News Release Distributed 02/05/15

BATON ROUGE, La. – The Louisiana Mosquito Control Association (LMCA) has established an endowed scholarship in the LSU AgCenter Department of Entomology. LMCA is endowing a total of four scholarships across Louisiana, including the one at LSU.

Dennis Wallette, director of Tangipahoa Mosquito Abatement District, said there has been a long-standing relationship between the LMCA and the AgCenter department.

“It’s a way to give back and raise awareness of the mosquito control industry and career opportunities,” Wallette said.

Tim Schowalter, entomology department head, said with Louisiana’s history of insect-borne diseases, the importance of medical entomology is crucial when finding ways to manage insects.

“The biggest benefit of the scholarship is the substantial increase in graduate stipends, which creates additional recruiting incentives for the top students,” Schowalter said.

The LMCA scholarship endowment is open to LSU graduate students studying entomology with a focus on mosquito research. The student must be full-time and achieve a 3.0 grade point average or higher. The first scholarship will be awarded in the spring of 2016.

Brandy Orlando