A trailblazing political leader who led efforts to preserve the Atchafalaya Basin has donated a collection of her papers and memorabilia to the 小蝌蚪APP.
Sandra Thompson Herman helped create the Louisiana Department of Culture, Recreation and Tourism in 1976, and served as its first secretary. In 1979, she became the first woman to run for secretary of state, a race she narrowly lost.
After founding and managing an oilfield services company, Herman returned to state government in the 1990s and led the multimillion-dollar Atchafalaya Basin Program. The initiative promoted tourism to the Basin and enhanced recreational access to the nation小蝌蚪APP檚 largest river swamp.
The 10 boxes of materials she donated to the 小蝌蚪APP offer a comprehensive record of her political and business careers, Herman said.
A signing ceremony in March marked the collection小蝌蚪APP檚 formal transfer to UL Lafayette. It will be archived in .
Zachary Stein is head of Special Collections. He said Herman小蝌蚪APP檚 papers and memorabilia complement archival sources the 小蝌蚪APP already holds related to Louisiana women. These include materials Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco donated in 2018 that chronicle her gubernatorial tenure.
Those records are held by the 小蝌蚪APP小蝌蚪APP檚 .
小蝌蚪APP淚n many ways, the Blanco and Herman collections go hand in hand,小蝌蚪APP Stein said, adding that the materials collectively provide 小蝌蚪APP渁 new look at what women have contributed to Louisiana小蝌蚪APP politics and history.
Herman and Blanco both served in the administration of then-Gov. Mike Foster. Blanco was lieutenant governor, while Herman directed the Atchafalaya Basin Program, a position she kept once Blanco became governor in 2004.
They were bound in another way. Both were women in a political world dominated by men.
小蝌蚪APP淲e talked about what it was like being a woman in politics,小蝌蚪APP Herman recalled. 小蝌蚪APP淗ere小蝌蚪APP檚 what I always said and what she always said: Being a woman can open doors for you, but once you are there, you have to work twice as hard to prove you can do the job, that you are capable of it, that you are smart enough.小蝌蚪APP
Herman is a north Louisiana native who holds a bachelor小蝌蚪APP檚 degree from Southeastern Louisiana 小蝌蚪APP and an MBA from LSU. She lives in New Orleans. But she said UL Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 proximity to the Atchafalaya Basin led her to donate the archival collection to the 小蝌蚪APP.
In addition, she and her husband, Russ Herman, have established a $25,000 endowed scholarship fund in the that will be managed .
小蝌蚪APP淟afayette is the heartbeat of the Atchafalaya Basin area. A lot of people who really believe in the great Atchafalaya live in and around Lafayette. Lafayette小蝌蚪APP檚 very important to me,小蝌蚪APP Herman said.
Photo caption: Sandra Thompson Herman speaks prior to a signing ceremony held in March that marked the transfer of a collection of her papers and memorablia to UL Lafayette. (Photo credit: Rachel Rafati / 小蝌蚪APP)