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Background

The Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine (LSU SVM), is located in the vibrant city of Baton Rouge. In addition to their dedication to excellence in training practice-ready veterinarians, LSU SVM emphasizes basic, clinical, and translational research and provides world-class clinical services to their patients.

A Veterinary Professional degree prepares their students for various exciting careers that focus on animal health and welfare. Since accepting their first class of students in 1973, they have trained more than 2,700 veterinarians who have gone on to excellence in private primary and specialty veterinary practices, biotechnology and pharmacology industries, public health, and academic research and training.

They also have a rigorous and active graduate program that trains towards a Ph.D. degree. Ph.D. training is open to both DVMs and those with undergraduate degrees interested in biomedical research. Although there are excellent opportunities in many research areas within the school, their graduate programs excel in research on equine health, vector-borne infectious diseases, respiratory diseases, and molecular medicine and imaging. As evidence of this excellence, they rank in the top third of veterinary schools in the United States in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Their faculty also obtain multiple grants from foundations, including the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) which funds research on mechanisms underlying lower respiratory diseases, the Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) which funds projects concerning companion animal health and welfare, and industrial partnerships in which they help evaluate new treatments. 

LSU SVM extensively collaborates in their research, education, and service missions with other institutes in Louisiana, including the Tulane National Primate Center, Pennington Biomedical Research Center, the National Hansen’s Disease Center, and the LSU Health Services Centers. They work with these institutes to relentlessly pursue new understanding to foster discoveries leading to the treatment and prevention of animal and human diseases.

LSU SVM also trains veterinarians working towards board certification in Veterinary Specialties, with interns and residents pursuing advanced training in various specialties. Many of their trainees become leaders in academic veterinary medicine at institutions around the world. 

It is an exciting time for new veterinarians, as they are universally recognized for their deep and broad understanding of health and disease in diverse animal species. This makes the veterinarian uniquely qualified to contribute in ever-expanding ways to foster both human and animal health, and to contribute to discovery as part of the biomedical workforce. Whether it is work in private practice healing one animal or one herd at a time, work at the Centers for Disease Control to manage emerging threats from infectious agents, produce a vaccine that can protect millions of animals worldwide, assess environmental pollutants and their effects on animals and ecosystems, work internationally to sustain local agriculture, or ensuring food safety here at home. All these and many more opportunities are available to the recent graduate.

History

The school admitted its first students to the professional curriculum during the 1973-1974 academic year. The original entering class consisted of 36 students, all residents of Louisiana, receiving their DVM degrees in 1977. The school has granted more than 3,200 DVM degrees since 1977, as well as 450 MS and PhD degrees. 

Class size increased significantly in subsequent years. The school participates in the Southern Regional Education Board’s program for education in veterinary medicine. Training contracts provide a limited number of entering spaces for qualified candidates from Arkansas. In addition, a limited number of highly qualified, nonresident applicants are admitted under the school’s special admission policy. 

Facts

• The Veterinary Medicine Building, located on the west side of the campus near the Mississippi, was dedicated in October 1978.
• It houses three academic departments plus the Veterinary Medicine Library, the Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Clinics, and the Louisiana Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory.
• The facilities at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital & Clinics are used as laboratories where students are introduced to clinical cases and animal disease problems, as well as to methods and techniques used in their solution.
• The clinical case load at the hospital in-field services, and herd health programs offer ample opportunities for the complete veterinarian’s education.

Research

Total extramural funding for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine’s research programs tops $40 million each year. The majority of these dollars come from the federal government followed by state, foundation, and industry funds. 

Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the School of Veterinary Medicine is currently ranked #1 in research productivity at LSU. The research emphasis is on infectious diseases, with strong programs in viral and bacterial pathogenesis, immunity and resistance to infectious agents, vector-borne diseases and use of Geographic Information Systems to study disease distribution and risk factors. 

Outreach

• The Veterinary Teaching Hospital sees more than 28,000 cases each year.
• The Wildlife Hospital treats approximately 1,000 wildlife cases each year. The goal is to treat and release these animals back into the wild.
• The Annual Open House, which takes place in January/February of each year, sees more than 5,000 visitors.

Public Art Location & Goals

The School of Veterinary Medicine is a major contributor to the impact LSU has on Baton Rouge, the state, and the country.  It is on the edge of campus near the Mississippi River Levee, and the current construction of the new Stephenson Pet Clinic will welcome the community as the primary public entrance to the facility.  Many four-legged friends in Baton Rouge are cared for by the amazing team of faculty, staff and students.  The Vet School’s primary objective is to train the next generation of doctors in the health of animals – from pets to horses, exotics to food animals. Research on disease is also a prominent part of the curriculum. 

The goal of this public art project is to welcome “clients” (their owners) to the new “front door”.  The piece should speak to the healing work done within the facility.  The sculpture will sit on the front lawn with 360 degree viewing.  The University is interested in physically engaging people with the sculpture. 

A durable, long-lasting, extremely low maintenance sculpture is required. The piece should be seen and recognized from the road, interacted with close up, and stand out against the backdrop of the building.  The university would be interested in the use of color in the piece.  It should be lighted at night, however the piece should not depend on light as the primary design idea.

The cost of foundation design and installation will be included in the design.  The landscape and hardscape providing access to and around the piece will be required to be included in the design and construction cost.  Lighting will be required as part of design and construction cost.  LSU will provide conduit and wiring for one dedicated circuit from the building to the site. 

Budget

The proposal selected by the committee will include an all-inclusive budget of $90,000 to cover all costs associated with the project, and commensurate with the intended scale, including but not limited to: research, professional consultations, formal reports from licensed structural and electrical engineers where appropriate, a long-term care and maintenance report from a licensed professional conservator, materials, fabrication, transportation, travel, insurance, installation, and photography and documentation of the artwork.

Scope of Work

The development and design for the artwork should:

• Consider the elements of the site as a source of design ideas.
• Consider the facility and the area(s) surrounding the artwork and their intended uses as described in this call.
• Reflect LSU SVM’s history, diversity and cultural profile
• Be durable, sturdy, stable, suitable for the climate conditions, resistant to UV damage, and safe for public interaction.

Selection Process & Evaluation Criteria

An Art Selection Committee (the Committee) may include (but is not limited to) representatives from the Louisiana Office of Facility Planning & Control, the architectural firm that designed the facility, representatives from LSU, professional artist(s), and the State Arts Council will review all eligible artist submissions.

Submissions are evaluated by the following criteria:

• Artistic excellence and originality as evidenced by the representations of past work images and other supporting materials
• Appropriateness of artist’s medium, style, and previous experience as they relate to the project goals and setting
• Experience with projects of a similar scale and scope
• Ability to create site-specific or site-reactive works
• Availability to participate in the design and implementation of the project as required
• Special consideration will be given to Louisiana artists as defined by La. R.S.25:9000.1(E)
• The committee may also take into consideration when selecting artists whether or not an artist is already represented in the state’s collection

Notifications and Proposals

Notifications will be issued by the end of December 2021. A full timeline will be provided to those finalists who have been shortlisted.

This is a call for the submission of proposals. If your proposal is selected, you will be contacted by the Percent for Art program staff. A selection will be made within two weeks of the proposal meeting.

Finalists will be required to attend two (2) meetings: A site visit to meet with the Committee and to view the space, and the presentation of the artist’s proposal before the Committee.

The proposal must include the concept, materials, size, weight, installation requirements, details of maintenance, and budget. The proposal must also include a maquette (if applicable) or digital renderings, which displays the physical volume of the space and allows for multiple perspectives of the artwork within the space.

All proposal documents, including the maquette and renderings, will become property of the State of Louisiana and will be used for educational and/or promotional purposes of the program. Each finalist’s proposal and/or maquette may be exhibited for Committee and community consideration.

An honorarium/proposal fee of $1,500 will be paid to artists to offset expenses associated with the development of proposals and travel (if applicable).

NOTE: "The Percent for Art Program and the Artist Selection Committee reserves the right to change, modify, or revise the Call to Artists, in part or whole, at any time before the submittal deadline without prior notice. Any change, modification or revision can be found here. The Percent for Art Program and the Artist Selection Committee also reserves the right to reject any or all applications or proposals, to reject any finalist, or to terminate the selection process for any project without prior notice."

The Louisiana Percent for Art Program was established by law in the 1999 legislative session. The law specifies that on projects using more than $2,000,000.00 in state funds, one percent (1%) of the expenditure for construction or renovation of a state building shall be for works of art by artists and craftsmen for the building or its grounds.

Application Requirements

Submission Requirements

A complete application must include:

• Artist résumé demonstrating a minimum of five (5) years of professional visual art experience (NOT STUDENT WORK). If submitting as a team, a current résumé should be submitted for each team member (Compiled into one document). A biography will not be accepted in place of a résumé.
• Statement of interest describing:
  1. Why you are interested in this project
  2. Previous experience with public art
  3. Your connection (if any) or interest in Grambling State University
  4. How you believe the art will enhance the chosen space
• References that include the names and current contact information for three (3) individuals with whom you have worked, collaborated, or who have commissioned your work in the past. 
  References will be contacted for artists invited to develop a proposal for the commission.
• Images (6) of your original completed commissions, not proposals, which demonstrate your qualifications for the project. 3-D models, sketches, or drawings will not be accepted. You must include the title, medium, dimensions, project budget (price), year completed, location, and a description. The value must be indicated in US dollars. Each image must contain only one view of the work. 
  Multiple views per image or unexecuted conceptual projects will not be considered, and may disqualify your submission.
• Up to 3 videos (optional) of work examples

Eligibility Criteria

This call for artists is open to professional artists 18 and over, regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, gender identification, military status, sexual orientation, marital status, or physical ability.

Artist teams may apply and must designate one artist as the lead contact. Examples of work submitted must be original, recently completed artwork (within the last 10 years).