Education
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Following the University's establishment in 1898, Dr. Edwin Lewis Stephens became its first president in 1900 at age 27 and transformed an empty sugar cane field into a respected institution of higher learning. On January 1, 1901, he planted live oak trees on the new campus near this location, and over the years acorns from these oaks were gathered and their seedlings planted across the expanding campus. He served as president for 38 years, and the oaks became a symbol of the University's strength and confidence in the future.
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Lafayette, Louisiana · United States
