Genovese Leads NSU Rebirth
BOBBY ARDOIN
St. Landry Now.com Editor
Jimmy Genovese is back where it all began for him educationally nearly 60 years ago, leading a Northwestern State rebirth effort that is displaying initial signs of succeeding after one year as the university president.
School officials announced last week that the freshmen fall enrollment class at Northwestern is the highest in four years, along with a record number of transfers and a campus housing occupancy that has reached 100 percent capacity.
Genovese, who came to Northwestern as a freshman business administration major in 1967, was selected as the university president almost 13 months ago at the urging of Gov. Jeff Landry.
Although Genovese had no previous experience as a college administrator, the Opelousas native, AIC graduate and former state associate Supreme Court judge, announced that he is now committed to improving the interest in attending the Natchitoches university.
Genovese recently spoke at an annual gathering of St. Landry Parish athletic and school officials and told them that Northwestern expects to educate 1,100 freshmen this fall.
As his tenure as a Supreme Court justice reached its end, Genovese told the parish school officials that he decided he would consider improving Northwestern, which he said gave him the opportunity to earn a college degree and go to law school.
Genovese has taken a hands-on approach to attracting students.
If you contact him, Genovese said, he will personally ensure that students are matched with a curriculum suitable for their needs and perhaps a job offer that would keep them employed in Louisiana.
“If you want an education at a school where there is a 17-to-1 ratio then come and see me. I can help you. When you get (to Northwestern) we are going to watch over you and make sure you have all the services you need. We have people that are going to do everything to help you,” Genovese added.
According to a published story in the Natchitoches Parish Journal, the Northwestern State ACT scores for incoming freshmen averaged 21.6, which is a point higher than last year and three points above the state average of 18.8.
Genovese said the school is completing a $12 million health and performance center, while 85 percent of the Northwestern athletes receive college degrees.
Parish athletes, Genovese said, should look to Northwestern.
“You send them to me and they will play. We won conference last year in track and tennis and (in football) we are working from scratch, but we’re coming back,” Genovese noted.
Northwestern erased the nation’s longest college losing streak Aug. 28 after defeating Alcorn State in a game played in Natchitoches.
One parish football coach approached Genovese after the meeting and gave him the number of a football player.
“You won’t get a better education at a better price. We have three million in scholarships per semester, one of the most beautiful campuses you will see located in the state’s oldest city,” Genovese added.
Genovese said interest in attending Northwestern this fall is encouraging, but he is enthusiastic about other aspects of a potential campus resurgence.
“Enrollment tells only part of the story. The real measure of success is the quality of the students we attract and the level of energy they bring to the campus. By those measures, this fall is one of the strongest in recent memory,” Genovese said in the Journal story.
