LSU has versatile president

              He toots a mean trumpet. He collects an­tiques. He's a dedicated ham radio operator. He's a Dixieland jazz buff. He swings a slick rhumba. He builds stereophonic equipment. He's a do-it-yourself carpenter.
He's famous for his hamburger recipe. He's a gardener. He golfs, hunts and fishes. He's a football fan. He's senti­mental. He's humorous. He's serious.
Above all he loves people, finds young folks the most in-terestings and challenging dy­namos every created.
HE'S A SIX-FOOT plus, 192 pound, 47-year-old "Louisiana country boy" who refuses to be classified as a stuffed shirt, ivory tower pedant.
Such a man of many parts is Dr. John Hunter, the newely
appointed president of Louisi­ana State university.
He will officially assume his new role upon the retirement of president Troy H. Middle-ton in February.
In the meantime, Dr. Hunt­er, dean of student services and professor of education, is carrying on his arduous pres­ent duties and being primed for his coming assignment.
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THE DONNER, LA., native is no newcomer to LSU. He received a B.A. degree from Davidson college, N. C, but he received a master's de­gree, 1947, and a Ph.D degree, 1949, from LSU.
Prior to coming to the uni­versity, he served as instruct­or and commandant at Gulf Coast Military academy, worked as a geophysicist for an oil company, was educa­tional advisor for the Civilian Conservation Corps, served in the U. S. Navy during World War II overseas and later as director of classified personnel at LSU.
He was supervisor of the state department of education 1949 to 1951 and became regi­strar and associate profes­sor of education at LSU in 1951.
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WHEN YOU TRY to keep pace with Dr. Hunter's long and rapid stride across the acres of LSU campus, you be­come infected with his enthusi­asm.
He pauses to greet a p&i? «f new foreign students, a Cuban and  a  Egyptian  and  invites
them to come to nis office later for a "little talk."
"Making foreign students at home here is a subject close to my heart/' he explains. "I'm a member of the state Fulbright committe on ex­change students.
"At present we have 600 foreign students here, mostly from Latin America."WE FEEL THE UNIVER-
SITY'S role in reference to Latin American countries is vital. I'm happy to say that some of the distinguished La­tin American leaders for de­mocracy are LSU graduates. "Foreign students get more than specialized training. What is most important are the con­cepts of the American way of life and of democracy they obtain on the campus Strolling along the campus, Dr. Hunter greeted two pretty New Orleans girls, discussed the subject of most interest to them at the moment, rush week   activities.
This led on to talk about the distaff side of the student body."AT PRESENT," said Dr. Hunter, "we have 3%. boys to every girl on our campus.
"I suppose the girls would like this proportion to remain status quo. It makes the cam­pus a happy husband hunting ground.
"Of course, LSU, rich in military traditions, has al­ways been primarily a man's university."But with women assuming more roles in the professional world of science, and teaching at higher levels, women are
certainly welcomed here. * < * - *
"IN  THE    LAST    THREE
years we could accept no out-of-state women because we had no housing facilities for them. We have now opened two new girls' dormitories.'This means we have room for 400 more girls. And by next 1 September we shall have add­ed 600 more dormitory rooms. "But, of course, the whole 1 enrollment keeps going up, so the proportion of boys versus girls may not change to any significant extent.'*"We're also building new housing units for our married students. Husband and wife teams are not rare on the campus.
"Family units are not rare, cither.    So  on  our   drawing boards    now    and  plans    for three-bedroom apartments for our Mother and Dad students.' WALKING ON, Dr. Hunter pointed out the site of the new "union hall," a $4 million stu­dent center building."This will be the cultural and social hub of the campus," he explained.
"It will house a small thea­tre for road shows, concerts, lectures and a students' drama workshop. There'll also be an art gallery, ballroom, book store, post office, beauty shop and restaurants."
"Speaking of cultural cen­ters," said Dr. Hunter, "let's duck into the library. I want to have a woi-cf with Ted (Theodore)  McMullan. PHOTO: DR. JOHN HUNTER CHATS WITH FOREIGN STUDENTS Rolando Pelaez of Havana, Yousef  Hanna   Atllah   of   Cairo.