I hope this message finds you well as we continue a productive and exciting start to the summer. While many of our students and faculty are away from campus, important programs and partnerships are moving forward, reminding us that our work as a university continues throughout the year.

Creole Heritage Center Teacher Institute
On Monday, I had the honor of welcoming participants to this year’s Teacher Institute, hosted by one of our most impactful academic and cultural centers, the Creole Heritage Center. For more than 25 years, the Center has played a vital role in preserving, educating, and advocating for the culture and history of Louisiana’s Creole people. Through their work, they help ensure that Creole identity, language, music, cuisine, and customs are not only remembered but also taught, celebrated, and passed on. I want to thank the Center’s leadership, our partners, and presenters, and all who participated. Northwestern is proud to serve as the home of the Creole Heritage Center.

Summer Camp Activities
On Tuesday, I had the pleasure of hosting senior participants from the first of three summer cheer camps for lunch at the President’s Residence. Cheer camp is more than a summer tradition. It also serves as an important recruitment tool that allows us to showcase our campus and community to prospective students. I enjoyed visiting with these talented and enthusiastic participants and look forward to hosting seniors from the upcoming sessions later this summer.

As I mentioned last week, Northwestern is hosting a variety of camps and student groups this summer. In addition to cheer camp, we also welcomed basketball camp participants and the Louisiana Association of Student Councils to campus this week. I had the opportunity to join Coach Rick Cabrera and his staff and enjoyed watching some of the basketball camp activities. Please visit our website for more information on upcoming summer camps and activities.

BOM Partnership
On Thursday, I met with representatives from BOM Bank to continue exploring ways to strengthen our longstanding partnership. As the official bank of NSU, BOM has been a generous supporter of the university. Most recently, the bank provided funding for the new scoreboard at Brown-Stroud Field, which has greatly improved the fan experience at our baseball games. We are grateful for BOM’s continued support and look forward to future collaborations that benefit our students, faculty, staff, and the broader community.

Antoon’s 50th Anniversary Events
The life and legacy of Long Purple Line member Johnny Antoon was commemorated over the weekend with the Antoon’s 50th Anniversary Celebration, including two evening gatherings at the nightspot enjoyed by Northwestern students and many more since 1975, and the 10th Annual Antoon’s Golf Tournament at Northwestern Hills on Saturday morning that drew 29 teams. Over $200,000 has been raised for the Johnny Antoon Memorial Scholarship fund in the last decade and so far, dozens of students have received over $114,000 in financial support toward earning their degrees from NSU. Thanks for all the hard work through the years to Johnny’s wife, Merle, his daughter Danielle, and their dear friends, including Donna McDonald and Lauren Jackson who are all, like Johnny, proud Northwestern graduates.

Athletics Update
The last competition of our 2024-25 athletic year takes place this week at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Ore., and as usual, Northwestern competitors have qualified to participate alongside the other top collegiate athletes from across America. Freshman Roy Morris is among 24 finalists in the long jump beginning at 7:41 p.m. (CDT) Wednesday. A day later, in the 24-women 400-meter dash semifinals at 3:41 p.m., senior Maygan Shaw hopes to move forward to Saturday’s nine-runner finals at 5:02 p.m. Coverage is available on ESPN channels. Good luck to Maygan and Roy!

Our Spirit of Northwestern and Athletics families suffered a sad loss last week with the sudden passing of Scotty Dawson, who was a very spirited saxophonist with SON before completing his NSU degree, and worked for over a decade as a perpetually enthusiastic member of our athletic ticketing staff. Scotty brought joy and positivity to student-athletes, SON members, staff and coaches, and supporters. His presence will be missed for years to come. Appropriately, his funeral will be held in Prather Coliseum Thursday morning with visitation at 10:00 a.m. and the service at 11:00 a.m.

Looking Ahead
On Friday, June 21, the Louisiana Folklife Center will present a special program, “A Life of Zydeco: A Musical Informance with Chubby Carrier,” at 1:00 p.m., at the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum in downtown Natchitoches. A Grammy Award-winning, third-generation zydeco musician, Carrier has performed around the world and will headline the 45th Annual Natchitoches-NSU Louisiana Folklife Festival on July 19 in Prather Coliseum. For more information, visit nsula.edu/folklife.

Thank you for all you do to support our students and help advance the mission of Northwestern State University.

President James T. “Jimmy” Genovese
Northwestern State University