The University of Louisiana at Lafayette was changing in the 1960s. Specifically, the university’s name changed to The University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1960 and in 1964, it offered one of the first graduate programs in computer science in the United States.
Also in 1964, the university graduated a future governor - Kathleen Babineaux Blanco. She took her place today as Louisiana’s first female governor and the first to be a graduate of UL Lafayette.
She completed two terms as Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor in 2003 and during that time chaired the State Interim Emergency Board and served on the State Board of Commerce and Industry and State Bond Commission.
In addition, she lead the Louisiana Serve Commission, directing 64 national service projects statewide, and the Louisiana Retirement Development Commission, dedicated to promoting and marketing Louisiana as a premier retirement destination.
She has been serving Louisiana since 1984 when she was first elected to the State Legislature. She was the first woman to represent Lafayette and served in that position for five years. She was also the first woman elected to the Louisiana Public Service Commission and in 1995 was elected Louisiana’s Lieutenant Governor. In 1999, she was re-elected to that position.
She is married to UL Lafayette’s Vice President for Student Affairs Raymond Blanco and the couple has six children and five grandchildren.