NEWS RELEASE

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

7/8/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES ­ Dr. Steve Horton has been named acting dean of Graduate Studies and Research at Northwestern State University. Horton will oversee the university's graduate programs, research and sponsored programs, and efforts to promote and develop academic research by faculty and students.

"There are significant synergies between graduate studies and the undergraduate learning environment," said Horton, who has been at the university since 1989. "No university can boast a strong undergraduate program without strong graduate instruction. Over the past century, thousands have earned advanced degrees from Northwestern as a result of the contributions of its faculty in the areas of scholarship and service."

Horton said support for graduate education by the administration at Northwestern would continue. The university will maintain its reputation for providing graduate education of the highest quality in the region because of the many advances in graduate distance education, the redesign of most of the graduate education programs, and the introduction of new graduate programs such as the master's program in heritage education.

Horton has been head of NSU's Department of Journalism since 1999. While leading the Department of Journalism, the program received a donation to create the $1 million Erbon W. and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism. The chair will be filled this fall by Dr. John Merrill, professor emeritus at the University of Missouri, who is a internationally recognized journalism educator and practitioner.

Under Horton, the department also received reaffirmation of accreditation from Accrediting Council on Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, which found the program to be in compliance with all of its 12 standards of accreditation.

The department also completed a $1 million digital conversion of its broadcast facility to better prepare its students for the job market.

From 1997 to 1999, Horton was director of Alumni Affairs and development officer, and assistant professor of journalism at NSU. In that position, he increased alumni giving by 25 percent, incorporated alumni into the university recruiting effort and established "Grad Fest," a unique program that afforded the opportunity for graduation candidates to manage final affairs prior to graduation.

Horton joined the university as an instructor of business in 1989 and was named an assistant professor of journalism in 1997. From 1994 until 1998, he was also student publications director, overseeing the campus newspaper and yearbook. During that time, the campus yearbook, The Potpourri, received commendations for excellence in layout design and writing each year.

As a faculty member, Horton has authored or co-authored more than 20 professional publications for state, regional, national and international journals. He has also been involved in more than 30 professional presentations. Horton has also served as a site team evaluator for the Accrediting Council for the Education in Journalism and Mass Communications.

Within the university, Horton is a member COS-SACS Leadership Team working on reaffirmation of accreditation for Northwestern. He also chairs the Strategic Planning and Budgeting Council. Horton was also a member of the Steering Committee and oversaw work on the Academic Integrity section for the university's NCAA Division I Athletics Recertification, Academic Integrity Committee, 2001-2003.

Horton is a member of the Board of Directors of City Bank & Trust Company. He is also a member of the Natchitoches Historic District Commission, and is on the Board of Directors of the Cane River Heritage Area Commission. He served as a member of the Board of Directors and was chair of media relations for the Louisiana Preservation Alliance. Horton is also past president and a member of the Board of Directors of the Natchitoches Historic Foundation and will be president of the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society during its 2006-2007 season.

A native of New Iberia, Horton earned a bachelor's degree at NSU. He received a master's and doctorate at Louisiana State University.

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