NEWS RELEASE

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

4/27/2004

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- The College of Business at Northwestern State University will dedicate the Barry Smiley Memorial Courtyard outside of Russell Hall Friday, April 30 at 1 p.m. The Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce will assist the College of Business in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The courtyard contains brick walkways with hand-made iron benches reflecting the spirit and history of Northwestern. The benches were made by a local craftsman and are similar to those along Front Street in downtown Natchitoches. Materials for the brick walkway were donated by Frank and Natalie Piccolo of Artcrete, Inc., of Natchitoches. Donations from alumni, friends, and faculty in the College of Business funded the courtyard. Benches were donated by David and Mina Carter, Jack and Barbara Russell, Lilly and Dan Chase, Dot and Robert DeKeyzer, Nick and Lissa Pollacia, Kermit and O'Deal Pharris, Scott S. Roach, the Sampite family, and the Smiley/Pittman family.

Among the major contributors to the project were Fidelity Insurance Company, First Federal Savings and Loan, David and Sherry Morgan, Brad Smiley and Elizabeth Smiley Brown. Project directors are Dr. Lissa Pollacia and Dr. Jack Russell, computer information systems faculty in the College of Business.

"We are very grateful to all those who helped make this courtyard a reality," said Pollacia. "This entrance greatly enhances the entrance to Russell Hall. We are very proud of our courtyard, not only because it is one of the most beautiful areas on campus, but also because it helps us remember Barry Smiley, who helped the College of Business grow and gain its outstanding reputation."

Smiley was a member of Northwestern's faculty for 17 years. A nationally recognized scholar in marketing, he was dean of the College of Business from 1983 until 1986 and from 1990 until 1998. Smiley was a professor of marketing at Northwestern from 1998 until his death in 2000. Under his leadership, NSU earned accreditation by the American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business, a distinction earned by only 30 percent of the business programs in the United States.

While at NSU, Smiley was director of the Small Business Development Center from 1986 until 1990. He was chairman of the Department of Business Administration at Louisiana College from 1980 until 1983 and was also a professor of business administration. Smiley was president of the Natchitoches Area Chamber of Commerce in 1990 and a member of the Chamber's board of directors from 1985 until 1990.

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