University of New Orleans The University of New Orleans , often referred to locally as UNO , is a medium - sized public urban university located on the New Orleans Lakefront within New Orleans , Louisiana , United States . It is a member of the University of Louisiana System and the Urban 13 association . In the fall of 2011 the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools - Commission on Colleges gave approval for the University of New Orleans to join the University of Louisiana System , concluding the five - month transition from the LSU System since ACT 419 of the 2011 Louisiana Legislative Regular Session was signed into law in July 2011 . Soon after the transition was approved , the UNO Presidential Search Committee selected UNO alumnus Dr . Peter J . Fos ( Class of 1972 ) as president . History . The University of New Orleans , originally called Louisiana State University in New Orleans ( LSUNO ) , was legally established by Act 60 of the 1956 Louisiana Legislature , in the wake of a citizens ’ movement to bring taxpayer - supported higher education to the metropolitan area . Greater New Orleans , with more than a fourth of the state ’ s population , was without a public college or university until that time . As a branch campus of Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge , LSUNO was conceived as a liberal arts college , which might within a few years develop into an urban university . An ideal campus site became available on New Orleans ' Lakefront when the US Navy relocated its air station on the shore of Lake Pontchartrain in late 1957 . The Orleans Levee Board leased the closed base to the LSU Board of Supervisors . A quick renovation of barracks , service clubs , and other existing facilities made it possible to begin classes in September 1958 , a year ahead of the original schedule . The inaugural convocation was held in a vacant aircraft hangar . This event marked the opening of the first racially integrated , public university in the South . A total of 1 , 460 students , all freshmen and double the number originally anticipated , arrived for this occasion . By September 1961 , when the new school had become a full four - year institution , the enrollment exceeded 3 , 000 , and the faculty had grown from the original 63 to 150 members . A Junior Division had been established for the academic administration of freshmen , and senior academic divisions had been established in liberal arts , in sciences , and in business administration . Dr . Homer L . Hitt , the first employee and the chief administrative officer , had been promoted from Dean of LSUNO to Vice President of LSU in Charge of LSUNO . The campus ' first permanent buildings , the Liberal Arts Building and the Sciences Building , along with a central utilities plant , were completed and in operation by the time of the first commencement in the spring of 1962 . The architectural style , established by campus master planners and initially featuring numerous open galleries , covered balconies and breezeways , was described as a modernist adaptation of traditional Louisiana architecture . The first commencement was held in a circus tent temporarily erected on the campus for that purpose . The initial class of graduating seniors numbered 115 . In the summer of 1962 , the senior academic divisions were designated colleges . In 1963 , a school of education was established , as well as an evening division and a graduate division . The Vice President in Charge was designated Chancellor , following the establishment of an LSU System of Higher Education . This signaled the end of LSUNO ’ s status as a branch of the Baton Rouge campus . The school of education became the College of Education in 1964 . In 1966 , the graduate division became the Graduate School . To the original site , a strip along its western boundary was added in 1963 . This land was also acquired from the Orleans Levee Board , and it brought the total campus area to . Still more land was obtained in 1964 , half a mile ( 800 m ) east on the Lakefront , when the United States Army abandoned its Camp Leroy Johnson facility and the Levee Board made this site , too , available to the University . A parcel of this site was released to the Gulf South Research Institute in 1965 . The remaining East Campus subsequently became the location of a Special Education Center , various outdoor sports facilities , and the multipurpose Senator Nat G . Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena . In September , 1969 , when the enrollment exceeded 10 , 000 , LSUNO became the second - largest university in Louisiana . By this time it had developed into a large academic complex embracing multiple colleges , schools , and institutes , offering graduate work in many different fields and awarding both masters and the Ph . D . degrees . Moreover , a residence hall for both men and women had been completed . In February , 1974 , the LSU Board of Supervisors approved a name change , and LSUNO became the University of New Orleans . The new name more accurately defined the institution as the metropolitan campus of the LSU System . By the fall of 1983 , UNO had an enrollment exceeding 16 , 000 and had five senior colleges : Liberal Arts , Sciences , Education , Business Administration , and Engineering , in addition to its Junior Division and Graduate School . It also had a School of Urban and Regional Studies ; a School of Hotel , Restaurant and Tourism Administration ; a School of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering ; and various centers , institutes and divisions for specialized research . A new Metropolitan College offered courses at off - campus locations in the evening hours , as well as credit and non - credit work in the evening on the campus . It also administered the nation ’ s largest summer program in Europe , UNO Innsbruck , which had been a continuing success since the early 1970s . In an administrative reorganization in 1988 , the Junior Division was replaced by a system that enrolled all incoming students in one of the senior colleges or schools . Currently , the UNO main campus contains twenty - three permanent buildings plus a dormitory , a housing complex for married students and a complex of contemporary , apartment - styled , student - housing units . Land has been set aside for a new dormitory complex and fraternity and sorority houses . The Chemical Sciences Building opened in 1997 , a state - of - the - art Recreation and Fitness Center opened in 2001 , and the Homer L . Hitt Alumni and Visitors Center ( named for UNO ' s founding Chancellor ) opened in 2003 . The Alumni Center is built around a red brick smokestack , one of the few reminders of the naval air base that became the UNO main campus . Kirschman Hall , which houses the College of Business Administration , opened in Spring 2005 . A sixth building , University - sponsored Research and Technology Park is adjacent to the main campus . The East Campus , approximately one mile from the main campus , houses athletic fields , the Alumni and Development Center , and the Senator Nat G . Kiefer UNO Lakefront Arena . It is also the location for a planned Teleplex Building that will house both of New Orleans ’ public television stations , a public radio station , and video broadcast training space for UNO students . UNO owns satellite campuses in downtown New Orleans , in suburban Jefferson Parish , Louisiana , and in Slidell , in neighboring St . Tammany Parish . UNO ’ s Ogden Museum of Southern Art is located in the Warehouse / Arts District within downtown New Orleans . UNO is in the process of revising its Master Plan to include additional , state - of - the art student housing , a new University Center , Phase Two of the Research and Technology Park , new landscaping and student - centered outdoor learning spaces . The University of New Orleans has grown to become a major urban research university . Categorized as an SREB Four - Year 2 institution , as a Carnegie Doctoral / Research University - Intensive , and as a COC / SACS Level VI institution , its students now enjoy a broad range of academic programs nearly one - quarter of which are at the masters or doctoral level . In addition , extracurricular activities , including NCAA Division One intercollegiate athletics , an extensive program of intramural sports , and frequent exhibits and programs in music , drama , ballet , and the fine arts round out the student experience . The University has conferred over 70 , 000 degrees since the first graduating class of 118 in 1962 . Student life . Organizations . There are more than 120 registered clubs and organizations active at UNO , including 15 fraternities and sororities . UNO Student Government , is the official student government association . Registered organizations are separated into categories of either religious , honorary , political , professional , social , service , organizations , or special interests . Media . is the UNO weekly newspaper and is published every Thursday . UNO also owns and operates WWNO , a local radio station . WWNO began transmitting in 1972 . Greek life . The Greek community at The University of New Orleans is composed of 16 organizations , governed by three councils . Colleges . UNO also offers a Bachelor ' s Degree in Interdisciplinary Studies . Campuses . The university has four campuses in the New Orleans metropolitan area . Athletics . The University of New Orleans currently has 9 varsity sports teams , and is a Division I member of the NCAA ( National Collegiate Athletic Association ) . UNO originally attempted to reclassify to Division II ' s Gulf South Conference . On February 1 , 2011 , Provost Joe King submitted the Division II proposal to the LSU Board of Supervisors . Previously , UNO competed at the Division II level from 1969 - 1975 . On March 9 , 2012 , New University President Peter J . Fos announced that UNO plans to remain a member of NCAA Division I , with potential homes being the Sun Belt or Southland Conference . On August 21 , 2012 , UNO announced that it would be joining the Southland Conference , effective the 2013 - 2014 academic year . Fight Song . The official fight song of The University of New Orleans is " Let ' s hear it for UNO . " The song was adopted after a competition in 1981 . The winner was Lois Ostrolenk . Before this , the melody from William Tell Overture was used . A variation of the overture is still played to honor this tradition . Club Sports . The University of New Orleans has many club sports provided by the Recreation and Intramural sports department . Club sports are available to all students who have an interest . Research and Technology Park . The University of New Orleans Research and Technology Park is a research park whose tenants collaborate with the University to conduct research , provide training , and create education opportunities . Tenants have many university services provided to them , such as child services , the university library and recreational facilities . Hurricane Katrina . On August 29 , 2005 , the University suffered damage due to Hurricane Katrina . The main campus is on relatively high ground and the damage was caused mostly by winds , rain - driven - water , and human activity during the storm . ( The University was used as an evacuation point and staging area by the National Guard . ) A levee breach on the London Avenue Canal occurred just a few blocks south of the main campus and caused the flooding of the first floor of the Bienville Hall dormitories , the Lafitte Village couples apartments , and the Engineering Building . UNO was the first of the large , damaged universities in New Orleans to re - open , albeit virtually , by using web - based courses starting in October 2005 . The university was able to offer classes in the fall semester immediately following Hurricane Katrina at satellite campuses ; the main campus re - opened in December 2005 . Hurricane Katrina reduced enrollments at all colleges in New Orleans , but the University of New Orleans was particularly hard hit . This echoed the damage to New Orleans as a whole , since UNO serves as a leader in educating students from New Orleans . Since the hurricane , the student enrollment is on a steady increase toward pre - Katrina numbers . In 2011 , State Senator Conrad Appel of Jefferson Parish , with the support of Governor Bobby Jindal , tried to combine UNO with the historically black Southern University at New Orleans as a way to save higher education dollars . His plan was withdrawn in both houses of the legislature because of a lack of support from his colleagues .