The Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ of Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ at Lafayette was changing in the 1960s. Specifically, the university’s name changed to The Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ of Southwestern Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ 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 Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ’s first female governor and the first to be a graduate of UL Lafayette.
She completed two terms as Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ’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 Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Serve Commission, directing 64 national service projects statewide, and the Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Retirement Development Commission, dedicated to promoting and marketing Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ as a premier retirement destination.
She has been serving Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ 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 Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Public Service Commission and in 1995 was elected Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ’s Lieutenant Governor. In 1999, she was re-elected to that position.
She is married to UL Lafayette’s Vice President for Ìð¹ÏÊÓƵ Affairs Raymond Blanco and the couple has six children and five grandchildren.