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NEWS RELEASE
Contact: Leah Jackson (jacksonl@nsula.edu)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
2/8/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES -A pledge to the Northwestern State University Foundation will honor a former mathematics professor while benefiting a student majoring in mathematics.
Ellis Coutee and his wife Melva Juanita Martinez Coutee of Baton Rouge have pledged $25,000 towards an endowed scholarship in honor of Dr. William Timon, to recognize Dr. Timon as an individual who was very influential over their lives and careers.
Timon was a mathematics faculty member at NSU from 1954-65. When the Coutees previously established the first endowed professorship in mathematics, the Ellis and Melva Juanita Martinez Coutee Professorship in Mathematics, Timon was quoted as saying "When I came to Northwestern, she [Mrs. Coutee] was in her first semester. She was a very good student who did well. I am grateful that she and Ellis have been so successful and have been able to make this donation to Northwestern. It's great that they chose to use this donation in the Department of Mathematics."
"Dr. Timon was an inspiration to me as a teacher," Mrs. Coutee said. "He was knowledgeable, knew how to present the subject matter in an effective manner, was receptive to questions and challenges, and made learning fun. Students didn't sleep in his class. I love being around people who are enthusiastic about what they are doing, whether it is playing a game, learning, dancing, or teaching. And that describes Bill Timon. He also inspired me to use unique methods in my high school."
"Bill Timon changed our lives and it was to the good," Ellis Coutee said. "This is merely a unique way of saying thanks. We will never forget what Bill did for us. We are humble, grateful and thankful."
"I majored in mathematics and business education at
Northwestern, just as Mrs. Coutee did," said NSU President
Dr. Randall J. Webb. "Bill Timon was my department head,
faculty advisor and teacher. He was a brilliant mathematician
and statistician who also had a passion for preparing teachers
and providing them in-service." Webb remembered Dr. Timon
visiting his classroom during Webb's student teaching days at
Natchitoches High School.
"Bill Timon was a hero of mine all through the years, even
to the point where I got them to invite him for an interview to
head the mathematics department where I taught at Longwood College,
in Virginia," Webb said. "They finally gave up on hiring
him when it was determined they would have to pay him more than
the president."
Mrs. Coutee, a native of Zwolle, earned a degree in mathematics
and business education in 1958 and a master's in mathematics in
1960. Mr. Coutee, an Alexandria native and 1960 graduate of Northwestern,
earned a degree in accounting. After successful careers in business,
the Coutees are now tax consultants.
In 2005, the Coutees were inducted into Northwestern's Graduate Hall of Distinction, the Long Purple Line. In addition to the Timon Scholarship and the Coutee Professorship in Mathematics, the Coutees have created the Dudley Downing Scholarship and, along with other donors, created the Kenneth I. Durr Professorship for the College of Business.
Dr. Timon passed away Feb. 7, 2005. His wife, Katherine Timon of Natchitoches, said he would be very happy about the scholarship.
"I'm sure he would be pleased. He loved his students and I had heard him talk about Juanita. She was such a good student and he thought a lot of her," Mrs. Timon said. "He would be pleased to know that one of his students thought enough of him to do this."
"By their example, teachers can provide you with a great attitude which carries over into your life and your work. Dr. Timon did that," Mrs. Coutee said.