Alexandria-based corporation donates $3 million to “Forever LSU”
Gift will help fund new building for LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business

August 28, 2007

Representatives of RoyOMartin present University officials with a donation of $3 million. At the request of RoyOMartin, the funds are earmarked for the construction of a new building for LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business. View more photos of the press conference.

BATON ROUGE – RoyOMartin, a third-generation family-owned corporation based in Alexandria, La., has donated $3 million to the Forever LSU campaign, university officials announced today at a special event at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on campus.

The funds are earmarked, at RoyOMartin’s request, for the construction of a new building for LSU’s E. J. Ourso College of Business. The donation is the largest gift toward the construction of that building to date.

RoyOMartin is a group of family owned, professionally managed forest products and forestland management companies. The corporation has a history of providing financial support for the LSU System, including LSU’s College of Engineering, the LSU AgCenter, the Tiger Athletic Foundation and LSU-Alexandria. President Roy O. Martin III, CEO Jonathan E. Martin and Chairperson Natalie M. Monroe, all LSU alumni, recognized the necessity for a dedicated facility for the E. J. Ourso College.

Currently, the E. J. Ourso College shares space with the College of Engineering in Patrick F. Taylor Hall. The new business building will provide the E. J. Ourso College with more space and the technological capabilities to keep pace with the high-tech world of business and business education. LSU is the only major flagship university with a top business school that does not have its own freestanding business building.

“This building will have a transformational effect on the E. J. Ourso College of Business as we move toward fulfilling the promise of the Flagship Agenda,” said Dean William Lane of the E. J. Ourso College. “The mission of the college as Louisiana’s premier public business school is to lead in business education and research. The new building will offer our students and faculty research facilities; classrooms designed for discussion, interaction and team work; and the latest in instructional technology. As the home of the business leaders of tomorrow, the facility is of vital importance to the college, the university and the state. It is gratifying and humbling to have our alumni invest in the future of this college.”

The new business building is estimated to cost approximately $60 million. During the recent legislative session, the state committed $30 million to the project contingent upon $30 million in private funds being raised. The new business building is one of the lead projects within the Forever LSU campaign.

“We are so pleased that RoyOMartin and the Martin family have shown their support for LSU in this way,” said LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. “Their commitment to their alma mater, and in particular, to the E. J. Ourso College, is inspiring. It is especially gratifying to see that a Louisiana company has made this kind of generous donation, which will go a long way toward helping us reach our goal of building a state-of-the-art facility for our business students.”

Founded in 1923 as Roy O. Martin Lumber, RoyOMartin now operates six different facilities in Central Louisiana, Alabama and Arkansas: an oriented strand board mill in Oakdale, La.; a plywood mill in Chopin, La.; a sawmill in LeMoyen, La.; a utility pole fabrication and treating mill in Pineville, La.; a timber mill in Mexia, Ala.; and a pole yard in Leola, Ark. Combined, these facilities contribute to the economic development of these communities by employing approximately 1,200 workers and generating millions of dollars in state and local taxes. The facilities are primarily supplied by the corporation’s nearly 600,000 acres of prime Louisiana hardwood and softwood timberland, making it one of the largest private landowners in the state.

Members of the Martin family hold more than 11 academic degrees from LSU. Jonathan Martin is a graduate of the College of Engineering and his wife, Maggie, has a master’s degree and a doctorate from LSU in English. Their daughter Natalie holds an MBA from LSU’s E. J. Ourso College and her husband, Darrell, has a bachelor’s degree in general business and an MBA from LSU. Another son-in-law, Robert Benn Vincent Jr., holds a juris doctorate from the LSU Paul M. Hebert Law Center.

Roy O. Martin is a graduate of the College of Engineering and also holds an MBA from the E. J. Ourso College. His wife, Kathy, holds a degree from the School of Music and also has an MBA from the E. J. Ourso College. Their son, Christopher, currently attends LSU. Roy O. Martin’s sister, Joyce Thibodeaux, has a degree in electrical engineering from the College of Engineering.

The goal for the Forever LSU campaign is to raise $750 million by 2010. For more information on the Forever LSU campaign, visit www.foreverlsu.org.

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Contact Kristine Calongne
LSU Media Relations
225-578-5985
kcalong@lsu.edu


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