• Have you ever wondered what it was like to be the governor of Louisiana? or how the press influences our government?

The annual McLeod Lecture Series honors the late Bill McLeod, who served with distinction as a district judge as well as a legislator. McLeod, who died in 2003, was an honors graduate of Lake Charles High School and attended McNeese. He graduated from Princeton University and earned his Juris Doctorate from the LSU Law School. McLeod practiced law in Lake Charles for 33 years until he was elected to a six-year term as district judge in 1990. He re-entered the private practice of law upon his retirement from the bench in 1997.

McLeod was a distinguished public servant who served 23 years in the Louisiana State Legislature. He was elected to the House of Representatives representing Calcasieu and Cameron parishes in 1968 and served until 1976. He then served for 15 years in the State Senate representing Calcasieu and Jefferson Davis parishes. He rose to the chairmanship of the Senate Retirement Committee and served as dean of the Southwest Louisiana delegation.

A steering committee of local public officials and community leaders is coordinating the annual lecture series, the McLeod Endowment, and the related Southwest Louisiana Legislative Archives Project. Sara McLeod Judson and Ann Knapp co-chair the steering committee.

Each year the series will focus on timely, as well as the historical, aspects of Louisiana politics and efforts to promote a climate of good government. All research materials, records, and artifacts pertaining to the annual lecture will become a part of the McNeese Library Archives.

McLeod Lecture Series

• Lecture 10: Overcoming Gridlock In A Partisan Environment (2013)


• Lecture 9: The Speaker of the House Yields a Heavy Gavel (2012)


• Lecture 8: The Role of Louisiana’s Lt. Governor – Past, Present & Future (2011)
• Lecture 7: Right to Work: Changes in Louisiana’s Political Landscape (2010)
• Lecture 6: In the Halls of Power … The Legacy of Louisiana's Elected Women (2009)
• Lecture 5: The Congressional Record: Four Louisianaians Share Their Perspectives (2008)


• Lecture 4: Louisiana’s Influence in Washington: Senators John Breaux & J. Bennett Johnston Share Their Perspectives (2007)


• Lecture 3: Louisiana Politics and the Fourth Estate...A Behind the Scenes Look with Press Secretaries and Reporters on the Capitol Beat (2006)


• Lecture 2: The Power of Politics: A Forum of Governors (2005)


• Lecture 1: The Young Turks (2004)

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