LSU Professor, Former New Orleans PR professional named 2018 Scripps Howard Foundation’s Teacher of the Year
Jinx Broussard LSU Manship School of Mass Communication’s Jinx Coleman Broussard, Ph.D. was named the 2018 Scripps Howard Foundation’s Teacher of the Year. The national competition recognizes excellence in teaching in several areas, including innovative teaching practices, influence on curriculum, mentoring of students and faculty scholarship as it relates to teaching, leadership in educational activities and on-going industry engagement inside and outside the classroom.
Broussard is the Manship School’s Bart R. Swanson Endowed Memorial Professor and has been teaching public relations, strategic communications, media history and mass media theory at the Manship School since she joined the School full time in 2006.
Dubbed a pioneer in the classroom by her peers, Broussard is a strong supporter of community organizations through her service-learning curriculum. Her public relations campaigns students have successfully navigated regular course work while forming companies and selecting appropriate agency names and logos before conceiving of and implementing campaigns for dozens of local nonprofit organizations. For the past seven years, Broussard has partnered with Donate Life Louisiana to provide experiential learning opportunities to her students. Each year Broussard’s students develop strategic communication and public relations campaigns aimed at promoting organ, tissue and eye donation. Her work alongside students has led to increased donation awareness nationally for the Louisiana donor registry. Additionally, public relations campaigns produced by Broussard’s students for Donate Life Louisiana have won three national awards since 2014 – two first place awards and a second place award.
As a public relations professional, Broussard was the director of university relations at Dillard University before becoming director of public information for the city of New Orleans and press secretary to Mayor Sidney J. Barthelemy in New Orleans for almost eight years. She also served as a professor in mass communication department at Dillard University.
When notified of her selection, Broussard said her teaching involves drawing out of students the talents they do not know they possess, while guiding them to reach deep inside themselves to accomplish goals they thought were too advanced at the beginning of the semester but mastering them by the end of the semester.
Broussard’s Teacher of the Year award will be presented at the beginning of the keynote session during the 2019 AEJMC Toronto Conference. The Scripps Howard School of Journalism will also hold a ceremony in Cincinnati, Ohio on April 18.
Byron R. LeCounte named OPSO Chief of Corrections
Byron R. LeCounte was recently named Chief of Corrections at the Orleans Parish Sheriff’s Office.
Chief LeCounte, who previously served as a major at the Atlanta city jail, is responsible for managing day-to-day operations of the Orleans Justice Center. He reports to Independent Compliance Director Darnley Hodge.
Director Hodge said, “We welcome someone of Byron’s caliber for his ability to not only thoroughly research and analyze situations, but to propose creative solutions.”
Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin N. Gusman said, “Byron’s demonstrated leadership and people skills will go a long way to helping us to inspire our staff, attract new staffers and safely manage the Orleans Justice Center. I look forward to working with him.”
Chief LeCounte has nearly 25 years of corrections experience, having started his law enforcement career as a corrections officer at the Atlanta city jail in 1995. He steadily rose through the ranks serving as sergeant, lieutenant, captain, chief of staff and major, his final post when he retired from the Atlanta jail.
Chief LeCounte earned a bachelor of science degree from Columbus College and a master of public administration degree from Columbus State University. Under the Georgia Peace Officers Standards and Training (P.O.S.T.) Council, Chief LeCounte completed certifications in both supervision (2005) and management (2008). In 2018, he served as President-Elect of the Georgia Jail Association.
