of the football stadium, a new auditorium and an addition to the medical school in New Orleans. Middleton's priorities put the library at the head of the list, and the stadium last. The Board of Supervisors, on the other hand, gave priority to the stadium, and in February 1953 voted to accept a bid for the project. After the stadium expansion had been approved, the Board of Supervisors agreed to give priority to a new library in September 1953. Within a year, the state legislature had given LSU all of the funds it asked for, about 20% more than the previous request, to be used mostly for higher staff salaries, but also including 3.6 million dollars for the new library to be built across from the Hill Memorial Library in the central part of the campus. In 1954 projections indicated that student enrollment would nearly double in the next 15 years, and in response the university entered into its most ambitious building program to date. As the university president, Middleton was constantly involved in personnel decisions, some of them making national news. One such ordeal occurred in February 1955 when the Board of Supervisors decided that it was time for the head football coach, Gaynell Tinsley, to be relieved following a break-even record in seven years. His successor, Paul Dietzel, was a 29-year-old assistant coach at the United States Military Academy. Dietzel had a rough beginning at LSU with three losing seasons, and calls for his removal became louder. Middleton supported Dietzel, however, and in his fourth season as coach the LSU Tigers not only had an undefeated season, but also won the Sugar Bowl and were declared the national champions. A serious issue facing most southern schools in 1956 was that of desegregation. While Middleton, like most white Louisianans, was in favor of segregation, as the university president his responsibility was to uphold the laws of the state and nation. In a letter to University of Texas Chancellor Harry Ransom, Middleton detailed his efforts to keep black and white students separate and to prevent black students from participating in athletics, in spite of accepting black students into the university. He wrote, "Our Negro students have made no attempt to attend social functions, participate in athletic contests, go in the swimming pool, etc. If they did, we would, for example, discontinue the operation of the swimming pool." In April he