Paying it forward: A $25,000 donation from BASF will fund a new multipurpose technology center at Southern University, the company announced today. The new facility will add advanced capabilities to the university’s Career Services Center—such as virtual interviewing and remote training opportunities—that the university says will benefit not only students and alumni, but also potential employers. “The new technology center also will strengthen recruiting efforts for BASF and other companies by increasing our access to graduates whose skills match job openings in our industries,” says Tom Yura, senior vice president and general manager of the BASF site in Geismar, in a prepared statement.
Tigers to the top: The undergraduate and graduate programs at the LSU Robert Reich School of Landscape Architecture have once again received top rankings from DesignIntelligence magazine. The November/December 2014 issue of “America’s Best Architecture & Design Schools” ranked the undergraduate program as No.1 in the nation and the graduate program as No. 5 in the nation. Both the undergraduate and graduate programs have been consistently ranked within the top five in the nation for more than a decade, and 2015 marks the fifth time the undergraduate program has held the No. 1 position since 2007, says LSU, which has more details on the announcement.
Plus one: Oilfield services company Baker Hughes Inc. says the number of rigs exploring for oil and natural gas in the U.S. rose by one this week to 1,929. The Houston firm says in its weekly report today that 1,574 rigs were exploring for oil and 355 for gas. A year ago there were 1,761 active rigs. Of the major oil- and gas-producing states, Oklahoma gained seven rigs, Texas increased by four, Pennsylvania was up three and Alaska and Louisiana increased one each. Colorado declined by five, North Dakota was down four, Kansas and Wyoming dropped two apiece, while New Mexico and Ohio each lost one. The U.S. rig count peaked at 4,530 in 1981 and bottomed at 488 in 1999.
