Northwestern State University of Louisiana
Northwestern State University, known as (NSU, is a four-year public university primarily situated in Natchitoches, Louisiana, with a nursing campus in Shreveport and general campuses in Leesville/Fort Polk and Alexandria. It is a part of the University of Louisiana System.
Northwestern State University stands on ground that has been dedicated to learning for well over a hundred years. Prior to the American Civil War, a portion of the present campus was the property of the Bullard family of Natchitoches. As early as 1856, the Bullard mansion was in use as a convent by the Religious Society of the Sacred Heart. The following year a school building was erected at the convent and in 1884 the town and parish of Natchitoches purchased the property. Three of the four great white columns that once supported the east gable of the mansion still stand on “The Hill” and serve as the unofficial symbols of the university. The campus, developed upon rolling hills and high river bottomland, is acknowledged to be one of the most spacious and attractive in the South. The natural beauty of the site drew people to it even in prehistoric times. Long the home of a major Indian tribe for which it was named, the French fortified Natchitoches in 1714 as an outpost of their New World Empire facing Spanish Texas to the west.
NSU was founded in 1884 as the Louisiana State Normal School to train teachers. It was the first school in Louisiana to offer degree programs in nursing and business education. NSU, along with numerous other state colleges, gained university status in 1970 during the administration of President Arnold R. Kilpatrick, a Northwestern alumnus who served from 1966-1978. Kilpatrick succeeded the 12-year president, John S. Kyser, a native of El Paso, Illinois.[
Northwestern State University admitted their first baccalaureate Nursing students in 1949. Over the past six decades, more than seven thousand students have received degrees from the NSU College of Nursing, making it the oldest state supported nursing program in Louisiana. During the summer of 2010 the College of Nursing was redefined and the College of Nursing and Allied Health.
In the mid 1940′s the visionary nursing community in Shreveport recognized the need for a collegiate-based nursing program. Following the recommendations of a national consultant, five hospitals agreed to phase out their diploma programs opening the door for Northwestern State University to create a Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program.
During the early years of the NSU College of Nursing, students were given two options. They could exit the program at the end of three years of study with a diploma, or complete a fourth year and earn a baccalaureate degree. The diploma option was phased out in the late 1950′s.
Courses Offered
- Associate of Science in Nursing (ASN) Program
- Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) Program
- Masters of Science in Nursing (MSN) Program
- Non-Traditional Studies (RN to BSN) Program
Colleges
- College of Education & Human Development
- College of Nursing & Allied health
- College of Science, technology & Business
- College of Arts, Graduate Studies & Research
- The Graduate School
Departments & Schools
- School of Business
- Department of Biological Sciences
- Department of Engineering Technology & CIS
- Department of Family and Consumer Sciences
- Department of Mathematics and Physical Sciences
- Department of Military Science
Contact Details
NSU College of Nursing
318-449-7991
Medical Arts Building 2nd Floor
211 Fourth Street
Alexandria, Louisiana 71301
Louisiana: 1 (800) 426-3754
Official Website: http://www.nsula.edu/
