NEWS RELEASE

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

7/25/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES ­Dr. Stephen Elliott has been named acting dean of the College of Business at Northwestern State University. He succeeds Dr. Joel Worley, who retired June 30.

A professor of finance at NSU, Elliott has been the Kilpatrick Life Professor of Insurance since 2000. He has also served as area coordinator for finance and economics within the College of Business. Elliott has been a member of Northwestern's faculty since 1978. He has also served as a visiting faculty member at the University of Hawaii.

Elliott earned his doctorate in economics and finance at Louisiana Tech University. He has extensive experience in insurance, financial planning, banking, real estate and as an economic consultant.

"My vision is to be the top College of Business in the state and because of the leadership of Dr. Barry Smiley, Dr. Carroll Aby and Dr. Joel Worley we have made tremendous strides," said Elliott. "We want to be the place where students can get a first-class business degree and be taught by faculty who care. Our goal is to continue servicing the needs of the students through excellence in teaching, advising, and placement, research, and to move forward to new academic excellence."

Elliott said the reaffirmation of accreditation by The Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) International for six years is an indication of the quality of the program.

"A six year accreditation is the longest period granted by AACSB, which indicates the outstanding work done by our faculty in the classroom and as researchers," he said. "I regard my colleagues on the faculty as the best anywhere. They have a passion for teaching and are dedicated to staying current within their field. Because of their efforts, our students are ready to attend graduate school or enter the business world after earning a degree."

Elliott wants to continue building strong relationships with alumni from the College of Business. Alumni and friends of the College of Business have made donations for nine endowed professorships for the college worth $900,000 and an endowed chair, which will be worth $1 million when matching funds are received. Several new scholarships have also been received.

"Alumni and friends of the university are aware of the outstanding achievements at Northwestern and within the College of Business, said Elliott. "I want to make sure those people who support NSU are aware of our latest accomplishments and understand they can play a role in our future success."

As a faculty member, Elliott has had work widely published in national and international professional journals. He has also been a frequent presenter at professional conferences throughout the United States. Elliott has also been a consultant for leading international publishers on textbooks in the fields of finance, insurance and real estate.

Elliott has used the Kilpatrick Life Insurance Endowed Professorship to conduct research on several aspects of insurance including consumer purchasing of insurance, regulations affecting insurance and how consumers make decisions on the purchasing of insurance.

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