Lawrence Minto Sylvestre Endowed Chair of Computing

Dr. Jordan Shropshire

Dr. Jordan Shropshire has been awarded the Lawrence Minto Sylvestre Endowed Chair in Computing effective October 1, 2023.  The Lawrence Minto Sylvestre Endowed Chair of Computing, was given in memory of Lawrence Minto Sylvestre by his sister, the late Dr. Jeanne Sylvestre. 

Lawrence Minto Sylvestre

The University of South Alabama School of Computing announces our first ever endowed chair, the Lawrence Minto Sylvestre Endowed Chair of Computing, given in memory of Lawrence Minto Sylvestre by his sister, the late Dr. Jeanne Sylvestre. 

Lawrence Minto Sylvestre was born in Belize, British Honduras on October 4th, 1937. He was a graduate of Tulane University and served as a systems engineer and executive at IBM for twenty-six years. He was known for his keen and inquiring mind, love of music and travel, fine sense of humor and kindness.  As an expert in his field, he worked closely with the School of Computing. He passed away in October of 2014.

Dr. Jeanne Sylvestre

Lawrence’s sister, Dr. Jeanne Sylvestre, was a graduate of the University of South Alabama with a Bachelor’s degree and MBA in accounting. She received her Ph.D. in accounting from the University of Georgia. Dr. Sylvestre was a outstanding and transformational professor in the Mitchell College of Business for over 30 years and was the first USA graduate to return to teach. As a teacher, Dr. Sylvestre was described as a remarkable, caring mentor who valued strong relationships with her students. She was also an avid supporter and advisor to Beta Alpha Psi Accounting honor society for more than 25 years. In addition to being an instructor, Dr. Sylvestre served as department chair for the accounting department.

Dr. Sylvestre was named one of the 50 outstanding faculty members in the 50-year history of the University of South Alabama and served on the Board of Directors of the University of South Alabama Foundation as its treasurer. She had strong ties to the School of Computing as she served on many graduate student thesis committees as well as on the School of Computing tenure and promotion committee. Dr. Sylvestre was named Professor Emeritus in 2009 upon her retirement from the University. Upon her passing on April 14, 2018, she bequeathed a legacy gift to the USA Foundation to support several academic initiatives at the University of South Alabama, including chairs in Accounting, Chemistry, Computing, the Sylvestre Chair of Music, a fund to support graduate education, and a Steinway piano as part of the All-Steinway Initiative.

Like her brother, Dr. Sylvestre loved travel, reading and music, especially Chopin. Both she and her brother were longtime members of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church.