Mary Olive McPhaul, former dean of student life at the University of Louisiana Lafayette, died last week at her home in Lafayette. She was 81 years old.
A native of Birmingham, Alabama, she earned a bachelor’s degree at Samford University in that city. After teaching in the public schools she earned a master’s degree in counseling at the University of Alabama. After serving as a resident counselor at Florida State University, she joined staff at the University of Louisiana Lafayette in 1957 as associate dean of women. McPhaul later became dean of women and in 1980 was named dean of student life, a post she held for 11 years before her retirement in 1991.
Joseph Savioe, current president of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, issued a statement saying, “Dean McPhaul, as many called her, was a second mother to thousands of young people, including me. She was firm yet gentle, always expecting and encouraging the best of us and tapping us back into the proper lane whenever we wandered. She was a beautiful and wonderful lady, a perfect role model and a loyal friend. Thank God for Mary Olive McPhaul.”