R. L. Ropp
Ralph L. Ropp (March 1897 - 1982) was from 1949 to 1962 the president of Louisiana Tech University in Ruston, Louisiana. He was succeeded in the position by Foster Jay Taylor, a native of Bienville Parish, who held the position until June 30, 1987.
An Ohio native, Ropp attended a one-room school until he was twelve years of age. In 1913, he graduated from Latty High School in Latty in Paulding County in northwestern Ohio. In 1923, he then received a Bachelor of Science degree from Ohio Northern University in Ada, Ohio. In 1925, he procured a Master of Arts in English from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was professor of speech and head of the department of forensics at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana, when he was invited to become the president of Louisiana Tech. Ropp was married to the former Effie Lee Jones (died 2000), and the couple had three children, one of whom is Linda Lou Ropp. He was active in the Methodist Church.[1]
The Ropp Center, originally constructed on the Louisiana Tech campus in 1911, is named in his honor. It was formerly the President's Home and was used for several years by Taylor, his first wife, Evelyn Bast Taylor, and son, Terry Taylor.
