PRESS RELEASE

FROM THE LOUISIANA OFFICE OF STUDENT FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

DATE: July 8, 2004

CONTACT: Gus Wales

PHONE: (225) 922-2029

FAX: (225) 922-0790

LOSFA NAMES BOUTTE AS CHIEF RESEARCH AND PLANNING OFFICER

The Louisiana Office of Student Financial Assistance (LOSFA) recently named Dr. Sujuan Boutte as Chief Research and Planning Officer, an executive staff position.

Boutte, the former Assistant Secretary of Workforce Development at the Department of Labor, brings to LOSFA the vision and history of forging private industry and the public sector into networking partnerships.

A self-described “global person by nature,” Boutte said, “integration is a deep part of my philosophy. No single agency has enough resources in financial or human capital to accomplish its mission independently. Combined resources help students meet their goals through a coordinated approach.”

Dr. Sujuan Boutte LOSFA Chief Research and Planning Officer Sujuan Boutte

As Chief Research and Planning Officer, Boutte will provide research data to LOSFA executive and management staff, to aid in their decision-making process.

To that end, she will investigate past, present and future goals of the agency and compare program effectiveness and efficiency with other states and organizations, by compiling and evaluating national data, trendline data and LOSFA trendline data.

“This is an evolving position,” Boutte said. “My work will be to compass an area of expertise beyond the day-to-day functioning of the agency, and project trends over time to determine whether we want to stay the course or change direction.”

LOSFA Executive Director Jack Guinn said, “Dr. Boutte brings to the agency a strong background in education and government. Her energy and experience will well serve the interests of Louisiana’s students and we are pleased to welcome her as a key member of our team.”

Boutte is a former educator with a bachelor’s, master’s, specialist’s and doctorate degree in education from Northwestern State University (NSU).

She served with the Louisiana Department of Labor (LDOL) for more than seven years, where she provided oversight of the federal job-training program (The Workforce Investment Act), in addition to managing the Employment Services Program (Job Service Offices), the Community Service Block Grant Program (Community Action Agency Offices) and the Incumbent Worker Training Program.

Prior to her stint at LDOL, Boutte served for more than two years as Director of Public Service for NSU, and for one year as coordinator of IBM’s Teacher Training In Technology Program – where she forged partnerships with cable, phone and emerging technology companies to aid in teacher training.

Boutte started her career as a teacher at NSU’s Lab school, where she served for 13 years, forming partnerships with BellSouth, McDonalds, Winn Dixie and other private industries to provide hands-on learning materials for her students in the classroom.

LOSFA is the state guarantee agency for federal student loans and administers the state’s premier scholarship program for higher education, the Tuition Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS).

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