NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu )
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466

10/10/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES -Dr. Curt Phifer has been named acting director of the Louisiana Scholars' College at Northwestern State University.

A professor of biology, Phifer has been a member of the Scholars' College faculty since 1988. Prior to coming to NSU, he was on research faculty at Duke University after earning degrees from the University of Kentucky, Florida State University and North Carolina State University.

Phifer served as the chair of the NSU Human Subjects Institutional Review board from 2003 until July of this year and was president of the NSU Faculty Senate from 1999-2001.

"I view the Louisiana Scholars' College as an integral part of NSU, offering an attractive alternative to students who are seeking a comprehensive and interdisciplinary honors curriculum in the liberal arts," Phifer said. "The primary strengths of the Scholars' College are, first its very bright and enthusiastic students, and second its highly qualified and dedicated faculty."

Recognizing these strengths, Phifer hopes to build on the successes of prior directors.

"My major goals for the coming year are to improve recruitment and retention so even more students can take full advantage of the Scholars' College," he said. "I believe an increased emphasis on scholarship by both faculty and students and implementation of a serious service-learning component can go a long way toward making the College more attractive to potential students."

As a research biologist, Phifer's interests are in the neural control of feeding behavior. His work has been published in national and international journals and he has contributed chapters to several books. He has also obtained extramural funding for two substantial research grants for NSU.

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