I’m excited to share some fantastic news from our track and field teams. For the first time in our program’s history, the Northwestern State women’s team clinched the outdoor team title, completing an impressive indoor and outdoor sweep.

The victory came down to the wire, with NSU edging out McNeese. Our 4×400 relay team, featuring Maygan Shaw and Sanaria Butler, led the charge and secured the win.

Join me in congratulating our athletes and coaches on these outstanding achievements. Their perseverance is truly inspiring.

Artificial Intelligence is now part of our daily lives. NSU is integrating AI across disciplines, revising curricula in our STEM School and College of Arts and Sciences to include essential programming skills in Python. This will help students tackle scientific problems, excel in machine learning, and improve AI algorithms.

We’ve partnered with institutions like the National Center for Preservation Technology and Training (NCPTT), the Fédération Française du Bâtiment (FFB), the Cluster Patrimoine Bâti (CPB) 4.0, and the University of Technology of Troyes (UTT). These partnerships will bolster our efforts to study Louisiana’s climate and its effects on historical buildings. Using AI, we aim to enhance and preserve these structures. Our students will gain hands-on AI experience that sharpen their research and computational skills.

Starting Spring 2025, NSU will offer a live online IBMi class, taught by alumnus Monty Chicola, President and CEO of Real Vision Software, Inc. This course covers programming in RPG and CL, AI programming on the IBMi platform, and offers an IBM Certification Badge.

Thank you to Monty Chicola and Dr. Damien Tristant for advancing AI research at NSU. Let’s keep pushing the boundaries of innovation together.

Session 1 of Freshman Connection starts next week, and we are at full capacity. This program introduces new students to university life, including academic advising and registration for fall classes. Students will also learn about campus activities and ways to get involved. I look forward to seeing our campus come alive with the energy and excitement of Freshman Connection.

Looking forward to a busy summer ahead, welcoming these new students to campus as their new home away from home awaits for them this fall.

Dr. Marcus D. Jones
President
Northwestern State University