By Bridget Mire Staff Writer

In third grade, John Doucet was punished in class and saw his parents' car drive up outside the window.

"I thought I was going to be executed," he said. "Why'd they call my parents? All I did was drop a crayon at the wrong time or something, you know? As it turns out, they were meeting with the administration because my science aptitude scores were high."

So began the Golden Meadow native's path to becoming a scientist.

In high school, a teacher who'd judged one of Doucet's projects decided he knew enough about chemistry that he didn't have to sit in class. He put him in a vacant laboratory with a biochemistry college textbook.

Doucet went on to earn a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Nicholls State University in 1984 and a doctorate in biochemistry from Louisiana State University in 1992. He was hired at Nicholls in the fall of 1997.

He is now dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and recently received the top faculty honor of being named an Alcee Fortier Distinguished Service Professor. The award is named after a professor of romance languages who taught at Tulane University starting in the 19th century.

Doucet said other professors he's worked with and has great respect for also hold the title.

"It's humbling that the selection committee and the administration thought enough of my body of work that I belonged in that group," he said.

Doucet also directs the University Honors Program and has been named a Distinguished Service Professor of Biological Sciences and McIlhenny Professor of Human and Environmental Genetics.

He spent more than five years researching Usher syndrome as part of a National Institute of Health postdoctoral fellowship. The disease, which causes hearing loss and a degenerative retinal condition, was segregating among a small group of Acadian descendants.

In April of 1997, Doucet discovered something else he'd be interested in researching.

"I had driven across Highway 90 from where I was working at LSU Medical Center in New Orleans, and my car was full of lovebugs," he recalled. "So I said, 'You know what? I'm going to kill lovebugs. I'm going to rid this area of lovebugs.' As I studied lovebugs as a hobby, it turned out their larvae are beneficial for the environment, so it's not a good idea to kill them."

Doucet has written 13 plays, had a book of poetry published and has one in the works.

He said it's fitting that he received the Alcee Fortier award, as the namesake shared his interest in Louisiana culture and history.

"The Alcee Fortier Distinguished Service Professor award honors the best of the best of the Nicholls faculty," said Lynn Gillette, provost and vice president for academic affairs. "Dr. Doucet has devoted two decades to Nicholls and our students, and he is well deserving of this honor."

-- Staff Writer Bridget Mire can be reached at 448-7639 or bridget.mire@dailycomet.com. Follow her on Twitter @bridget_mire.

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Nicholls dean receives top faculty honor - Houma Today - Houma Courier