Southeastern NEWS

                                                       Southeastern Louisiana University
                                           Public Information Office
                                           SLU 880, Hammond, LA 70402
                                           504/549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
    Date: June 3, 1996
      Contact:                           John Kemp     22

SLU HAS CONNECTION WITH OLYMPICS IN ATLANTA
     HAMMOND -- Jerome Salomone, a Southeastern Louisiana University professor of
sociology and scholar in residence, has made an important contribution to the 1996 Summer
Olympics in Atlanta.
     Although Professor Salomone doesn't run, lift weights or perform on the parallel bars, his
performance should add to the overall success of the international event.
     With an eye to the original Olympic games in ancient Greece, the Atlanta Olympic
Committee wanted the Summer 1996 games to be a complete cultural experience and not limited
to athletic events.  "In ancient times, it was a true cultural event," said Salomone, who served as
Southeastern's last dean of humanities until his retirement in 1989.
     To create the "Cultural Olympiad," the Georgia Humanities Council and the Atlanta
Committee for the Olympic Games created two panels, one for the arts and the other for the
humanities, with representatives from all over the south. Salomone, who was a member of the
Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities' Board of Directors from 1989 to 1995 and endowment
chairman from 1994 to 1995, represented Louisiana.
     The Olympic's humanities panel has designated over 20 "Cultural Olympiad" events in
Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Louisiana, South Carolina and Virginia. These programs
include theater to lectures and workshops on Southern history and literature. 
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