Former Football: The Vermilion posts two stories on the retirement of Ed Pratt,VP of Student Affairs

Former Football: The Vermilion posts two stories on the retirement of Ed Pratt,VP of Student Affairs

The Athletic Network is pleased to post two stories on the retirement of Ed Pratt, vice president of student affairs.
Both are reprinted with permission of Nick Fontenot, Vermilion Editor.

The Vermilion    Nov. 23, 2011 by Zane Hill

Dean Pratt to retire after 42 ‘unbelievable’ years

After 42 years of working for UL Lafayette, Vice President of Student Affairs Edward Pratt said he still considers it a privilege to have had his experience here before announcing his retirement last week.   

"My experience here has been fantastic," said Pratt, 67. "It has been an unbelievable experience. I would hope that other people can go through life and have a job like I’ve had, with so many great people over the years."

Pratt began his tenure at then-University of Southwestern Louisiana in 1969 when Ray Authement, Ph.D., who was vice president at the time, offered Pratt a job. Pratt had worked as the Northside High School head basketball coach and assistant football coach for a year when he got the call. His basketball team pulled a 17-6 season and Pratt won Outstanding Coach of the Parish.

"I can remember hesitating on the phone with Dr. Authement because I didn’t want to leave Northside. I was only there a year, but I was so attached to the kids, the program," he explained, saying he entered college with the dream of being a coach. "I ended up making the wise decision to come here, and I found myself being just as attached to students here and wanting to make a difference in their lives."

His first position at the university was assistant dean of men, which functioned akin to today’s Student Life and Conduct Department but was separated by gender (it became the co-ed Student Personnel Department in 1972 and then Student Life and Conduct in 2009). Pratt then became the director of Financial Aid in 1975 and the dean of Student Services in 1980.

UL President Joseph Savoie, Ed.D., appointed Pratt to his current position after assuming presidency in 2008.

"Dean Pratt’s devoted just about his entire adult life to the university," Savoie said. "He came to work early on in his career, and he’s given over 40 years of service. When he talked to me about retirement, I thought it was very well deserved. I’m happy for him."

Pratt earned his bachelor’s degree in education from then-USL in 1968, after which he began his master’s degree as he started at Northside; he finished in 1970. During his undergrad years, Pratt was a defensive safety for the football team, which won the conference championship in 1965.

Pratt reminisced on his football years, which saw McNaspy Stadium on campus filled to capacity and required bleachers to be added to the field. Even then, some fans were forced to stand.

"When we started playing and McNaspy Stadium started filling up, you know what they said? ‘We gotta build a new stadium,’" Pratt said. "And guess what? We built Cajun Field."

Once he retires at the end of the semester, Pratt said he’ll be "hunting and fishing full-time."

"I have 10 grandchildren. I’m going try to be a much better grandfather, be more available," said Pratt. "I’ve missed an awful lot of grandparents’ days at their schools; I’m going to try to make those."

Pratt was initially humble when asked about his legacy to the university.

"I never thought about it!" he admitted. "I would like it to be that I tried to help students.

"I know it may seem like an oversimplification," he continued, "but that’s what I try to do every day. If we can help a student, that student has a better chance of being successful."

Savoie reinforced that sentiment.

"Certainly he’s always been student-focused and always trying to make sure the students’ interests were promoted and protected," he said, "and he’s done a good job of that."

Pratt said once he decided this past summer that he was going to retire, he never second guessed it. He suspected that he’d "used all of (his) hesitation" waiting this long.

"When I came on a few years ago," Savoie said, "we were going through a lot of changes. And I asked him to stay with us for a couple years and to help get some things started. He stayed longer than I asked him to, so I appreciate that."

"Needless to say, the students have just made this job a great experience. It stimulates me, motivates me just to work with students," Pratt said. "I guess I was meant to be in this profession. I finished here in education. And sure enough, that was where I was meant to be, because I truly enjoy working with students."

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Nick Fontenot, Editor, The Vermilion, Nov. 30, 2011 

Dean Pratt’s retirement: 50 year legacy at UL

Before this semester, my first as editor of The Vermilion, I had never met Dean Edward Pratt, vice president of student affairs.

My predecessor, Alison Moon, told me about Dean Pratt, and she told me about the meetings she had with him during her tenure as editor. She always spoke highly of him so I looked forward to meeting him.

The first time I had the privilege of meeting Dean Pratt was literally an "under-the-staircase meeting" under the stairs in the Student Union. Former SGA President Chris Groh introduced me to him about a month after I was named editor.

That meeting with Dean Pratt would be the first of many I would have over the course of this semester, many of which were far more formal than that first one. One of the things I will regret most about my time at UL Lafayette is not forming a relationship with Dean Pratt sooner in my collegiate career.

And that’s my own fault. Dean Pratt’s door was always open. Every time I ever needed to talk to him, he was there and willing. At first, when I would call Shelly, his secretary, to set up an appointment and she would squeeze me in that same day, I would always just think, "Well, that’s his job."

I soon learned that, yes, that was his job, but the man truly enjoyed every second he spent with students. Helping students was the thing that he lived for.

I had meetings with Dean Pratt that weren’t always pleasant. He and I argued about a few things; he reprimanded me on a few things, but he always did it with class and in a way that when I left, I wasn’t upset.

Dean Pratt had a gift of looking at every circumstance rationally. No matter what we were speaking about, he had another angle that I hadn’t thought about, and he would bring it to the discussion and it made sense.

When I found out from one of our staff writers last week that Dean Pratt was retiring, I was in disbelief. What is UL without Dean Pratt? Sure no one man is bigger than the university, but if anyone ever comes close, it’s Dean Pratt.

He began as an undergraduate at UL in 1964. Other than one year when he was a football and basketball coach at Northside High School, every year since 1964, Dean Pratt has been at UL. He was a football player for UL when the team played at McNaspy Stadium.

When Zane Hill interviewed Dean Pratt last week after we found out he was retiring, I tagged along, as I wanted to hear it from the man himself the news I found so hard to believe. I asked him what he thought his legacy at the university would be.

"I haven’t really given it much thought," he said.

Well, I’ve given it some thought, and I can’t come up with one thing that sums up almost 50 years of dedication to the university. I do know that when the university chooses a replacement, it will be the biggest pair of shoes they have ever filled.

Dean Pratt is UL. The university will never be the same.

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Athletic Network Footnote:

Click here for the Athletic Network Profile of Edward Pratt. 

Click here for the 1966 Football Photo Gallery, which includes a team picture and Edward Pratt, an award winner.