SU alumna picked as Board chairman

The Southern University Board of Supervisors today elected attorney Bridget A. Dinvaut of Reserve as chairman for 2013 during it's regular meeting held in New Orleans.

Dinvaut, who has been a member of the Board since February, is a graduate of Southern University New Orleans and the Southern University Law Center. The Board Friday also picked Patrick Bell of Thibodaux to serve as vice chair.

The new officers replace Darren Mire, chairman for the past two years, and Murphy Bell Jr., vice chairman for two terms, who both continue to serve on the board.

"I truly appreciate this appointment. I pledge to do what's in the best interest of our institution. I will work hard to make sure we all work together to meet that goal," said Dinvaut.

Dinvaut, an assistant district attorney for St. John the Baptist Parish District Attorney's Office, has more than 16 years of law enforcement and legal experience. Dinvaut worked in the St. John Parish Sheriff's Department as special investigator (1986-1994), as U.S. Probation Officer with the Eastern District of Louisiana-5th Circuit (1994-1998), a U.S. Probation Pre-sentence investigator with the Eastern District of Louisiana (1998-2001), and the Southern District of Florida-11th Circuit (2001-2002).

After graduating with honors (magna cum laude) from the SU Law Center in 2005, she worked as an associate attorney for Lemle & Kelleher in New Orleans for five years before returning to her home parish in 2010 as an assistant district attorney.

Dinvaut is a member of the Louisiana State Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section, Federal Bar Association, and National Bar Association - Labor and Employment Section. She is co-founder and secretary of the Rudolph G. Dinvaut Athletic Foundation established in 2004 in honor of her late father, a graduate of Southern University who was inducted into the school's Sports Hall of Fame in 1998. She is an active member of Our Lady of Grace Church.

Bell, deputy commissioner for minority affairs at the Louisiana Department of Insurance, has been a member of the Board of Supervisors since 1998. He was previously government relations director (Louisiana and Texas) for Capital One Financial Corporation and vice president, government relations, Hibernia Corporation.

"Both of these Board members are respected for their work for Southern University, professionally, and in the community. We are confident in their leadership and fortunate to have them," said Mire.

The Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College serve to manage and supervise the Southern University System.