UL to honor late Assistant Dean Carolyn Dural with plaza, scholarship, book

The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is paying tribute to a late assistant dean by naming a plaza and scholarship after her, among other honors.

LAFAYETTE, La. (KLFY) -- The University of Louisiana at Lafayette is paying tribute to a late assistant dean by naming a plaza and scholarship after her, among other honors.

Carolyn Dural, who died in August 2020, served as the College of Liberal Arts’ assistant dean and was a UL alumna. On April 21, the University of Louisiana System Board of Supervisors approved the “Carolyn Dural Plaza,” which will feature a large aluminum sculpture of interlocking red hearts called "Bending the Circle." The plaza will be near Griffin Hall.

A hardcover book is also in the works that will contain remembrances from colleagues, students and others, and scores of photographs of her. The book will be released during a plaza dedication and memorial ceremony for Dural. It will also be presented to her family members. College of Liberal Arts Dean Dr. Jordan Kellman anticipates the event to be held sometime this fall.

The “labor of love,” Kellman explained, began as a link to a Google document that was circulated among faculty and staff members. The resulting outpouring of tributes was so great that “we finally figured we should publish it.”

The College of Liberal Arts has also established a fund that will support students participating in the University’s Study Abroad program in France. Copies of the book will be sold to help fund the scholarship. The first scholarship is expected to be given sometime next year.

"Ms. Dural assisted countless students in achieving their dreams," stated UL President Dr. Joseph Savoie in a letter to the UL system. "She also taught hundreds of faculty advisors how to help their students succeed. Carolyn put people first and had a passion for helping students in the best and most effective ways possible."

“She was amazing. Everyone loved her and she left such an impression on everyone she encountered,” said Kellman.

Dural earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a master’s degree in French from UL. She later taught the latter subject from 1995 to 1998, the same year she became assistant to the dean of the College of Liberal Arts. Her tenure as assistant dean of the college began in 2009.