NATCHITOCHES – Northwestern State University’s chapter of Phi Beta Deta Honor Society for International Scholars will host the organization’s international conference on and around the NSU campus May 21-22, 2021.  The conference will include presentations, meetings, a banquet, reception and entertainment featuring performers from NSU’s School of Creative and Performing Arts, according to Dr. Sharon Joy, president and chapter coordinator.

“I’ve been attending these conferences since the early 2000s,” Joy said.  “I’ve attended them in Washington D.C., Miami Beach, Philadelphia, San Diego, Long Beach, California, and last year at Shepherd University in Shepherdstown, West Virginia.  I’ve served on the National Board this past year and proposed that we hold the May 2021 conference here at NSU. There were a few proposals and ours was selected.”

Joy said NSU President Dr. Chris Maggio was supportive of the proposal when it was submitted last fall and his assistant Christie Price is helping plan the conference. Most events will take place in Magale Recital Hall and Orville Hanchey Gallery, but the conference will also include tours of historic Natchitoches, a riverboat ride and a reception in Beau Jardin.

Joy said that because several NSU faculty are presenting at the May 2020 conference, she hopes that will serve as an invitation to participate in next year’s conference.

“It’s a great honor and opportunity for NSU to host this. It’s not a large conference. There are usually about 100 attendees, but they come from universities across the U.S. and the world. We will have the opportunity to show off the town and NSU,” Joy said.

Phi Beta Delta’s goals are to increase the recognition, credibility and importance of the international experience and create a catalyst for international academic-based programming on college campuses while providing support and recognition to those individuals on campuses who are involved in international endeavors.

Phi Beta Delta’s 2020 conference will be an online conference May 14-15 and was planned as a virtual event prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more information on the 2021 Phi Beta Delta conference, contact Joy at  joys@nsula.edu or (318) 357-5754.