Office of
Academic Affairs
Interim Executive Vice President & Provost Troy Blanchard
Troy Blanchard currently serves as the Interim Executive Vice President & Provost of Louisiana State University. Blanchard, the Chief Operating and Chief Academic Officer of LSU’s flagship campus in Baton Rouge, maintains executive oversight over instruction, student support, and research while simultaneously serving as the chief academic officer for all LSU campuses across the state and chief academic advisor to the President.
Blanchard joined the faculty of the LSU Department of Sociology in 2007 and has since held multiple leadership positions, most notably serving as dean of the LSU College of Humanities & Social Sciences (HSS)—one of LSU’s largest colleges— from 2019 through 2025.
Academic Enterprise
The Office of Academic Affairs supports the Executive Vice President & Provost in ensuring university excellence in learning, discovery, and engagement. The office works closely with the faculty senate and the president to advance LSU using a shared governance model. We also make communication and transparency a hallmark of the office. Lastly, the essence of our academic core--our faculty and staff--are preeminent in everything we do.
LSU ELEMENTS & DISCOVERY
LSU's new faculty information system, Elements, allows for robust faculty activity data collection, maintenance and reporting on the teaching, research and service activities while the Discovery Module provides an interface for faculty collaboration and integration which allows collaborators to connect with faculty.
PROVOST'S FUND IN ACTION
LSU’s Mystery Project Collaborative, funded by $10,000 from the LSU Provost Fund for Innovation in Research, asks, “What’s the most mysterious thing in your life?” The answer serves as a launching point and tipping point between the known and unknown.
LSU Scientist Supratik Mukhopadhyay is trying to create an artificial intelligence tool to better understand the degradation of permafrost in Alaska. His research has implications for the Louisiana coast as well.
Breakthroughs in the preservation techniques of aquatic species genomes could aid conservation efforts and are needed to safeguard billions of dollars of investments in biomedical research, industrial production and fisheries.
LSU researchers are conducting a first-of-its-kind study exploring carbon transport in the Mississippi River that may lead to global applications.
Researcher Sibei Xia of the LSU Department of Textiles, Apparel Design, and Merchandising is exploring ways to use “smart clothing” to track newborns’ temperatures through thermochromic yarn that changes color based on body temperature.
The LSU Provost’s Fund for Innovation in Research has announced $1.1 million in faculty research grants to 33 projects, including several focusing in the area of energy research.