Following a new financial gift from Art Favre, founder and owner of Baton Rouge-based Performance Contractors, LSU has named its new School of Construction after the industrial construction executive.
The university announced at a press conference Tuesday afternoon that Favre has gifted an undisclosed sum to establish a permanent endowment for the school, now known as the Art Favre School of Construction. Coincidentally, Favre is also being honored with the 2026 Lifetime Achievement Award during the Louisiana Energy Awards on Nov. 18, presented by 10/12 Industry Report.
The school’s future $107 million home, meanwhile, will be named the Performance Contractors Construction & Advanced Manufacturing Building. Favre previously gifted $15 million toward the building’s construction.
Unlike that earlier contribution, Favre’s latest gift will establish an unrestricted endowment intended to provide the school with a permanent source of funding for faculty recruitment, research and other priorities.
Favre, a member of LSU’s inaugural construction management graduating class in 1972, founded Performance Contractors in 1979. The company has since grown into one of the nation’s largest industrial contractors.
At Tuesday’s press conference, Favre said the school’s creation was the culmination of a decades-long effort by local construction industry leaders to elevate LSU’s construction management program.
“What did it take to get to this point? Well, to start with, it’s taken roughly 35 years. No big deal,” Favre quipped.
He added that the program had historically been “woefully underfunded” relative to other departments within LSU’s College of Engineering despite its growth and the construction industry’s importance to Louisiana’s economy.
“We all knew we needed more independence to ensure construction had a prominent place in the College of Engineering for the future,” Favre said.
The announcement comes as LSU prepares to break ground on the 148,000-square-foot building in 2027. Planned for South Stadium Drive across from Tiger Stadium, the facility will house classrooms, laboratories and research space focused on construction, engineering and advanced manufacturing.
