Nicholls will hold a dedication ceremony to commemorate John A. Brady Jr., a faithful supporter to Nicholls State University, in the renaming of La Maison du Bayou apartments.
The ceremony will be held on Friday, Feb. 22, beginning at 2 p.m.
The 408-bed apartment building was opened for students in November of 2003. The complex consists of seven three-story buildings with 90 four-bedroom, two-bathroom units and 24 two-bedroom, two-bathroom units. The complex offers residents access to a clubhouse, kitchen/lounge area, a resort style pool, a convenience center, a large meeting room and a fitness center.  
 La Maison du Bayou received its name from Joanne Ferriot. Her purpose was to incorporate the French heritage of our campus into the name, Dr. Eugene Dial, the current vice president of Student Affairs, said.
The opportunity arose to name a building that is not named in dedication of someone of importance to the school, and Brady is certainly deserving of this recognition, Dr. David Boudreaux, vice president of Institutional Advancement, said.
“We’re very honored to be able to recognize someone (Brady) who was such a benefactor to the college,” said Boudreaux.  
Brady supported many departments at Nicholls, such as the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, the College of Business, and the department of Computer Services. The endowed chair that he and his brother, Pat Brady, gifted Nicholls with in 2001 justifies his contribution to the department of Computer Services. Their donation consisted of $600,000 to establish the John Brady Sr. Chair in computer science. The state matched their donation with $400,000 to create the abiding $1 million endowed chair.
“He was very generous in causes he believed in, and Nicholls definitely was one of those,” Bonnie Brady Babin, daughter of Brady, said.  
The Brady family is also known for their successful work in the area of communication. In 1945, the Brady family started a service provider company known as the Lafourche Telephone Company (Latelco). Latelco grew into SJI, Inc., a much larger parent company across the gulf that has become a valuable business component to the State. The Nicholls Alumni Federation awarded the Corporate Mark of Honor to SJI, Inc. in 2000.
Since John A. Brady Jr.’s death in 2008, the Brady family continues to be generous advocates to Nicholls State. Annually, the family willingly hosts the Alumni Federation’s homecoming golf tournament at their family-owned La Tour Golf Course.
“La Tour was his (Brady’s) dream, but he passed away before it was finished,” Babin said.
“He always fully supported anything Nicholls was involved in. We are very honored that the school is doing this-naming this resident building on behalf of our father,” Babin said.
In addition to the name change, the temporary name, “La Maison du Bayou,” will be retired for now.
“It is much better to honor someone who is meaningful to the University than just a name that doesn’t give that recognition,” Dr. Boudreaux commented. “We developed and became better because of people like John.”