NEWS RELEASE

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

4/17/2002

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES- Maj. Gen. Erbon W. Wise and his wife Marie have donated $400,000 to the NSU Foundation to create the Erbon W. and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism. The gift will be matched with $600,000 from the Louisiana Board of Regents Support Fund to create a $1,000,000 endowment.

"This generous gift from Gen. Wise and his wife Marie will have a tremendous impact on Northwestern's Department of Journalism and the University as a whole," said NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb. "I know the Wises have always held Northwestern close to their hearts and have assisted Northwestern, its students and alumni in many ways. Their gift will allow our journalism program to continue to grow."

NSU's program is accredited by the Association for Education in Journalism
and Mass Communications. The university has begun the process for reaffirmation of accreditation.

Erbon Wise, a 1941 graduate of Northwestern, is a charter member of the NSU Hall of Distinction, the Long Purple Line. The Wises met while students at Northwestern. His wife, Marie also graduated from Northwestern in 1941.

"Marie and I have always had love for Northwestern and the fine people who make it the splendid university that it has been, that it is today and that it will continue to be," said Erbon Wise. "Marie and I say thanks to the many great educators here and those who proceeded you here. You gave us a most helpful start in our lives."

According to Wise, his family always called State Normal College, now Northwestern "our family college." He said his father and six aunts and uncles attended Normal, as did Marie Wise's mother.

Wise developed a love for journalism even though his degree was in agriculture.

"I came under the journalism guidance of Professor Ralph Ropp. Listening to him and publishing the Current Sauce was all the training I ever received in journalism," said Wise. "I graduated in agriculture because when I left the farm, my father had said, 'We are farmers. Go study agriculture.' But my heart was not in that hard profession."

After serving in World War II, Wise returned home and in 1948 purchased a newspaper in Maplewood, a community near Lake Charles. He became the publisher of 36 daily and weekly newspapers and Court News publications before retiring in 1998. Wise is the author of 19 books. His latest, "My Military Years, 1941-1969," was published last year.

In addition to serving 27 years in the U.S. Army Air Force, the U.S. Selective Service System, U.S. Army Reserve and the Louisiana National Guard, Wise served Louisiana as adjutant general and as state director of the Selective Service System, Civil Defense and the Office of Emergency Preparedness.

Marie Wise became a teacher after graduating from Northwestern. She was co-publisher of several newspapers with her husband. For 24 years, she wrote a popular weekly column, "Challenge of Genealogy" which appeared in 35 Louisiana newspapers.

The Wises have a deep interest in genealogy and established the Erbon and Marie Wise Genealogical Library at the Louisiana State Archives in Baton Rouge in 1987.

In 1991, they established the Erbon and Marie Wise Education Trust to fund advanced education in newspaper-related fields. Students at NSU and other universities have benefited from scholarships provided by the Trust.

According to Dr. Steve Horton, head of the Department of Journalism at NSU, the program will look to fill the chair with an experienced journalism professional interested in providing students with extensive training in various types of writing. The department also hopes to find an individual who will expose journalism students to the numerous opportunities awaiting them in the field.

"The hard work and dedication of faculty and students has been rewarded by the establishment of the Erbon and Marie Wise Endowed Chair in Journalism. Now we are poised to not only be in the ranks of the best but we are ready to pursue a leadership role," said Horton. "This chair will help us in our efforts at achieving national recognition which ultimately translates into a better a journalism education for our undergraduate students. The population as a whole will be rewarded as our students go out and establish careers in preparing and disseminating materials for the mass media for a better informed and educated public."

Northwestern has one $1,000,000 endowed chair along with a pledge to create a $1,000,000 endowed chair in education. In addition, 21 endowed professorships are secured through the NSU Foundation.

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