NEWS RELEASE

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

10/07/2005

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES - In a field where last year is defined as ancient history, Dr. Jack Russell is managing to stay on top of the latest developments.

Russell, a professor of computer information systems at Northwestern State University, received the Ben Bauman Award of Excellence Friday from the International Association of Computer Information Systems at its annual meeting in Atlanta. The award was based on Russell's accomplishments in teaching, research and achievements in the field.

"This is the biggest honor I have ever received," said Russell, who was named a Piper Professor as one of the top 10 faculty in the State of Texas when he was on the faculty at Tarleton State University. "It is recognition of the quality of the program at Northwestern. We have built a state of the art information systems program that is nationally recognized for its excellence."

Students in Northwestern's computer information systems program have won five consecutive national championships in systems analysis at Association of Information Technology Professionals National Collegiate Championship along with four additional national titles in other categories over the past five years.

"It is a definite feather in the cap of the program, the College of Business and Northwestern to be singled out like this," said Russell. "People in the field are recognizing what is taking place here."

Russell and his wife Barbara, who is also on the university's CIS faculty, are completing the third edition of a textbook which will be used around the country. He is also co-authoring a book on business modeling.

"The challenge in the field is to keep up with the changes, but there is no alternative," said Russell. "If you want to teach and prepare your students, you have to stay current and get as much training as possible."

The Bauman Award is named for a longtime educator in computer information systems who developed a model curriculum in the field used by many colleges and universities.

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