NEWS RELEASE

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

3/10/2003

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NATCHITOCHES-An eagerly anticipated project that will have a major impact on student life at Northwestern State University took another step forward Monday. The university held a groundbreaking ceremony for its $6.9 million Wellness, Recreation and Activity Center which will replace the current Intramural Building.

Work will begin immediately on the three-floor Center which will include free weights, cardiovascular exercise equipment, an indoor walking track, racquetball courts, a gym, aerobics workout area, staff offices, a computer lab and snack bar. The projected completion date is the fall of 2004.

"We are really excited about the future opening of the new IM building," said junior pre-law major Sharmyn Little of Sulphur. "We, the students, have been really patient and I know that we are going to like this new state of the art facility."

Funding for the Center was provided by NSU students who approved a $75 per semester assessment fee in 1998.

"I kept hearing SGA (Student Government Association) presidents say they were going to do something about the Intramural Building, so when I had a chance I was going to make it happen," said former SGA President Alicia Thomas who started groundwork for the project during her term in the 1997-98 academic year. "The building was falling apart. I heard the complaints. The students have a sense of ownership in this building. They can be proud of what they did."

Thomas spent most of her term gathering information on similar projects at universities in Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. The decision was made to renovate the current IM building instead of constructing a complete new facility to take advantage of existing infrastructure and save money for NSU students.

The assessment fee was passed under the administration of Luke Dowden, who succeeded Thomas as president.

"The students are going to see what they voted on in 1998," said Dowden, who is now assistant director of student activities and organizations at NSU. "They wanted to make wellness a priority."

NSU President Dr. Randall J. Webb credited Thomas and her predecessors with keeping the project moving.

"I work with each SGA president to try to accomplish one major goal," said Webb. "This will help Northwestern and its students in many ways. The Wellness Center will promote exercise and good nutrition which will help those who use this facility to be better, healthier students.

"Those who have attended Northwestern over the past four years along with current students can point to this facility and say that they were the ones who took the initiative and made it happen."

Main Menu