HR 359

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 359
BY REPRESENTATIVE RISER
  A RESOLUTION
To express the sincere condolences of the House of Representatives of the Legislature of
       Louisiana upon the death of Robert H. "Bob" Baumann, longtime director of the
       Louisiana State University Center for Energy Studies and trusted advisor on
       Louisiana energy policy.
       WHEREAS, it was with deep regret and profound sorrow that the citizens of
Louisiana learned of the death of Robert H. "Bob" Baumann on Thursday, November 6,
2025, at the age of seventy-four; and
       WHEREAS, it is fitting to express enduring gratitude for Bob Baumann's outstanding
contributions to this state, particularly during more than three decades of service to
Louisiana State University and to the industries that serve as the foundation of the Louisiana
economy; and
       WHEREAS, born and raised in the Queens borough of New York City, Bob
Baumann graduated from the University of Rhode Island and arrived in Baton Rouge in
1974 to pursue graduate studies at Louisiana State University, where he earned his Master
of Science degree in geography in 1980 under Dr. Jess Walker, with a thesis examining the
interrelationships of marsh elevation, water level, sedimentation, and other selected variables
in the Lower Barataria Basin; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann fell in love with LSU and the Baton Rouge community
and never returned to the northeast, putting down deep roots in Louisiana and devoting the
whole of his professional life to the people, institutions, and industries of this state; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann was a founding member of the LSU Center for Energy
Studies upon its establishment in 1982 and over the course of his tenure, rose to lead the
center, building it into an indispensable source of energy information and analysis for the
legislature, public agencies, business and civic groups, and the academic community, and
there was no part of his long career of which he was more justifiably proud than his work
on behalf of Louisiana State University; and
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       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann served as a confidant, friend, and advisor to multiple
leaders of the LSU system, beginning with Chancellor James Wharton, who recognized his
quiet capability and brought him into his inner circle during the 1980s campaign to institute
more selective admission standards at the university; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann served for many years as LSU's representative at the state
capitol, earning the trust of legislators across the political spectrum and securing critical
support for the university's teaching, research, and outreach missions until his retirement
from LSU in 2007; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann's blend of intellectual rigor and steady, plain-spoken
clarity made him one of the most trusted voices on energy policy in the state; as Tyler Gray,
a director of the LSU Energy Institute, observed, Bob "authored influential research, advised
governors and legislatures, and shaped major debates with a calm, steady clarity that made
even the most complex oil and gas issues understandable" and was "a tremendous mentor
to generations of students, colleagues, and policymakers"; and
       WHEREAS, in 2014, in recognition of a career spent bettering the working
environment of Louisiana's oil and gas industry, Bob Baumann received the Lifetime
Achievement Award of the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association, becoming only
the third individual so honored in the association's history; and
       WHEREAS, in 2023, the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association
presented Bob Baumann with the Hard Hat Award in recognition of his exemplary and
outstanding contributions to Louisiana's oil and natural gas industry, an honor reflecting a
lifetime of service to the sector; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann was a champion of Louisiana industry at every level of
the legislative process and a persistent voice of reason on questions of pipelines, refining,
petrochemicals, and the broader industrial activity that drives the state's economy, drawing
on a depth of technical and historical knowledge that made him a trusted resource for
legislators, agency officials, and industry advocates alike, on whichever side of an issue they
happened to find themselves; and
       WHEREAS, following his retirement from the university, Bob Baumann opened the
next chapter of his career as a principal of Hood, Baumann and Associates, where he
counseled and represented some of the most significant energy enterprises operating in
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Louisiana, including Shell Oil, ConocoPhillips, Enbridge, TC Energy, Phillips 66, and PBF
Energy, and continued to bring his characteristic care and seriousness to the work of
Louisiana energy policy until the final days of his life; and
       WHEREAS, beyond his roles in research and advocacy, Baumann remained a
stalwart supporter of his academic home in the LSU Department of Geography and
Anthropology, securing critical funding for the renovation of the Departmental Alumni
Seminar Room and, with his family, establishing the Robert H. Baumann Family
Scholarship Fund to support outstanding students in the sciences for years to come; and
       WHEREAS, all who worked with Bob Baumann over the course of his long career
appreciated his graciousness, his integrity, and his unmistakable northeast accent softened
by decades of Louisiana hospitality and knew him as a generous mentor, a candid counselor,
and a true gentleman of the capitol; and
       WHEREAS, from the front porch of his office on Spanish Town Road, affectionately
known to those who passed through it as the "Policy Porch," Bob Baumann hosted
legislators, lobbyists, agency officials, students, reporters, and friends for wide-ranging
conversations on anything and everything happening at the capitol, holding open a kind of
standing seminar on Louisiana public life that no other forum could replicate; and
       WHEREAS, Bob Baumann was a mentor in the fullest sense of the word; generous
with his time, his sage advice, and his wealth of knowledge and a great many of those who
today carry forward Louisiana's energy and industrial policy work owe some part of their
professional formation to an afternoon, an introduction, or a candid piece of counsel from
him; and
       WHEREAS, above all, Bob Baumann was a devoted family man with an unwavering
commitment to his wife, Brenda, and their two sons, Frank and Kyle, who will be missed
profoundly by his beloved family and the many other individuals whose lives he touched
with his wisdom and generosity of spirit; and
       WHEREAS, with the death of Bob Baumann, the state has lost a faithful adopted son,
a builder of institutions, and a larger-than-life figure whose counsel shaped a generation of
Louisiana energy policy and whose absence will be felt at the Louisiana State Capitol every
day of every session to come.
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       THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby express sincere and heartfelt condolences upon the
death of Robert H. "Bob" Baumann; does hereby recognize and record for posterity his
notable accomplishments and singular contributions to Louisiana State University, to the
LSU Center for Energy Studies, and to the broader cause of sound energy and industrial
policy in this state; and does hereby extend enduring appreciation for the pride and honor
that he will forever bring to his family, to LSU, to the Baton Rouge community, and to the
state of Louisiana.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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