Get up, stand up: Sudhir Trivedi, a computer science professor and faculty senate president at Southern University, is being honored by the American Association of University Professors with its J. Thomas Hamrick Award for “exemplary faculty efforts on behalf of academic freedom.” Trivedi will be presented with the award at AAUP’s Louisiana Conference in New Orleans on April 14. “This honor truly belongs to the faculty of SUBR and is a clear acknowledgment of its heroic fight against the injustice and inequity that this faculty is subjected to by the administration and the management board,” Trivedi says in a prepared statement.
Buenos días: Founded in 1984, the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana has primarily operated in New Orleans. But as the state’s demographics continue to change, the HCCL says it plans to evolve with the times and will become more active in areas of the state outside the Crescent City. The HCCL held its first major event in Baton Rouge on Friday and has planned an entire series of events to take place here during the rest of 2012. “Baton Rouge has seen an explosion of growth of Hispanics and Hispanic-owned businesses since (Hurricane) Katrina,” says HCCL Executive Director Darlene Kattan. Learn more about the HCCL and check out its full schedule of events in Baton Rouge and beyond here.
Back to the future: Lafayette-based IberiaBank marks 125 years in business today and is giving away an iPad at each of its branches to celebrate. “Consistent with our dedication to taking care of the community, we are excited about celebrating this important milestone by simply giving back,” says Ben Marmande, Baton Rouge president. “We have additional reasons to celebrate in the Baton Rouge area as we are opening our sixth branch location in April … at the corner of Acadian Thruway and Perkins (Road), with another location to open in late 2012 at Airline (Highway) and Pecue (Lane).” You can stop by any branch to learn more about the iPad giveaway. On Wednesday, the bank says it will give out $12,500 worth of gas at random service stations throughout south Louisiana. The bank has grown from humble beginnings to one with $11.8 billion in assets, more than 2,500 associates and 263 combined offices in 12 states. See a video timeline the bank has put together to mark the anniversary here.
