features a visual timeline of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette’s history.

Authored by Dr. Zachary Stein, assistant dean of technical services at Edith Garland Dupré Library, and Dr. Michael S. Martin, professor of history and head of the Department of History, Geography and Philosophy, the collection of black-and-white photographs tells the story of the campus’ evolution from 1901 to today.

“The visual images are a striking way to illuminate the past,” said Martin. “Combining that with explanatory words, you kind of get the best of both worlds."

“It's also a way to put a face to this history,” said Stein. “It's one thing to read a history. But when you actually have that image that goes with that text, it just brings out a whole new perspective.”

Martin said one of his favorite images in the book is of Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute’s founding president, Dr. Edwin Stephens, who served for 38 years. Stephens famously oversaw the plantings of the campus’ live oak groves and founded the Live Oak Society. Martin said he discovered this particular photo of Stephens, taken at the end of his presidency, for the first time while researching this book.

“We usually see him as a younger man, and there's something about it that seems like the end of an era,” said Martin. “He's got this big, majestic oak behind him that also kind of conveys that solidity of what he created.”

The book also features new documentation from the University’s more recent history since the publication of “100 Years,” a historical book written in celebration of the University’s centennial in the late 1990s. Adding documentation from the last quarter century gave the researchers an opportunity to draw an extended through line and spotlight the University’s evolution throughout the decades.

“That's what a University is supposed to do. We're supposed to come up with new ways of thinking about things, and new ways of doing things,” said Martin. “And sometimes it's those moments where you think you're kind of at the bottom that prompt the greatest innovations.”

The book is available in Lafayette at Cavalier House Books and Barnes & Noble, as well as online from the publisher’s site and Amazon.

Listen: Interview with the authors on La Louisiane Podcast

Photo caption: Drs. Zachary Stein and Michael S. Martin trace the University's dynamic history in a new book by Arcadia Publishing.

Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

Video credit: Kade Parker / UL Lafayette

Note: This news story is a repost. Original news story.