LSUS offers more than 50 extracurricular organizations and operates Red River Radio, a public radio network based in Shreveport, as well as the Spring Street Museum in downtown Shreveport, the Pioneer Heritage Center on campus, the Red River Watershed Management Institute, Institute for Nonprofit Administration and Research and the Center for Business and Economic Research.

In September 1967, Louisiana State University Shreveport opened its doors as a two-year commuter college with an enrollment of 807 students under the direction of Dean Donald Shipp.

However, when Louisiana State Senator Roscoe Cranor presented the formal request to Governor Richard Leche in 1937, he rejected the proposal.

[4] Another nineteen years would pass before State Representative Frank Fulco introduce a bill to the Louisiana House in 1956 to, yet again, establish a branch of LSU in Shreveport.

In fact, the opposition sought to kill the bill by securing the opinion of the Attorney General, stating approval of the proposal would require a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority.

Shortly afterward, the Louisiana Council for Higher Education authorized four major academic divisions and 39 degree programs for LSUS.

[4] On May 5, 1978, the Academic Affairs Committee of the Board of Regents for the State of Louisiana unanimously adopted the motion for LSUS to offer graduate studies for the Master of Education in Secondary Education catapulting LSUS and the Shreveport area into the graduate consortium.

[6] The institution received approval from the Board of Regents for the State of Louisiana on May 22, 2013, to begin offering the Doctor of Education (Ed.D.).

LSUS has over 50 student organizations that include Academic/Professional, Governing, Greek, Honorary, Religious, Service, Special Interest, and Sports.

The Almagest, Greek for "great book," is the university's student newspaper in both print and broadcasting and has kept the community at LSUS informed since 1967.

The Noel Collection houses the most extensive private collection of antiquarian books in the United States with an approximate 250,000 volumes that range from religion, philosophy, natural history, curiosities, travel literature, cartography, and much more, and is the life's work of Mr. James Smith Noel.

The Health and Physical Education Building includes The Dock, a 1,000-seat gymnasium and home to the LSUS men's and women's basketball teams.