Northwestern State University President James Genovese, beginning his second week on the job Monday, introduced himself to faculty members as “the new kid in town” and told professors and instructors he needs their help selling the institution to prospective students.
Genovese, 74, spoke Monday morning to a packed Friedman Student Union Ballroom audience at an event that opened the university’s annual Faculty Institute and on-call week. With classes beginning next Monday, faculty awards were handed out by Provost Dr. Greg Handel before the start of a series of professional development workshops, departmental meetings and final preparations for the fall semester.
The new president delivered an upbeat, impromptu 15-minute speech outlining his passion for his alma mater (Class of 1971), explaining why he stepped away from his seat as an associate justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court and ended 35 years as a sitting judge to take the helm of the university.
“I came here because I want to make Northwestern better. I’m tired of people asking me ‘What’s the matter with Northwestern? What’s going on there?’” he said. “You, the faculty, are my breath of fresh air. We’ve got a good faculty, we’ve got good curriculum, we’ve got good leaders, good deans.”
That is a message he encouraged faculty to promote to prospective students. He praised NSU’s academic programs in nursing, education, business, technology and the arts.
“We put out the best of everything. What I need your help with is go out and sell it. Don’t sit in your office behind your desk. Go out and sell the product that you have,” Genovese said. “You want a good, inexpensive education where you have access to I-49. Look at the programs we have. We shore up athletics, we’re going straight to the top because you guys have done your job. You guys are there already.”
Genovese aims to bring more students to the campus and stressed improved athletic success will positively impact enrollment.
Genovese cited an upcoming partnership with the School of Business and IBM focused on artificial intelligence instruction on campus, and looked forward to the opening of Alost Hall, NSU’s new academic building, currently under construction and scheduled to open in less than a year. The building will feature state-of-the-art lab spaces, multi-purpose rooms, classrooms and offices.
“I’m excited. I want you to be excited. I want to go out and sell this bill of goods. We want to build up recruiting, we want to build up marketing, we want to build up the athletic program and we want to take our faculty, the academic aspect, and make it even better. I’m on your side.”
The new president closed by quoting legendary LSU baseball coach Skip Bertman, “whose words carry over to education, to every aspect of life: ‘If you can vividly imagine, ardently desire, sincerely believe and enthusiastically act upon a goal, it will come to pass.’ That is the goal that we have.”
Later, Genovese spoke to nearly all university employees at an annual faculty/staff luncheon hosted by the NSU Foundation in the Iberville Dining Hall on campus.
New and returning NSU students will be moving into residence halls through Saturday this week. The university’s 140th academic year will begin Monday, Aug. 19. Registration for the fall semester continues through Aug. 27.
