What is Northwestern State like?

 

It’s fun. It’s always evolving. It’s a collection of students, faculty, staff and alumni who are focused on achievement and growth, with smiles on their faces. Northwestern has a proud past and a bright future. The university is based on one of the prettiest campuses in the South, located in one of the nation’s more historic and lovely communities.

 

But NSU also reaches out to you. There are satellite campuses around north and central Louisiana. There are a wide array of online course offerings available as Northwestern State University has become a nationally recognized leader in distance learning (online education).

 

Come visit. Once you’re here, you will want to stay and enjoy being part of the NSU family!

 

Getting around campus

Northwestern has a campus that is pedestrian friendly. You can park and walk anywhere, and not be walking too far. You’ll enjoy the scenery, you’ll appreciate the integrity of the architectural style, and you’ll encounter smiling faces everywhere you go.

 

Where are you going? Here’s a series of campus maps.

http://www.nsula.edu/maps/

 

Here are directions to athletic venues:

http://www.nmnathletics.com/ViewArticle.dbml?&DB_OEM_ID=20000&KEY=&ATCLID=1374741#directions

 

What does NSU look like?

 

Since it was founded in 1884, the campus has been like a living postcard. Its beauty is legendary around Louisiana and the Southland Conference. They say a picture is worth 1,000 words ... so, take a look for yourself!:

 

http://www.nsula.edu/alumni/photos_campus.html

 

The History of Northwestern State University

(courtesy NSU Student Handbook)

 

Northwestern State University of Louisiana stands on ground that has been

dedicated to learning for well over a hundred twenty years. Prior to the Civil

War a portion of the present campus was the property of the Bullard family of Natchitoches. As early as 1856 the Bullard mansion was in use as a convent by the Religious Society of the Sacred Heart. The following year a school building was erected at the convent and in 1884 the town and parish of Natchitoches purchased the property. Three of the four great white columns that once supported the east gable of the mansion still stand on “The Hill” and often serve as the unofficial symbols of the university.

 

The campus, developed upon rolling hills and high river bottomland, is acknowledged to be one of the most spacious and attractive in the South. The natural beauty of the site drew people to it even in prehistoric times. Long the home of a major Indian tribe for which it was named, the French fortified Natchitoches in 1714 as an outpost of their New World Empire facing Spanish Texas to the west.

 

The city today takes pride in its standing as the oldest permanent settlement in the entire Louisiana Purchase Territory. Although the fires of the Civil War scarred the Cane River Country, Natchitoches escaped relatively unharmed, and many traces of its colonial and antebellum heritage remain.

 

In 1884 the state Legislature by Act 51 created the Louisiana State Normal

School for the preparation of teachers. Shortly after, a member of the Legislature,

Leopold Caspari, offered the convent site as a campus for the school with the

anticipated approval of the citizens of Natchitoches. The offer was accepted and

from 1885 to 1918 the Normal School offered two years of study for the training of teachers. Baccalaureate programs were inaugurated, and the State Constitution, adopted in 1921, changed the name of the school to Louisiana State Normal College.

 

The resources and curricula of “Normal” grew steadily to meet the increasingly

diverse requirements of Louisiana’s expanding population. In 1944 the institution’s excellent service in its broader role was accorded formal recognition by Act 326 of the Legislature, which changed its name to Northwestern State College of Louisiana.

 

Northwestern maintained and strengthened its long tradition of leadership in

public service and academic endeavor and became, in 1954, the first college under the jurisdiction of the Louisiana State Board of Education to offer the Master’s degree. The Specialist in Education degree was first offered in 1966.

 

On June 18, 1970, Governor John J. McKeithen signed the legislative act, which

brought the old campus its greatest distinction by changing its title to Northwestern State University of Louisiana.

 

In 1980 the old campus quadrangle where the columns stand was entered into the National Register of Historic Places under the title: “Normal Hill Historic District.”

 

Although, primarily a regional institution, Northwestern also offers an opportunity for education at other satellite locations specifically, distance learning is available in Leesville, Shreveport, and Alexandria. In addition to academics, these centers are also developing student life programs.

 

The Nursing Education Center, located in Shreveport, provides the educational environment for nursing majors enrolled in clinical courses, as well as, general education courses. The Center houses departments administering masters, baccalaureate and associate degree programs. The campus includes state-of-the-art academic facilities, office space for faculty and staff, a bookstore, and facilities for activities and organizations.

 

University Traditions

(courtesy NSU Student Handbook)

 

Family Day

 

Sponsored by the Office of Student Activities and Organizations, and New Student Programs, “Family Day” is shared by students and their families. Held on a weekend during early fall, “Family Day” gives parents an opportunity to visit the campus and experience college life. Activities include recreational sports, tailgate parties and a Demon football game.

 

Folk Festival

 

The Natchitoches-Northwestern Annual Folk Festival celebrates Louisiana folk arts during the third weekend in July each summer. In addition to the exhibits, which feature an important industry or occupation, the festival presents a wide variety of traditional folk crafts, music and food. The festival attracts people regionally and nationally.

 

Homecoming

 

Homecoming is a special tradition in which students, alumni, friends, and the Natchitoches community participate. Held each fall, Homecoming is a week long event featuring the Homecoming parade, pep rally, and class reunion. The highlight of Homecoming Week is the Homecoming football game, including the presentation of the Homecoming King & Queen and their Court and a special halftime show featuring the “Spirit of Northwestern” Marching Band.

 

Lady of the Bracelet

 

In the early 1920s, the Potpourri, Northwestern’s yearbook, sponsored the first beauty pageant held on the university campus. The contestants were selected from photographs submitted to well-known producers for judgment and were chosen for their charm and beauty.

 

In 1958, Miss Kahne Dipola was crowned the first Miss Lady of the Bracelet and she received a gold bracelet to wear when she represented the university in public.

 

Over the years, the bracelet has been passed down to each holder of the prestigious title.

 

Through the efforts of Mr. Robert W. Wilson, Sr., the Student Union Governing Board purchased the first franchise from the Miss Louisiana Pageant in 1971, enabling Northwestern’s Lady of the Bracelet to enter the state contest. The Student Activities Board, formerly the Student Union Governing Board, has continued the tradition of sponsoring the Lady of the Bracelet Pageant for the enjoyment of the Northwestern community. The Lady of the Bracelet Pageant has gained state recognition for production, scholarship, and quality of contestants.

 

The Legend of Isabella

 

Isabella was a young French maiden, renowned for her beauty, who once lived in the original Bullard mansion after the Bullards were gone. The young lady had many suitors but preferred the company of a young man from the East, sent to Louisiana on business. They fell in love and were to be married. Shortly before the wedding date arrived the young man was killed in a duel. Legend has it that the duel concerned a dispute over another woman.

 

Isabella, overcome by grief became a nun and the French maiden’s beauty wasted away through constant mourning of her intended. Everyone believed she had gone mad from grief and mourning. One stormy night she ended her mourning by plunging a dagger into her heart. Soon after, she was found dead in her room, with a bloody handprint on the wall.

 

Her spirit roamed Bullard mansion until it was torn down. Since then she has roamed various buildings on campus. She lived in East Hall until it was torn down in 1932. This was evidenced by the eyewitness accounts of girls who lived in East.

 

From East Hall, Isabella’s spirit moved to the Music Hall and resided there until 1946 then this building was also torn down. Just before the Music Hall was dismantled,a group of young men, dressed in sheets, coaxed Isabella from the doomed building.

 

From there she wandered aimlessly around campus from building to building (including East Varnado) for almost three years, until, becoming weary, she chose Caldwell Hall as her new residence. Speculation has it that Caldwell was chosen because of its close proximity to the original Bullard dwelling. According to newspaper articles the official date of the move was January 15, 1949. Reportedly a letter from the ghost was found on the steps of Caldwell along with a few drops of blood.

 

Isabella’s present residence is the Old Women’s Gym (presently the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training) located on College Avenue beside Varnado Hall. When Caldwell Hall burned in October 1982, a group of 750 students gathered and performed a ceremony on Halloween night that aided Isabella in her transition to her present location.

 

Purple & White ? School Colors

 

Northwestern’s official colors are purple and white. In the 1890s the colors were decided upon by two campus organizations, Seekers After Knowledge Literary Society and the Eclectic Literary Society. S.A.K. colors were purple and gold and E.L.S. colors were blue and white. The two organizations combined their colors and decided on purple and white as the Northwestern State University official school colors.

 

 

Student Activities

The Department of Student Activities delivers programs, services and activities in order for students to learn better communication, leadership, and interpersonal skills; experience enhanced self esteem through self appraisal and values clarification; experience healthy life styles, selection of career goals, and independence; and learn social responsibility through service. For information on the various activities available to students at NSU, visit:

http://www.nsula.edu/studentactivities/

 

Student Organizations List

 

Dozens of student organizations, many affiliated with national organizations, form the backbone of the student body at NSU. Here’s a list of organizations and contacts as provided by the Office of Student Affairs:

http://www.nsula.edu/sife/orgs/

 

 

The WRAC ? Experience It Online

 

NSU students enjoy their own fabulous, modern health club ? the Wellness, Recreation and Activity Center (The WRAC). It also is the home of intramural sports and club sports on campus.

http://www.nsula.edu/recsports/tour/tour.htm

 

Distance Learning ? online instruction

For over 117 years Northwestern State University has met the educational needs of students through quality academic programming. Recognizing the power of technology to bring educational opportunity to all students, Northwestern now delivers accredited online degree programs and is regarded as the state pacesetter and a regional leader in distance learning ? taking classes on the internet:

 

http://www.nsula.edu/ece/ensu.asp

 

The NSU Alumni Association

 

Tens of thousands of alumni are all around the globe, literally ? with the biggest concentration of NSU graduates in Louisiana and surrounding states. The NSU Alumni Association provides a rallying point for former students to stay in touch with their alma mater:

 

http://www.nsula.edu/alumni/alumni_association.html