The years that Middleton was president of LSU were marked by tremendous growth, resulting in many battles over funding priorities. The four major projects being considered were a new library, enclosure 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.