NEWS RELEASE

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

8/8/2006

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - The City of Natchitoches and the First Baptist Church of Natchitoches will co-host an open house for Northwestern State University President Dr. Randall J. Webb Sunday, Aug. 20 from 3:30 p.m. until 5:30 p.m. at the Natchitoches Events Center. The public is invited to attend the event, which is being held in celebration of Webb's 10th anniversary as president of NSU.

The open house is being hosted by Wayne and Sandra McCullen, Jerry and Regina Pierce, Jimmy and Dot Long and Gerald and Rose Long.

Since Webb became Northwestern's president in 1996, the university has gained unprecedented state and national attention for its achievements.

In 2001, Northwestern was the first public university in Louisiana to obtain 100 percent accreditation of eligible academic programs.

NSU has continued to attract outstanding students. Two Northwestern students have earned Goldwater Scholarships. The university has also had its first recipient of the Marshall Fellowship. The campus literary magazine, Argus, has been honored as one of the top five in the nation for three years in a row. Potpourri, the student yearbook, has been named as the nation's best college yearbook.

Students in computer information systems have won nine national championships in competition against some of the nation's top universities including five consecutive titles in systems analysis.

Alumni and friends of the university along with private businesses have responded positively to NSU's first capital campaign. The fund drive has a goal of $18.84 million and an update on the campaign will be announced in September.

New academic programs have been created including bachelor's programs in criminal justice, heritage resources, electronics engineering technology and theatre, along with a bachelor's in liberal arts in the Louisiana Scholars' College. A new graduate program in heritage resources is in its first year.

Northwestern has tremendous success delivering classes by distance learning, which includes classes offered by Internet and compressed video. Ten degree programs are available electronically and several hundred students take exclusively electronic classes.

In recent years, the renovation of Russell Hall, now the home of the College of Business, was completed. Multi-million dollar projects to renovate Morrison Hall and the Family and Consumer Sciences Building were also undertaken.

NSU students voted to construct the Wellness, Recreation and Activity Center on the site of the former Intramural Building. A new 380-bed residence hall, University Place, was constructed and the university is considering plans to modernize student housing on campus.

The university's athletic program has unprecedented success over the past decade. In 2004-05, NSU became the first Southland Conference member in the league's 41-year history to sweep football, men's basketball and baseball championships in the same athletic year.

In the past decade, Northwestern has won 21 Southland Conference titles in seven sports: football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, women's soccer, softball men's track and field. There have been 10 SLC Tournament championships in that time.

Over the past decade Northwestern has made 15 NCAA and one WNIT postseason appearances. The most memorable were the Demons' win over Iowa in the NCAA Tournament and the football team's drive to the Division I-AA playoffs in 1998.

Track and field has seen athletes win 17 All-America awards for top finishes at the NCAA Division I Indoor and Outdoor Championships.

Main Menu