NEWS RELEASE

Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

6/5/2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES -J.C. Rivers knows that his classroom lectures have just become more useful. Rivers, a graduate student in heritage resources at Northwestern State University, will soon be able to take advantage of an $89,000 grant to NSU from the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund Traditional Enhancement Fund in Social Sciences.

Northwestern will use the grant to fund a GIS (Geographic Information System) lab for students and faculty in the heritage resources program. GIS is a computer software system designed to permit users to store, manipulate, analyze, and display data in a geographic context. It is a powerful tool for planning, resource management and education. Geographers, anthropologists, archaeologists, heritage resources managers, and preservation experts are increasingly turning to GIS to manage infrastructures of cities, towns, historic sites and heritage areas. Agencies like the National Park Service, the U. S. Forest Service and the Geodetic Survey have come to rely on GIS, and a career in heritage resources requires familiarity with this tool.

"This grant will give me a broader range to utilize what I have learned in lectures and in other work," said Rivers. "This is an up and coming tool and having it at Northwestern moves our program up. Many historic sites use GIS and look to hire people who have used the program."

The grant proposal by Heritage Resources Program Coordinator Dr. ElizaBeth Guin was the top-rated one in its category.

According to Guin, sophisticated imaging equipment and related software is needed to allow students to learn to analyze tools, buildings, clothing and decorative objects.

"An equipment-enhanced materials analysis laboratory will provide expanded research opportunities for faculty and hands-on learning experiences for students, thus leading to a larger number of students conducting independent research, as well as greater student participation in faculty research," said Guin. "This grant will augment student proficiency in field and laboratory methods, as well as increase faculty-student research opportunities. It will also allow for extensive hands-on learning for the students. The combination of these opportunities and the experience gained in Natchitoches' preservation community will produce professionals well-prepared to manage our nation's heritage resources, as well as facilitate faculty opportunities to contribute to the field."

Guin said the new GIS lab will help the graduate program in heritage resources attract high quality students from around the nation and give those students a chance to do professional research which increases their opportunities for employment."

Northwestern has developed unique bachelor's and master's programs in heritage resources, drawing on faculty in the fields of ethnology, archaeology, cultural geography, history and historic preservation. The university has utilized the area's rich cultural resources by partnering with federal, state and private agencies to provide opportunities for students.

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