LSUS highlights campus reinvestment thanks to enrollment growth in State of the U. address

LSUS highlights campus reinvestment thanks to enrollment growth in State of the U. address

SHREVEPORT - LSU Shreveport Chancellor Dr. Robert Smith highlighted ways the university is reinvesting in its physical campus thanks to continuing enrollment growth.

Smith addressed various student body representatives and student organizations at Wednesday's annual State of the U. speech.

Enrollment is a university's primary source of revenue, and Smith said he expects LSUS's enrollment to top 11,000 for the first time in school history when numbers become official after the second fall session begins.

LSUS's enrollment hit a record high 10,926 in Spring 2025, one year after crossing the 10,000 mark for the first time (Spring 2024).

Smith is projecting growth in undergraduate and graduate students this fall.

"We are enrollment driven, and about 85 percent of our budget is determined by our enrollment," Smith said. "With the new strategic plan we adopted this past spring, we're looking to grow where we have room to grow as part of an optimized enrollment strategy.

"Our budget is rock solid, and at a time when many institutions are having to consider budget reductions and layoffs, we're doing quite the opposite. We're the fastest growing university in Louisiana over the past 10 years."

LSUS's budget crossed the $100 million mark for the first time.

More face-to-face students are living in student housing, and Pilots Pointe Apartments are at capacity for the first time and has a waiting list.

Smith said the university is seeking funding for an on-campus residence hall, something the college has never had in its nearly 60-year history.

"With the way we are continuing to grow, we need more housing, and we need it on campus," Smith said. "The demand for a residential college experience is there."

Construction has begun on a new drivable bridge from Pilots Pointe to the heart of campus, which will enhance student safety and alleviate rush hour traffic on the southern portion of Youree Drive by campus. The bridge, which will cross the drainage ravine, is expected to take roughly a year to finish.

Something else the university hasn't had is a dedicated recreation and workout space for students.

The Louisiana State Legislature has pledged $10 million toward LSUS's health and wellness hub, a project that is a centerpiece of widespread renovations to the Health and Physical Education building.

The hub will be located in the space that housed the Olympic-sized swimming pool.

Other renovations include multiple biology labs and one physics lab, some of which hadn't been significantly updated since the university's founding.

Modern lab space will accommodate not only traditional LSUS science students but new students who enroll in joint allied health programs that LSUS and LSU Health are offering.

Smith would also like to construct a science integration building that houses additional lab and classroom space.

He points to student activity in the newly opened Davis Business Engagement Center on the first floor of the College of Business and Education as an example of how students engage in and benefit from new spaces.

"We're investing our dollars in student success," Smith said. "We're a place where we're not just bringing students in the door but we're getting them through to graduation.

"We graduate more students than any other Louisiana university not named LSU Baton Rouge, and this summer, our 1,500 graduates led the state among all universities."