NEWS RELEASE

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

2/23/2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - The Louisiana Creole Heritage Center at Northwestern State University has awarded a $5,000 grant to Dillard University for the creation of a feature presentation on Louisiana Creole Culture and history.

According to Janet Ravare Colson, assistant director of the Creole Heritage Center, the project will introduce the public to the development and history of Creole culture in Louisiana through the eyes of two organizations, which maintain Creole traditions and celebrate the rich Creole history, the Creole Heritage Center and The Louisiana Creole Research Association (La Creole).

"These are the only organizations established to preserve and disseminate information about the Creole way of life," said Dr. Laura Rouzan, an associate professor of mass communication at Dillard. "The project will explore their individual and combined contributions to Creole cultural preservation."

In order to produce the script, Dillard mass communication students will research Creole history and interview selected members of both organizations. The students will edit the footage and combine Creole music with the text to tell each organization's story.

The Dillard students who will work on the project are Evan Anderson, Brittany Coleman, Kayshawn Crimmins, Jasmine Haynes, Jasmine Kelsey and Stacey Paul. Students will be mentored by two Dillard mass communication faculty, Mark Raymond, director of TV Production and Videography and Rouzan.

Funding was provided by an anonymous donation to the Creole Heritage Center. The donation was initially made to assist students impacted by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

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