NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
8/25/2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES - Northwestern State University welcomed its faculty back for the 2008-09 academic year at the annual Faculty Institute held in Magale Recital Hall. NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb reviewed the past year at Northwestern, previewed the upcoming year and welcomed new faculty to the institution.
“Our new colleagues will find Northwestern to be an exciting environment in which to promote student learning, conduct research, and engage in other scholarly activities,” said Webb.
Webb said Northwestern will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2009 and the past year was a good one on which to build. Last year, the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools reaffirmed Northwestern’s accreditation and approved ACE (Academic and Career Engagement), a Quality Enhancement Plan.
Accreditations were reaffirmed for programs in art, engineering technology, family and consumer science, music, radiologic sciences, and social work. The university also received a strong external review of programs in the Department of Language and Communications.
“We received reviews in several of these areas that rank among the best I have ever seen,” said Webb. “We periodically review every single one of our degree programs, because we want students and their parents to know that every program we offer is first-rate.”
According to Webb, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Dr. Thomas Hanson will be working with departments and colleges to extend their outreach into high schools. The university will also explore increasing its offerings at locations in the region.
University of Louisiana System President Dr. Randy Moffett attended the Institute and told the faculty of their importance to the institution.
“I want you to know how important your role is,” said Moffett. “Students don’t come to the university because of the administration. They come because of the faculty. You take the students from young adults to mature adults who are ready to leave and go out into the world. Faculty have a lasting impact. Being a faculty member isn’t an easy job because students bring challenges and you have to stay current to challenge and stimulate students.”
Moffett encouraged Northwestern’s faculty to play a role in the UL System’s Access and Success Initiative, which seeks to have the System equal national graduation rates by 2012.
Northwestern has implemented several policies to help meet that objective, including implementing a customer service training program for administrators, faculty, advisors, front-line staff, and student employees to make students feel welcome and well-served; offering distance learning courses that give students scheduling flexibility so they can meet their degree requirements and graduate on time and working with Bossier Parish Community College to open a BPCC branch on NSU’s campus. The implementation of the ACE program should also be a major benefit for students.
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