Gary Lavergne
American non-fiction author (born 1955)
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Gary Mitchell Lavergne (born October 28, 1955) is an American non-fiction author. Among his subjects are killers Charles J. Whitman and Kenneth Allen McDuff.
October 28, 1955
Gary Lavergne | |
|---|---|
| Born | Gary Mitchell Lavergne October 28, 1955 Church Point, Louisiana, U.S. |
| Education | University of Louisiana at Lafayette (BA) McNeese State University |
| Occupation | Author |
| Spouse |
Laura Clayton (m. 1976) |
| Children | 4 |
| Writing career | |
| Genre | Non-fiction |
| Website | garylavergne |
Career
Lavergne was born on October 28, 1955[1] Church Point, Louisiana, son of Nolan and Bobbie Lavergne. He attended Church Point High School and graduated in 1973. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in social studies education and a master's in education at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1988, he earned an education specialist degree in educational administration and supervision from McNeese State University.[2] He was a social studies teacher, held administrative positions for both the SAT and the ACT.[2] He worked for the College Board traveling to universities helping administrators understand the SAT.[2]
Lavergne retired as director of admissions research for the University of Texas in 2019.[3] Among Lavergne's books is 1997's A Sniper in the Tower about the 1966 shooting rampage of Charles Whitman,[4] which according to a 2007 Associated Press article is "considered the definitive account of the massacre"[5] and to Frank Rich in a 1997 The New York Times piece is "the authoritative account of the Whitman case".[4] He decided to write the book after watching a TV special on mass murder, realizing that there had never been a book published about the shooting.[2]
He is married to Laura Clayton, with whom he has four children.[6]
Published works
- Before Brown (2010), about the struggle for civil rights in higher education, centered on the Sweatt v. Painter case at the University of Texas at Austin.
- Worse than Death (2003), discusses the 1984 Dallas nightclub shooting, perpetrated by Abdelkrim Belachheb. Published by UNT Press.[7][8][9][10][11]
- Bad Boy from Rosebud (1999), about serial killer Kenneth McDuff. Published by UNT Press.
- A Sniper in the Tower (1997), about Charles Whitman, who shot people from the University of Texas at Austin's tower in 1966. Published by UNT Press.