Thomas Joseph Arceneaux was born 13 June 1908. He was the son of Emilien Arceneaux and Aline Martin Arceneaux. He graduated from Carencro High School in 1926. He received his B.S. from the Southwestern Louisiana Institute (now University of Louisiana at Lafayette) in 1929, his M.S. from the Texas A&M University in 1931, and his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1935. On 27 August 1936, he married Carita Anne Melchior. He died 12 December 1989.

Dr. Arceneaux was a professor of Agriculture. From 1929-1932 he taught science at Crowley High School. Afterwards, he spent two years as a research fellow at Iowa State University. He served as an assistant professor of agronomy at the Southwestern Louisiana Institute for one year, and then as an associate professor for six years at Louisiana State University. In 1941, he returned to the Southwestern Louisiana Institute as Dean of the College of Agriculture and remained in this position until his retirement in 1973.

Dr. Arceneaux received several assignments such as Head, Louisiana Delegation, Acadian Bicentennial Celebration, Canada, 1955; President, American Delegation, Lafayette Bicentennial Celebration, France, 1957; and as Member of the Advisory Council, the United States National Arboretum Washington, D.C. He also became involved in organizations such as Lafayette Chamber of Commerce, Louisiana Bankers Association, and Lafayette Rotary Club, among many others.

Honors included the Knight of St. Gregory the Great, 1949; Officier d’Academie (France), 1955; and Doctor of Science (honoris causa), Laval University, Quebec, Canada, 1955. He was listed in Who’s Who in America, American Men of Science, Who Knows - and What, French Canadian Who’s Who, Franco-American Who’s Who, and The American Catholic Who’s Who.