Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (SLII)

UL Lafayette was originally named the Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute (SLII), according to the 1898 legislative act that created the school. State Senator Robert Martin, for whom UL Lafayette's administrative building is named, authored this legislation.

UL Lafayette organized a College of Nursing and a College of Business Administration in 1951 and 1952, respectively. Then, in 1954, SLI became the first college in Louisiana to integrate its student body. The first African American students were admitted without incident, and today UL Lafayette has honored its first African American graduate, Christiana Smith, by naming an alumni chapter after her. Another important social milestone accomplished in 1954 was the acquisition of La Maison Acadienne Francaise. It is a stately structure at the corner of Johnston and St. Mary streets, and it is a center devoted to south Louisiana's French culture.

University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL)

In 1960, the state legislature approved renaming Southwest Louisiana Institute to the University of Southwestern Louisiana. At this time UL Lafayette was composed of a graduate school and six colleges: agriculture, business administration, education, engineering, liberal arts, and nursing. Enrollment was approaching 5,000.

UL Lafayette dramatically expanded its research capabilities. It formed the Center for Advanced Computer Studies in 1984, as an umbrella organization for graduate studies in computer science and computer engineering. UL Lafayette acquired the New Iberia Research Center, one of the nation's largest primate centers, in 1984. When a slump in the oil business created an economic depression in the 1980s, UL Lafayette formed the Louisiana Productivity Center to bring advanced manufacturing technology to the area. UL Lafayette has also launched an Apparel Computer-lntegrated Manufacturing Center, a research facility for integrating computer technology in the nation's clothing manufacturing industry.

University of Louisiana at Lafayette (UL Lafayette)

For a while in the 1980s, UL Lafayette literally made a name for itself, The University of Louisiana. A subsequent act of the Louisiana Legislature nullified that name change, but Authment persisted. On September 10, 1999, his perseverance was rewarded when he walked onto a stage before an audience of alumni, visiting dignitaries, administrators, faculty, and students in the Cajundome. There, before several thousand people, with the blessing of the State of Louisiana, he signed an order that changed the university's name to the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. This monumental achievement occurs as part of UL Lafayette's Centennial Celebration.

UL Lafayette has exceeded 17,000 in enrollment with students from 75 countries. It offers 115 undergraduate degree and 28 masters degree programs. Its alumni number more than 79,000.