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NATCHITOCHES, La. (AP) — Northwestern State University's new president, Jim Henderson, starts the job on New Year's Day.
He tells The Town Talk (http://townta.lk/1xkJb3d ) that his business will be talking with faculty and staff. They report to work Jan. 4; students return to campus Jan. 5.
Henderson has been preparing for the job for weeks now, balancing it with his last semester as chancellor of Bossier Parish Community College.
"We've been working for weeks, having conversations with stakeholders to get the state of the campus, get ideas for the future," he said before fall commencement Dec. 19. He was guest speaker at both fall ceremonies, discussing traditions of the 130-year-old university and the transitions he and graduates were experiencing.
He's talked about a team approach to running the campus since September, when he was named the university's 18th president.
When hired he discussed three clear goals to help make NSU a "premier" regional university: Raising quality of life for students, raising and maintaining the value of degrees students receive at NSU and connecting with business and industry in the area to better serve the market.
"We'll crystallize that vision," Henderson said Dec. 19. "It centers on growth and responsiveness."
That growth includes an increase of enrollment, which Henderson said was "inevitable."
While he was chancellor, the community college's enrollment grew by more than 84 percent and annual certificate and degree completions increased by 90 percent, according to a University of Louisiana System news release. From 2011-13, BPCC was among the five fastest growing community colleges in the nation with enrollments of between 5,000 and 9,999.
Henderson said the university probably won't grow that fast, but he and his staff will reach out to under-served markets.
Henderson replaces Randall J. Webb, was president for 18 years.
"It feels like a release in a sense," Webb said. "To have someone of the caliber of Jim Henderson makes it exciting for me. ... I knew him when he was a journalism major. You couldn't get a finer, more capable person."
Webb said he has tried to stand back and let Henderson move in.
"He's the president," Webb said. "He needs to do things his way."
Webb doesn't know what's next for him, except for a move to Shreveport with wife Brenda.
"It's an exciting time for Brenda and me," he said. "I'm looking forward to whatever opportunities come for the future."
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Information from: Alexandria Daily Town Talk, http://www.thetowntalk.com
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