NEWS RELEASE

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

1/29/2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-The College of Business at Northwestern State University is planning to honor a former dean while sprucing up the area around Russell Hall.

The project will create the Barry Smiley Memorial Courtyard which will extend around the entrance most used by students entering Russell Hall.

"Because of the work started by Barry Smiley 20 years ago, Northwestern has built a nationally recognized business program," said Dr. Lissa Pollacia, the BellSouth Professor of Telecommunications at NSU who is leading the project. "We have a wonderful facility, but the exterior of the building does not reflect that. This project will help us make a good first impression on visitors."

The courtyard will include a brick walkway and distinctive hand-made iron benches reflecting the spirit and history of Northwestern and Natchitoches. The benches will be made by a local craftsman and will be similar to those along Front Street in downtown Natchitoches. A portion of the materials for the brick walkway will be donated by Frank and Natalie Piccolo of Artcrete, Inc., of Natchitoches.

"Russell Hall is considered the most elegant and stately building on the Northwestern campus," said Dr. Joel Worley, dean of the College of Business. "The Barry Smiley Memorial Courtyard will further enhance Russell Hall and the College of Business as we continue to grow."

Donations can be made in amounts beginning at $25. A two-seat iron bench can be purchased for $600 while a three-seat bench is $750. The bench can be personalized with the name of an individual or business. Donations are tax deductible.

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.

For more information on the Barry Smiley Memorial Courtyard, contact Pollacia at (318) 357-5161 or pollacia@nsula.edu.

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