The Origin Bank Academic Center for Student Athlete Success at Louisiana Tech, which along with the Forest Products Innovation Center will open in the Fall of 2026. Credit: Louisiana Tech University Communications
Louisiana Tech’s campus will soon be transformed with two new buildings aimed at strengthening academic success and research.
One of them is the new Origin Bank Academic Center for Student Athlete Success.
“It is a building devoted to giving academic support to our scholar athletes. They are students first, and we want to ensure that as they go through the rigorous curriculum that (their needs) are fully supported,” says University President Jim Henderson. “Most of them are going to succeed in engineering or business or education, kinesiology or ag and forestry.”
“Our student-athletes tirelessly train to advance their skills for competition,” said Athletic Director Ryan Ivey. “The Origin Bank Center for Student-Athlete Success will provide a vital space for them to train and advance their knowledge for the classroom.”
The other new building is the Forest Products Innovation Center on the south campus that will house ag and forestry.
“That will be the most advanced research center for timber research cultivation use in the southeast. It would be built with heavy timber using yellow pine,” says Henderson. “The building itself will be a learning tool for students, but it will house some of the most advanced research and testing equipment and facilities in the country.”
“The Forest Products Innovation Center will serve as a resource for forestry education, research, and discovery in support of a multibillion-dollar Louisiana industry,” said Gary Kennedy, dean of the College of Applied and Natural Sciences. “The center will include chemistry and analytical labs, an engineered wood products lab, and a wood products testing lab, all aimed at advancing the innovative application of wood-related products and enhancing the educational experience of students within our forestry program.”
“The recent closure of the Campti IP papermill heightens the urgency of this project as the demand for kraft paper continues to decline,” says Roy Martin III, chairman and CEO of RoyOMartin. “To support the forest products industry’s current levels of employment, we must find viable new products to make with our vast timber resource, Louisiana’s number one crop.”
Both buildings are expected to open in the fall of 2026.
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