Southeastern NEWS
Southeastern Louisiana University
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SLU 880, Hammond, LA
70402
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504-549-2061
Date: 5/21/98
Contact: Carol Dotson 108
PRESIDENT'S AWARDS FOR EXCELLENCE WINNERS ANNOUNCED
HAMMOND, LA -- Five Southeastern Louisiana University
professors and a staff
member have been awarded the university's most prestigious honor
-- the President's Award for
Excellence in research, teaching, artistic activity and service.
The awards were presented at the university's May 16
commencement exercises to
Barbara Forrest, associate professor of philosophy for excellence
in teaching, David Hanson,
associate professor of English for artistic activity, David Wyld,
associate professor of
management for research, John King, professor of marketing for
service (faculty) and Steve
Soutullo, Registrar/Director of Enrollment for service
(unclassified staff).
Forrest, a 1974 Southeastern graduate began her teaching
career at Southeastern in 1981
and has taught in the History and Government and English
departments.
Forrest is "a respected and rigorous teacher" said former
President's Award winner, C.
Howard Nichols, of the department of History and Government. "She
recognizes that teaching is
not restricted to the classroom," Nichols said, citing her
numerous published articles and
presentations.
In nominating her for the award, colleagues noted that she
was "a no-nonsense professor
... tough but fair. Students admire her integrity and moral
courage to speak out on important
issues." Forrest received the "Friend of Darwin" award from the
National Center for Science
Education, for her support of evolution and science education and
for service to NCSE, and was
named to Who's Who Among America's Teachers.
David Hanson has been editor of Southeastern's Louisiana
Literature magazine since
1992. He was a recipient of the dean of Arts and Sciences
Excellence in Teaching award in 1996
and Gamma Beta Phi's Outstanding Teacher of the Year award in
1995. His work on Louisiana
Literature has brought national and international recognition to
Southeastern with sell-out runs
of highly successful special issues.
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Hanson is highly regarded by his peers, fellow faculty member and
editors of other literary
reviews around the country. Vivian Shipley, editor of the
Connecticut Review said, "Hanson,
who has spent his life helping other artists, scholars and
writers had done more good than he can
ever recognize." Southeastern's writer in residence and former
Louisiana Literature editor, Tim
Gautreaux said Hanson has "striven to cultivate and promote
Louisiana writers. His efforts have
garnered significant nationwide attention for this journal and
have drawn work from some of the
finest writers in the country."
Hanson initiated a series of special issues which found new
audiences for the magazine
and increased its circulation. He employed innovative ideas such
as publishing the works of
Louisiana artists along with the work of prize-winning poets in
the anniversary issue,
commissioning landscape artists for a garden and nature writing
issue and commissioning
illustrations for an issue of crime and mystery writing. In
addition, Hanson worked to bring
artists, creative writers and scholars to the university to
present their work to faculty and students
and the Hammond community.
Hanson also sought out support for these artistic endeavors.
He obtained grants from the
Arts Council of Greater Baton Rouge, the Louisiana Division of
the Arts, a Louisiana Education
Quality Support Fund (LEQSF) joint grant with the department of
visual arts, English and
biology, internal grants for travel to research the Ruskin
collections across the country, a faculty
development grant, research minigrant, regional research grant,
National Endowment for the
Humanities grant for travel to collections and an American
Philosophical Society Research grant
for travel to England's Ruskin galleries, museum, and British
library.
David Wyld's research focuses on improving human resource
management and labor
relations. The assistant professor in the College of Business has
been on the Southeastern faculty
since 1992. He previously taught at Midwestern State University
and Memphis State.
Wyld has published more than 60 journal articles, 31 of
which he is the sole author. He
has made over seventy research presentations at conferences, and
won three best paper awards.
Wyld was the principal investigator of a $170,000 Louisiana
Educational Quality Support Fund
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grant awarded to the College of Business to establish a business
internet resource center. He is a
member of the faculty senate and graduate council and coordinator
of the management
department's assessment program.
Wyld believes that being active in research is the key to
bringing new ideas and insights
into the classroom. He research has spanned a broad range of
topics including not only business
related issues but, encompassing health, law and social science.
His research topics have
included analysis of classroom performance, accent
discrimination, geographic literacy and the
internet and issues such as attention deficit disorder, genetic
testing, AIDS, HIV testing and
smoking, in the workplace.
Another College of Business faculty member received the
award for Excellence in
Service. John O. King has been on the faculty since 1972, and has
served twice as head of the
department of marketing and finance and director of the MBA
program. He previously taught at
the University of Arkansas at Monticello and Fayetteville and
Creighton University.
King has been the primary advisor to three deans in the
College of Business and initiated
and sponsored two student organizations, the American Marketing
Association and the MBA
Association.
"John always volunteers," said Mike Cudd, head of the
department of Marketing and
Finance. "His standard response is 'Always remember if you can't
work it out any other way, I
will do it." He continues to serve willingly and actively on
department, college and university
committees. He was instrumental in acquiring specialized sales
training software from Bell
South Systems, a $400,000 value, and he wrote an LEQSF grant that
was fully funded so
Southeastern could acquire the hardware for implementing that
software. He is active in and
represents Southeastern at the Midsouth Marketing Educators
conferences, serving as
coordinator, program chair, panelist or presenter. He also
continues to perform research and
publish.
King has served on and represented the College of Business
on a myriad of university
committees including the graduate council, faculty senate,
student appeals committee, academic
council and has also chaired several committees. He is involved
in student recruitment, visiting
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high schools both independently and as part of coordinated
university efforts. He supports the
community through numerous service activities for the Hammond
Chamber of Commerce,
Tangipahoa Industrial Development Foundation and for his church.
Stephen Soutullo, the staff winner of the Excellence in
Service award, has been
recognized at the state, regional and national level for his work
with recruitment and orientation.
According to Paul Riggs, director of Academic Services, Soutullo
is among the leading
individuals in these fields in the south.
Soutullo, who joined the Southeastern staff in 1981, has
been described by his colleagues
as an effective, caring team leader and a motivating force to his
staff and students.
Soutullo has developed and implemented programs for the
university that have
significantly increased the recruitment and retention of students
at Southeastern. Among those
programs are the on-line and telephone registration, an on-line
transcripts process, grade
submission, applications for graduation and WEB application. He
has assumed leadership roles
and actively participated in professional organizations at state
regional and national levels,
serving as president the Louisiana Association of High School
Relations Personnel for two terms
and the Louisiana Association of Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers.
Active on the campus as well, Soutullo has served on several
university committees,
including Retention, Marketing, Registration, Minority Affairs
Advisory, Peer Mentor program,
ROTC Advisory Council, Honors Program, Junior Division Advisory,
University Curriculum
Council and others.
The President's Award for Excellence recipients receive a
cash award and plaque and will
be recognized at the university's fall Faculty Convocation.
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www.selu.edu/NewsEvents/PublicInfoOffice/newsp98.htm