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1. Division of University Advancement

The Division of University Advancement encompasses development, external relations, alumni affairs and advancement services. The relationship between Â鶹ÊÓƵ and the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation is also managed through University Advancement.

Development

Development works closely with the president and other executives in raising external funds for student scholarships, faculty support, research enhancement, top university initiatives, athletics, and other university programs. The division also coordinates fund-raising for campus constituencies, including campaign and special event fund-raising, as well as prospect research. Through its advancement services department, University Advancement manages the Â鶹ÊÓƵ integrated database of alumni, friends, and donors, to track gifts to Â鶹ÊÓƵ and manage the relationships of external constituents with the university.

Alumni Affairs

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Office of Alumni Affairs, which supports graduates and former students, is active on a year-round basis. The office coordinates all events and activities for alumni, ranging from public service projects to social events. Activities sponsored by the Office of Alumni Affairs include organization and class reunions, Golden Circle events for 50+ year graduates, alumni homecoming, and presentation of the annual Distinguished Alumni Awards. The alumni office also coordinates the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Ambassadors program, which is designed to provide a connection between outstanding Â鶹ÊÓƵ students and alumni, community sponsors, government officials and donors.

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation

The Foundation serves as the preferred channel for private gifts to all areas of Â鶹ÊÓƵ to support and its educational mission. By connecting alumni and friends to the University through stewardship, the Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation focuses on raising funds, distributing funds to Â鶹ÊÓƵ programs according to donor designations, and managing endowments. Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation is a Texas corporation established under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code for educational or charitable purposes.

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation supports and enhances Â鶹ÊÓƵ by encouraging the commitment of personal and financial resources to further the education of Â鶹ÊÓƵ students. The foundation promotes the stewardship of donors to enhance the quality of services provided by the university to student, faculty, alumni and friends. The Â鶹ÊÓƵ

Foundation manages the investments, serves as trustee of the endowment funds and other private assets contributed for the benefit of Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

The Foundation collaborates closely with the University and is deeply committed to assisting the University in accomplishing its strategic objectives.

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Foundation Board of Trustees is composed of up to 40 members committed to the success of Â鶹ÊÓƵ and the stewardship of the gifts managed through the Foundation.

2. Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum

The Spindletop-Gladys City Boomtown Museum is located on Lamar’s campus at University Drive and Highway 69. The museum is a 16-building replica of Gladys City, the oil boomtown that sprang up overnight when the Lucas Gusher blew in on Spindletop Hill January 10, 1901, marking the beginning of the Petroleum Age.

The museum complex includes the 1941 Lucas Gusher Monument, the replica Lucas Gusher derrick and gusher, and exhibit buildings furnished with items from the late 1890's and early 1900's that depict daily life in Gladys City and Beaumont. The museum's Visitor Center includes the Gift Shop and the Caroline Room, a meeting room available to the public. Other museum facilities are also available for parties, picnics, receptions and evening events. Annual special events include Wildcatter Weekends in the Fall, the Lucas Gusher Anniversary in January, and the Boomtown Ruckus in June, which features live re-enactors celebrating Beaumont before the oil boom. The replica gusher blows water 160 feet in the air during these special events. Visit for more information and a calendar of upcoming events.

3. Division of Marketing Communication

Public Relations

Public relations coordinates all media relations, publications, and institutional marketing activities for the university. It supports student recruitment, fund-raising, and special events through the production of print, broadcast, and Web products and materials. It also publishes the university magazine, Cardinal Cadence, mailed to more than 85,000 alumni and friends of the university

Web Communication

Web communication oversees the university's public web presence and provides leadership, systems and support to academic and administrative units to assist them with developing and improving their web communications. Central to this mission is the management and deployment of the university's web content management system, which supports the distributed ownership of web content and provides a consistent user experience across the university's public web environment.

Office of Event Management

The Office of Event Management manages logistics for special events ranging from meetings and lunches to formal receptions, banquets and weddings, primarily in the main venue on the eighth floor of the Mary and John Gray Library but also at other locations across campus, including the Dishman Art Museum, Montagne Center, John Gray Center, and the Executive Event Space in the Wayne A. Reaud Administration Building.

4. Division of Digital Learning

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Online

Â鶹ÊÓƵ Online offers courses and over 45 degree programs online at the Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral level, as well as a number of specialized certificates. The Division offers dual credit programs for high school students both online and on high school campuses.  
The Division of Digital Learning provides leadership, support and administrative services for distance learning to students and faculty across Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

5. The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH)

The Texas Academy of Leadership in the Humanities (TALH) is an early college entrance residential honors program created by the Texas Legislature that allows academically qualified high school-aged students in the state to earn college credits toward a college degree. Students live on campus and enroll in a full-time college curriculum. Graduates of TALH are awarded a diploma from the Academy. The typical TALH graduate will earn 60 hours of college credit after two years of study. Required for admission are academic transcripts from the 9th grade to date, a minimum SAT composite score of 550 on the critical reading and 500 on the math portions, an autobiographical essay, and at least two recommendations from teachers/administrators familiar with the student´s abilities and character. The successful candidate will have a superior academic record and SAT or comparable ACT score and supporting application materials evidencing the personal integrity, sense of responsibility, and level of maturity requisite for success in the program. Tuition and fees are fully subsidized for 15 credit hours per semester, but students and their families are responsible for housing, meal plan and textbook costs. The application deadline for fall enrollment is May 1. Additional information is available by contacting the program at (409) 839-2995 or visiting the website at .

6. Information Technology Division

The Information Technology Division supports the IT needs of Â鶹ÊÓƵ. These services include maintaining the Student Information System (Banner SSB), university email, supporting the learning management system (BlackBoard), technical support for campus organizations, and maintaining campus wireless Internet. The student information technology website is /its. The University Service Desk is located in the Mary and John Gray Library - 7th Floor - room 707. Students may contact the Service Desk at (409) 880-2222 or by email to servicedesk@lamar.edu.

7. Mary and John Gray Library

The Mary and John Gray Library is the eight-story, red brick building located in the center of campus. Its collection exceeds one million volume equivalents, including books, journals, microforms, maps, music scores, state and federal government publications, software, and audiovisual materials. Through subscriptions, journal packages, and consortial licensing, the library provides access to over 5,000 e-journals, and through aggregated databases, to content from an additional 44,000 current journals. All of the journals can be accessed digitally by Lamar’s students, faculty, and staff from either on or off campus. Print and electronic books can be located using the library’s online catalog. Other digital resources include streaming music collections, digital citation indexes, and interactive guides tailored to specific fields of study.

A service-oriented library staff provides assistance in the use of reference materials, government documents, special collections and archival materials, reserve materials, and instructional media. Assistance is provided to both online and on-campus users through e-mail, chat and IM, and telephone. The Cardinal One Card serves as a patron's library card for borrowing purposes. Users can access library electronic resources by logging in with their Lamar Electronic Access (LEA) credentials.

The library provides rooms for group study and the fifth floor is a designated quiet study floor. Coin-operated copy machines for both print and microforms are available. There are 131 computers openly accessible to all students split between two computer labs located on the first and seventh floors. An additional 20 computers are available for classes and special projects in a seventh-floor library classroom. Trained staff provide assistance in the use of computers, printers, and software. There are nine separately administered areas in the Gray Library: (1) University Writing Center; (2) The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Tutoring Center; (3) Office of Planning and Assessment; (4) Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement; (5) First Year Experience; (6) Office of Research and Sponsored Programs Administration; (7) IT Services Help Desk; (8) Media Services; and (9) University Reception Center.

Beyond locally provided resources, the Gray Library can supply patrons with books and articles from other libraries. Our Interlibrary Loan service makes use of advanced technology to obtain materials throughout the state, nation, and world, and obtains journal articles from commercial document delivery services. Â鶹ÊÓƵ students and faculty can also borrow in person from the library collections of 51 other publicly-funded colleges and universities using a card from the statewide TexShare program. TexShare borrowing cards are available at no charge at the circulation desk in the front lobby. The library is open seven days a week in the long semesters. Hours of operation are posted on the library website at /library/ and can be heard in a recorded message at (409) 880-8117.

8. Montagne Center

The 10,000-seat Montagne Center, home of Â鶹ÊÓƵ basketball, is a campus multipurpose facility that provides opportunities for educational and extracurricular programs. The even facility houses athletic offices, training spaces, reception areas, and the main athletics box office.  The center is capable of hosting concerts, receptions, banquets, graduation ceremonies, high school proms, workshops, business meetings, conventions, and other activities. As additional meeting/banquet space, the Cardinal Club and Red Room can host between 50 and 200 guests. The Cardinal Club is located on the first floor with easy access from the Northwest building entry, and has amenities including a kitchenette, public address system, projector and televisions. The Red Room provides beautiful views of the basketball arena and the football complex and makes an ideal space for executive business luncheons, meetings and receptions for groups of 75 or less. Full catering services are available for all events. For reservations call (409) 880-1881.

9. Mail Center

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Mail Center is temporarily located in the Carl Parker Building, room 101. Hours of operation for window services are 8 a.m.. to 4:00 p.m. and parcel services 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. The University Mail Center is a contracted facility operated by the University and is officially designated as Â鶹ÊÓƵ Mail Center, 77710. Full postal services are offered, including stamp sales for domestic/international mail, incoming and outgoing United Postal Services, student mail forwarding, express courier deliveries, and standard mail processing (including folding and inserting services). Students, staff, and faculty are allowed to use outbound United Parcel Services with Authorized Return Service at no charge.

Students, staff, and faculty may rent postal boxes on an annual basis. Annual cost is $15. Student box sharing is prohibited. Mail is received from U.S. Postal Services at 4:00 a.m.. and 6:30 a.m.. daily Monday through Friday. Outbound stamped and metered mail is dispatched daily at 3:30 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

10. Research and Sponsored Programs Administration Office

The Sponsored Program Administration Office is administered by the associate provost for research. This office promotes externally funded research; oversees sponsored programs and technology transfer as well as patent, copyright, and intellectual property policies; establishes liaison between the university and state and national funding sources; and assures that proposed projects comply with institutional and governmental regulations. This office also provides assistance to faculty in the development and submission of grant/project proposals by locating funding sources and reviewing proposals for compliance with budgetary and funding guidelines. The office is also responsible for the post-award administration of grants, which includes monitoring expenditures and grant billings as well as research compliance. This office also oversees Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Resources research, and Bio Safety, Conflict of Interest, and Responsible Conduct of Research Training.

11. Records Office: Transcripts

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Records office, under the direction of the university registrar, provides official transcripts to those who have attended Â鶹ÊÓƵ. Students may request up to five transcripts per semester at no charge. Additional transcripts are $5.00 each. Transcripts can be ordered in person, by mail, or online. For more information, go to www.lamar.edu/transcripts, call (409) 880-8985 or email transcripts@lamar.edu.

12. Bookstore

Barnes & Noble at Â鶹ÊÓƵ is a one-stop shop for all textbook and academic needs – including low cost rental, used, and digital textbooks. Barnes & Noble at Â鶹ÊÓƵ also provides Lamar Cardinal and Lamar Institute of Technology clothing and merchandise, school supplies, a convenience items, and other books and magazines. Customers can shop in the store (located in the Setzer Student Center) or online at . For more information about the bookstore, call (409) 880-8342. Follow the bookstore on Facebook@ .

13. Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement

Â鶹ÊÓƵ has a strong commitment to student and faculty engagement and teaching and learning excellence. Under the direction of the Office of the Provost, the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement supports faculty, administrators, graduate students, and staff in their academic pursuits and provides a range of instructional services to assist all members of the Â鶹ÊÓƵ teaching community. In order to foster and sustain a culture that practices, values, and rewards teaching and learning as vital forms of scholarship at Â鶹ÊÓƵ, the Center for Teaching and Learning Enhancement takes as its mission to

• promote deep understanding of the scholarship of teaching and learning by assisting both individuals and groups of instructors to gather, analyze, and reflect on information about their own teaching and their students' learning;
• cultivate dialogue about teaching pedagogies and learning theories through seminars, orientations, workshops, teaching and learning circles, and other programming; and
• foster the use of research-based best practices, models, and approaches to university teaching and learning—and facilitate access to resources that support them.

For more information, visit the CTLE website at /ctle/index.html, or call the CTLE at (409) 880-8426. Offices are located on the 6^th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.

14. Quality Enhancement Plan and ACES

The Â鶹ÊÓƵ Quality Enhancement Plan, Active and Collaborative Engagement for Students (ACES), focuses on improving student learning in core and college-readiness courses by promoting active and collaborative learning.  Â鶹ÊÓƵ has selected these freshman courses as an area of need based on student satisfaction surveys, results of the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE, 2006, 2008), strategic plan goals, and results of core curriculum student learning assessments conducted in 2005 and 2008. These data indicate that students were less satisfied with core classes than with upper-division classes, and that levels of student engagement in  freshman-level classes were disappointing when compared to levels of freshman engagement at peer institutions and when compared to levels of senior engagement at Â鶹ÊÓƵ.

The ACES program emerged from recommendations of the Quality Enhancement Plan Development Committee, a university-wide task force with representation from the student body, the Division of Student Affairs, Staff Senate, Faculty Senate, and faculty members from all five colleges at Â鶹ÊÓƵ. The ACES mission is focused on enhancing faculty understanding of the importance of active and collaborative learning for student engagement and student success and enhancing faculty skill at utilizing innovative educational pedagogies. Faculty are chosen through a competitive process to serve as ACES Fellows and are committed to implementing active and collaborative teaching methods in their courses.

 For more information, please visit the ACES website at /qep, or call (409) 880-8426. The QEP offices are located on the 6th floor of the Mary and John Gray Library.