I am proud to represent LSU as the Dean of the Graduate School. I firmly believe in the importance of graduate education for intellectual development and career advancement. National studies confirm that with each passing year the value of a graduate degree increases: compared to BS/BA degree-holders, PhD and Professional degree-holders average salaries are 50% higher and unemployment rates 50% lower.
As Dean my principle duties are
- developing staff, policies, and procedures that allow LSU graduate students to focus on coursework and scholarship,
- maintaining high standards for our curricula, graduate students and faculty, and
- working with faculty to create graduate programs that are flexible and adaptable to rapid changes in the arts, engineering, humanities, sciences, engineering, and social sciences.
These duties still allow me to spend a time each summer in South Africa, where I do field studies related to Earth’s early geological evolution, and at Stanford University, where I use U-Pb isotope geochronology to determine the age of rocks sampled. Nearly 40 years after receiving my PhD from Michigan State University I still love the excitement of research, and the feeling of accomplishment each time a new paper is published.
Gary R. Byerly, PhD
Dean, Graduate School and
Richard and Betty Fenton Alumni Professor of Geology & Geophysics
Teaching geology, Big Bend National Park, Texas, April, 2009