- Photo by Eddy Perez.
Frank P. Simoneaux, an attorney and former state cabinet secretary and speaker pro tempore, will be inducted into the LSU Alumni Association Hall of Distinction during ceremonies at the Lod Cook Alumni Center on March 4.
Also to be inducted are Alumnus of the Year Roger W. Jenkins, president and chief executive officer of Murphy Oil Corporation; Young Alumnus of the Year Mario Julien Garner, senior vice president and chief executive officer of Memorial Hermann Pearland Hospital in Pearland, Texas; and Bernette Joshua Johnson, of New Orleans, chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
“LSU has meant learning principles of government, military life, and law, which enabled me to reach far beyond Brusly St. Vincent where I was born,” Simoneaux said.
“Frank Simoneaux’s selection is a testament to his professional leadership, personal and civic accomplishments and loyalty to his alma mater,” said Cliff Vannoy, president and CEO of the LSU Alumni Association. “He exemplifies the essence of a true Tiger, and we are delighted to honor him with induction into the prestigious Hall of Distinction.”
Simoneaux graduated from LSU in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in political science and earned a juris doctorate from LSU Law School in 1961.
He entered LSU in 1954 after attending Nicholls Junior College. Excelling in academics, as a student leader, and in ROTC, he was inducted into Pi Gamma Mu academic fraternity and named an LSU Distinguished Military Graduate. After graduating, he served on active duty for two years. He was discharged as a first lieutenant in 1958 but served in the Army Reserve and entered law school. Once again, he excelled in the classroom and as a student leader, serving as president of Phi Delta Phi legal fraternity, being inducted into ODK, an honorary student leadership fraternity, and winning, with fellow student Charles Ware, the prestigious Robert Lee Tullis Moot Court competition in 1961. After law school, he returned to active duty during the Berlin Crisis, was promoted to captain, and transferred to the Judge Advocate General Corps. He completed thirty years of Reserve and National Guard service in 1986, retiring with the rank of colonel and as state judge advocate general.
Simoneaux served with several prominent firms and remains active as a sole practitioner. He has served on the boards of the Baton Rouge and Louisiana State bar associations, the Council of the Louisiana State Law Institute and the Louisiana Mineral Law Institute, American Arbitration Association and American Judicature Society. He served on the Campaign Oversight Committee for election of judges and as president of the Louisiana Organization for Judicial Excellence.
Simoneaux was thrice elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives (1972, 1976-1982) and unanimously elected House Speaker pro tem in 1980. He served on the House and Governmental Affairs, Civil Law and Procedure and Natural Resources committees and as Louisiana Secretary of Natural Resources (1982-84). In 2008, he was elected by the House to the Louisiana Board of Ethics and elected chair by its members.
Among the civic organizations Simoneaux has served are the Lakeshore Lions Club and Inter-Civic Council. He was a founder of the Bocage Racquet Club and founded the Greater Baton Rouge Hope Academy, which serves children with a wide array of disabilities. He is a member of U.S. National Guard Association, Cadets of the Ole War Skule, and LSU Alumni Association and was inducted into LSU Law School Hall of Fame.
Simoneaux and his wife, Marcy, married fifty-four years, have five children and four grandchildren.
The 2016 gala marked the 50th anniversary of naming an LSU Alumnus of the Year. The first award was conferred in 1966; the Young Alumnus of the Year Award was established in 1999 to recognize alumni under the age of 40 who have attained professional prominence early in their careers. Including the 2016 inductees, the LSU Alumni Association has recognized 285 individuals representing a cross-section of LSU graduates.
For more information, contact:
Stacey Messina
Director of Marketing and Communications
LSU Alumni Association
225-578-3890
stacey@lsualumni.org