Campus visitors who spent the night in the LSU Alumni Association’s on-campus hotel may not know that their stay helped bring $250,000 to the University.
Charlie Roberts, Alumni Association president and CEO, said the Alumni Association has donated $250,000 to the University for academics. Roberts said the money for the donation is a result of the successful operation of the Lod Cook Conference Center and Hotel in its second year.
The Alumni Association built the hotel, which sits behind the Lod Cook Alumni Center on West Lakeshore Drive, to generate surplus revenue to offer support to the University, Roberts said.
While the Alumni Association broadly designated the donation for academics, Roberts said he left the specific direction of the funds up to Chancellor Mark Emmert. He said this would allow the University to use the money where it is most needed.
Emmert said he has not yet identified exactly how the funds will be used, but the money likely will go toward student scholarship and faculty support.
Emmert said the Alumni Association’s large donation was extremely generous.
“It’s another demonstration of the good work the Alumni Association does,” Emmert said.
He said the donation also reflects the enormous success the association has had with the hotel.
Although Roberts said this is technically a one-time gift, he said the Alumni Association hopes to continue giving to the University in the future.
Roberts said the hotel offers its patrons a unique way to contribute to the University.
“By supporting us, in turn, it supports the University,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the Alumni Association broke even in the hotel’s first year of operation, but brought in a little more than $2 million in the first 10 months of this year.
Although about $1.7 million of this year’s revenue will go toward the hotel’s expenses, Roberts said, almost all of the remaining money is going to the University.
Roberts also said the Alumni Association contributes indirectly to University annually by funding professorships and scholarships.
Roberts said the hotel is open to the general public and provides people visiting the campus area with a convenient place to stay.
The University and several state agencies also use the hotel for conferences and meetings. Roberts said the Tiger football team spends the nights before home games in its rooms.
The conference center and hotel, which is open to the general public, is outfitted with all of the luxuries of a normal hotel.
A complete exercise room, conference room, swimming pool, sauna and ATM are some of the hotel’s features.
Because it is connected with the Alumni Association, Roberts said one of the hotel’s most popular features is its LSU gift shop. He said many of the visitors buy their athletic apparel and gameday accessories at the fully-functional shop in the hotel’s lobby.