At the helm: The LSU College of Engineering has named Mary Julia “Judy” Wornat as dean. She has served as interim dean of the college since July, and was selected among four finalists to lead the college. Wornat has been at LSU since 2002, when she joined the Department of Chemical Engineering as a faculty member. She served as the chemical engineering department’s director of graduate studies from 2005 to 2011, and as the department chair from 2011 to 2015. LSU has more details.
Representing: Visit Baton Rouge President and CEO Paul Arrigo has been named the immediate past chair of the Louisiana Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau’s Board of Directors during the association’s January meeting in Thibodaux. LACVB is a private, nonprofit trade association that works to impact the local, state and national convention and visitor industry. In a statement, Arrigo says the organization plays a vital role in connecting travel industry organizations throughout Louisiana and helping them attract business. “I am honored to be serving LACVB as well as the statewide convention and visitor industry,” Arrigo says.
Help wanted: Louisiana’s unemployment rate dipped to 6.1% in December as people kept leaving the labor force. The Associated Press reports the jobless rate fell from 6.2% in November, but remained above December 2015’s 5.8% level. Fewer people reported having jobs and fewer were looking. The number of unemployed Louisianans was 129,000 in December, down slightly from November, but 5,000 above December 2015 levels. Louisiana had the fourth-highest jobless rate among states, with Alaska worst at 6.7%. The nationwide jobless rate rose to 4.7% from November’s 4.6%. A separate survey shows Louisiana employer payrolls rose by 2,000 to 1.98 million.
