Daniel Dugan Reneau Jr. (born June 11, 1940) is the former president of

Louisiana Tech University Louisiana Tech University (Louisiana Tech, La. Tech, or simply Tech) is a public university, public research university in Ruston, Louisiana, United States. It is part of the University of Louisiana System and Carnegie Classification of Institu ...

in Ruston,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, a position which he filled from July 1, 1987, until his retirement effective June 30, 2013. He was succeeded by Dr. Les Guice.

Early life

Renue was born on June 11, 1940, in

Woodville, Mississippi Woodville is one of the oldest towns in Mississippi and is the county seat of Wilkinson County, Mississippi, United States. Its population as of 2020 was 928. Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of ...

. He grew up on a farm and worked in a cannery after high school. He graduated from

in 1963 with a bachelor's degree in

chemical engineering Chemical engineering is an engineering field which deals with the study of the operation and design of chemical plants as well as methods of improving production. Chemical engineers develop economical commercial processes to convert raw materials ...

, followed by a master's degree in chemical engineering in 1964. While at Louisiana Tech, he joined Tau Beta Pi in 1963. He received his Ph.D. in 1966 from

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

Career

Reneau returned to Louisiana Tech in 1967 to serve as an assistant professor of chemical engineering. He became an associate professor in 1969. In 1972, Reneau established and became the head of the Louisiana Tech

biomedical engineering Biomedical engineering (BME) or medical engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology for healthcare applications (e.g., diagnostic or therapeutic purposes). BME also integrates the logica ...

department, only the fifth undergraduate program of its kind. He was promoted to full professor in 1973. Reneau's research interests focused on the application of engineering principles to living systems, the understanding of

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

, and the use of technology to help people with disabilities. He has published more than seventy technical papers in books and journals and edited five books. He founded the national biomedical engineering honor society Alpha Eta Mu Beta in 1979. In 1980, Reneau was promoted to vice president of academic affairs at Louisiana Tech. On February 20, 1987, Reneau was selected to succeed the retiring Taylor as the 13th president of the institution and assumed the office on July 1 of that year. He oversaw at $50 million fundraising campaign. Reneau navigated the university through state-mandated cutbacks.Charles Tannehill, "Reneau ushers La Tech to national recognition", ''The Piney Woods Journal'', June 2012, p. 10 In 2012 Reneau noted, "Louisiana Tech is now a state-assisted university rather than a state-supported university, and that is sad. Not only have we had to do away with programs like the school's dairy and beef herds, but we've had to shift the load to the students in the form of higher fees and tuition". In 1995, he was awarded the Distinguished Arthur T. Prescott Professorship in Engineering. Reneau retired on June 30, 2013, after working at Louisiana Tech for 46 years. He is the longest-tenured president in Louisiana Tech's history. In December 2015, Reneau was appointed interim president of the

University of Louisiana System The University of Louisiana System (UL System) is a public university system in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It enrolls more students than the other three public university systems in the state; as of October 2023, it claims more than 91,500 st ...

, succeeding Sandra Woodley.

Honors

*Fellow of the Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America (1989) *Alumni Fellow at Clemson University (1999) *Fellow of the

American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) is a non-profit organization founded in 1991, and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It represents 50,000 medical and Biomedical engineering, biomedical engineers, and academic i ...

(2001) *Newel Perry Award from the

National Federation of the Blind The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is an organization of blind people in the United States. It is the oldest and largest organization led by blind people in that country. Its national headquarters are in Baltimore, Maryland. Overview An ...

(2002) *

Tau Beta Pi The Tau Beta Pi Association (commonly Tau Beta Pi, , or TBP) is the oldest engineering honor society and the second oldest collegiate honor society in the United States. It honors engineering students in American universities who have shown a ...

Distinguished Alumnus (2003) * Louisiana Tech University Athletics Hall of Fame (2015) *Louisiana Tech named the Daniel D. Reneau Biomedical Engineering Building in his honor (2022)

Personal life

Reneau married Linda Digby, a native of Bernice in

Union Parish Union Parish ( French: ''Paroisse de l'Union'') is a parish located in the north central section of the U.S. state of Louisiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,107. The parish seat is Farmerville. The parish was created on M ...

on June 3, 1963. The couple has a weekend retreat there with a main house and two cabins. They have two children, Dana Reneau Bernhard and John Reneau.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Reneau, Dan 1940 births Living people Louisiana Tech University alumni Louisiana Tech University faculty Clemson University alumni Presidents of Louisiana Tech University American chemical engineers Louisiana Democrats Fellows of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering College honor society founders