The Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center is a component of the LSU system that serves teaching, research, and health-care functions state-wide through six professional schools.  The School of Graduate Studies has two campuses which are located in Shreveport and in New Orleans. Since its organization in 1966, the LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport has become the premier center for biomedical education and research in the northern part  of the state.  The present campus, which was completed in 1975, consists of the Louisiana State University Hospital, the Women and Children's Clinic, the School of Medicine, the Feist-Weiller Biomedical Research Institute, the School of Allied Health Professions, and the School of Graduate Studies.

The Graduate School faculty is primarily comprised of members of the basic science departments that offer doctoral training programs, including the Departments of Cellular Biology and Anatomy, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Microbiology and Immunology, Molecular and Cellular Physiology.

An undergraduate campus of the LSU System is also located in Shreveport. It has modern recreational facilities that are available for use by the students or the Medical Center campus. Centenary College, a church-affiliated liberal arts college founded in 1825, is located near the Medical Center. Centenary College is the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River.  A wide variety of moderately priced apartments and shopping facilities are conveniently located in the vicinities of the Medical Center and the two other colleges.

Twelve hospitals, including the LSU Medical Center, are located in the metropolitan area, making Shreveport a major regional center for health care.  The Shriner's Hospital for Crippled Children is located adjacent to the LSU Medical Center. A regional Veteran's Administration hospital and several large private hospitals are also located nearby.  Together, the regional hospitals provide more than 3,000 beds  for general and specialized treatment. 
 

The Shreveport Festival Plaza hosts several area festivals throughout the year. Two such festivals are the annual Red River Revel, an eight-day festival of the visual and performing arts, held in October and Holiday in Dixie, a ten-day celebration that commemorates the signing of the Louisiana purchase in 1803, held in April.  Highlighted sports events in Shreveport/Bossier include the Super Derby, a $1,000,000 thoroughbred horse race, hosted by Louisiana Downs in September and the Independence Bowl, an NCAA football bowl game, played in December. The new CenturyTel Center in Bossier City houses our hockey team, the Shreveport/Bossier Mudbugs and the arena football team, the Battlewings.  They also host several major concerts and events throughout the year.

Other area attractions are the Shreveport Opera and Shreveport Symphony, which perform annual concert series that are held in the historic Strand Theater and modern Civic Theater.  The Shreveport Little Theater, the Marjorie Lyons Theater on the campus of Centenary College, and other local theater groups stage numerous productions annually.  The R.W. Norton Art Gallery features Remington and Russell sculptures and paintings of the Southwest, among other works.  The Barnwell Center, houses art exhibits and a botanical garden.  The Shreveport/Bossier River  front includes five casinos and is currently being renovated into an entertainment district that will feature the Shreveport Convention Center, new shops, restaurants and night time entertainment.