Southeastern NEWS
                    Southeastern Louisiana University
                    Public Information Office
                    SLU 10880, Hammond, LA 70402
                    504-549-2341/fax 504-549-2061
                    
   Date:  3/5/02
      Contact:      Rene Abadie   

Editors: Photo accompanies release
FIGHTING POLITICAL CORRUPTION A KEY TO LOUISIANA'S ECONOMIC
RECOVERY, VITTER SAYS IN SPEECH
     HAMMOND - Rooting out political corruption is the biggest challenge Louisiana faces
because it remains the state's major barrier to economic development and job creation, U.S. Rep.
David Vitter (R-LA) told a packed auditorium of students, faculty and others at Southeastern
Louisiana University Monday night (March 4).
     "It's important that we demand the highest integrity from our elected officials," Vitter
said at Southeastern's 18th annual James Livingston Lecture on Business Ethics sponsored by the
university's College of Business and Technology. It's up to all people, he said, not just elected
representatives of government, to change this culture. 
     "We face a significant challenge in making a key transition from the Louisiana way of
'who you know' to the American culture of 'what you know,'" Vitter said.
     The transition must also involve a change in the state's economic base, he said, moving
from a 1950s low-skill economy to a 21st century high-skill economy. In addition, the state must
move from the traditional parochial view of economic development - in effect, town against town
- to a broader sense of regional unity.
     "Our universities must play crucial roles in these transitions," he said. "In today's 21st
century, the key economic tools are our universities. The 21st century economy is built on
information, information technology and innovative skills. These elements are centered at our
universities." 
     He complimented Southeastern President Randy Moffett and the university for efforts to
spur economic development in the region.
     When asked about the upcoming gubernatorial race in Louisiana and the possibility of his
candidacy, Vitter responded: "I love the job I am doing now and I will be running for re-election
to Congress. But I am looking seriously at the governor's race. If I choose to enter that race, it is
because I am motivated by my four children. I would work on those things that will decide
whether my children, whether all children, will be able to stay in Louisiana and prosper."
-SLU-
Press release available online at www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp02.html