NSU | Office of the President of NSU

Biography: Dr. Randall J. Webb

When Dr. Randall J. Webb became Northwestern State University’s 17th president in July 1996, his objective was to make NSU the best institution it could be. And in his eighth year on the job, it is apparent Webb is achieving that goal.

Under his leadership, Northwestern was the first public college or university in Louisiana to have 100 percent of its eligible academic programs nationally accredited.

Enrollment at NSU has continued to surge. In the fall of 2002, enrollment exceeded 10,000 students for the first time. Last fall, enrollment increased for the fourth year in a row to 10,505.

Northwestern has improved its academic programs while attracting better students. The average ACT score of students has risen under Webb’s tenure. Student leaders are choosing NSU in large numbers. The university has dramatically increased the number of high school valedictorians and salutatorians among first-time freshmen.

While Webb has been president, Northwestern has increased the level of external funding for federal, state and private sources. The university has raised more than $10 million from alumni, friends, supporters and private industry in the past three years and has announced its first-ever capital campaign.

The university has received donations or pledges for its first three $1 million endowed chairs. Northwestern also has 24 endowed professorships worth $100,000 each.

NSU has also moved boldly to deliver instruction to students wherever they are. Under Webb, the university has become a leader among state institutions in bringing classes to students by compressed video and the Internet. One of every four students enrolled has taken at least one electronic class at Northwestern.

The university will soon have a different look as construction is underway on a $6.9 million Wellness, Recreation, and Activity Center in the center of the campus. Work was recently completed on a $5 million project to renovate Morrison Hall and the Family and Consumer Sciences Building.

A one-time walk-on center for the Northwestern football team as an undergraduate, Webb has been one of the most avid supporters of the university’s athletic programs.

Since returning to the Northwestern campus in 1989, Webb has been active as a donor and volunteer. In 1994, he oversaw a successful Northwestern Athletic Association board of directors and served on the NSU Athletic Council. In 1995-1996, Webb was in charge of the Athletic Integrity Subcommittee for the university’s NCAA Certification Self-Study.

He serves on the prestigious and powerful NCAA Executive Council, which oversees all major policy decisions by the governing body for major college sports.

A 1965 graduate of Northwestern in mathematics and business education, Webb earned a master of science in mathematics from NSU in 1966. He received a doctorate in education from the University of Southern Mississippi in 1971 with a concentration in mathematics and research.

Webb was a member of the faculty at Longwood College in Farmville, Va. from 1966 until 1974. From 1974 until 1976, Webb was the director of Higher Education and Teacher Certification in the Louisiana Department of Education.

In 1976, Webb moved to Southeastern Louisiana University where he served as director of institutional research and EEO officer from 1976 until 1983 and registrar and a part-time faculty member in mathematics from 1983 until 1989.

Webb returned to NSU in 1989 as dean of Instruction and Graduate Studies and professor of mathematics. In that position, he exercised campus-wide responsibility for policy development, planning, advancement, and review of both graduate and undergraduate programs. While Webb was in that role, graduate enrollment increased by 35 percent and internal funding for faculty research increased by 200 percent.

As dean, Webb proposed the concept for NSU’s successful Freshman Connection Program. He also served as a member of the writing team for a grant proposal that resulted in a five year $1.7 million Title III grant to improve student retention.

Webb chaired the Steering Committee for Northwestern's Self-Study for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

He has also been active in the community as a member of the board of directors of the Natchitoches Chamber of Commerce. Webb was also a member of the Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches, the Natchitoches Historic Foundation and the Natchitoches-Northwestern Symphony Society.

Webb and his wife Brenda have two daughters, both honor graduates of Northwestern. Tamara and her husband, former Demon All-American pitcher Reggie Gatewood, are the parents of two children. Lauren is married to former Demon baseball player Nick Simokatis, and they have an infant son.