Tag: Nicholls State University

National Society for Human Resource Management Awards Nicholls Chapter

The National Society for Human Resource Management has recently awarded its Superior Merit Award to Nicholls State University for its excellence and achievement observed over the last academic year, according to an NSU statement.

The Society for Human Resource Management at Nicholls State University (SHRM@NSU) is an industry-acclaimed undergraduate Human Resources chapter that prompted the mutually beneficial interaction between students and Human Resource professionals. Holding this membership gives students the opportunity to add practical knowledge and experience to their classroom training.

In fact, the Nicholls chapter of SHRM is the largest of the SHRM groups in the state of Louisiana, and as of Fall 2021, their competitive team remains undefeated in state case competitions. This most recent recognition from the SHRM Student Chapter Merit Award program is set to encourage the development of effective student chapters of the SHRM and to distinguish outstanding projects and activities occurring within those chapters. Throughout the year, the national organization will recognize the operations, programming, professional development, and support exhibited by individual chapters.

Melanie Boudreax is an assistant professor of management at Nicholls State University, and she is the SHRM@NSU’s faculty advisor. When asked to comment on the recent achievement, she said, “it is a continuously rewarding experience working with these awesome students. They are our future HR professionals, and they work hard and deserve this honor. I just feel so blessed to share in these wins with them.”

The student chapter at Nicholls State University is a part of the larger, national Society for Human Resource Management, which is the biggest and most reliable resource for HR information worldwide with a network of over 250,000 members. SHRM@NSU holds regular biweekly meetings with programming that is designed to help members learn more about HR, its role within the business landscape, and to also network with each other and with HR professionals. These activities allow members to learn more about human resource management while building relationships with local professionals and other students in an enjoyable fashion.

Johnny C. Taylor, Jr. SHRM-SCP, SHRM president and CEO, said of Nicholls’ success, “the members of our SHRM student chapters represent the next generation of HR leaders, and it’s critical to highlight the instrumental role they play in SHRM’s success. The hard work of Nicholls State University shows the future of the profession is in good hands. I applaud their accomplishments and ability to foster innovative programming, development and interest in HR as we navigate changing workplaces.”

Throughout the school year, SHRM@NSU will host Human Resources guest speakers, attend both local and state HR conferences, compete in state regional case competitions, attend Bayou SHRM meetings, and raise funds for various charities such as the Thibodaux Toy Drive and the Give-N-Day fundraiser.

Nicholls State University’s SHRM also organizes activities that are based on their members’ interests such as their High School Business Workshop Series. In this series, SHRM@NSU aids with the presentation of valuable insight and industry-specific content to high school juniors and seniors interested in business careers. Additionally, the SHRM@NSU also actively performs an essential role during Nicholls’ New Student Orientation wherein members of the organization welcome students to the College of Business Administration and their specific program.

Nationally, SHRM aims to create better workplaces in which employers and employees can thrive together with the organization being the “foremost expert, convener and thought leader on issues impacting today’s evolving workplaces.” The organization connects with over 300,000 human resource and business executive membersthroughout 165 countries. With this large impact, they influence and in part, impact the lives of over 115 million families and workers worldwide.

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Pelicans Donate to Nicholls for Hurricane Relief

Always a celebrated component of Louisiana athletics, the New Orleans Pelicans recently showed their support for their neighboring communities by donating $100,000 to Nicholls State University for hurricane relief, according to the school.

The large donation, which was announced by the team at an open practice held on Nicholls campus, is set to help members of the larger Nicholls community recover from the devastating Hurricane Ida after a majority of the service region of the university was affected by the August 29th storm. As a result of Ida’s damaging winds and floodwaters, many student-athletes were dispersed across the country to several states where they gathered at host universities to practice for the upcoming athletic season.

Despite the many challenges they faced, these student-athletes kept the competitive spirit of Colonel athletics alive and remained focused in these new settings. One Sports Illustrated article recounted how the coaching staff of the Nicholls State Colonels men’s basketball team secured temporary homes for 16 players and coaches to sleep, eat, and practice amid damages sustained in the parish.

Coach Austin Claunch told Kevin Sweeney of SI, “let’s see if we can get somewhere quickly, and we can make it like a 2–3 week training camp and really benefit from it, almost like a team retreat,” showing the optimism of Nicholls’ coaching staff in the face of disaster.

The $100,000 donated by the New Orleans Pelicans will help to counterbalance some of the unexpected costs that the university had experienced to keep their athletic teams working and practicing together in Ida’s aftermath.

Dr. Jay Clune, President of Nicholls State University, said of the gift from the NBA organization, “we are so grateful for generous partners like the New Orleans Pelicans for coming to our aid in a time of need. This donation will benefit not only student-athletes, but also many of our students who lost homes in this storm. This will help so many students continue to succeed in the face of adversity.”

The announcement of the donation was made public as the New Orleans Pelicans held their annual open practice on Saturday, October 16 at the David R. Stopher Gymnasium, which is located on the campus of Nicholls State University. The open practice offered Pelicans fans a first-hand opportunity to get an inside look at the 2021-2022 team and to show their support for the South Louisiana communities that were directly impacted by Hurricane Ida.

Tickets for the event were primarily limited to schools and organizations located in Lafourche and Terrebonne Parishes that were directly affected by Ida with a particular focus on local high school basketball teams, first responders and youth-centered organizations. Tickets were distributed by the Nicholls State University Athletic Department, who distributed available tickets on behalf of the Pelicans.

Pelicans Governor, Gayle Benson, said of the event, “as South Louisiana continues to rebuild after the devastation caused by Hurricane Ida, our organization remains steadfast on providing resources to help these impacted communities recover. Our players, coaches, and staff could not be more excited to show our support for South Louisiana and put on a great show at open practice. I also want to thank Nicholls State University for graciously opening their facilities and hosting this event.”

Specifically, when speaking about the Pelicans’ donation to Nicholls, team governor Gayle Benson said, “it brings thePelicans family great joy to contribute to the Nicholls State University hurricane relief fund. Our partners at Nicholls did a fabulous job of hosting our open practice this past weekend and we are appreciative of the hurricane relief work their team is doing to help support students in the community. We must continue to support those impacted by Hurricane Ida’s destruction.”

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Chauvin Sculpture Garden: Damaged by Ida with Plans to be Restored

Storm damage left in the wake of Hurricane Ida is set to be repaired and reversed by supporters of Nicholls State University’s Chauvin Sculpture Garden, according to an article from Houma Today.

When Hurricane Ida historically made landfall and damaged a significant portion of Southeastern Louisiana in late August, one of Terrebonne Parish’s most recognizable and unique landmarks was significantly damaged. Owned by Nicholls State University and located at 5337 Bayouside Drive, the Chauvin Sculpture Garden receives approximately 10,000 visitors each and every year. Despite receiving damage from the state’s previous storms, several of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden’s pieces had sustained significant damage from falling trees from Hurricane Ida.

As soon as pictures, reports, and eyewitness accounts were made public via Facebook, supporters of the garden came out in droves not just with well wishes but also donations and offerings to help bring the garden and its pieces back to their former glory. One of the pieces receiving significant damage was the “Flowered Path,” a personal favorite of the garden’s sculptor, Kenny Hill.

A self-taught artist, Hill was first a brick-layer by trade before he moved to Chauvin in 1988 and created the garden with over 100 concrete statues that rest along Bayou Little Caillou. In the garden lie many beloved portrayals of Cajuns, angels, self-portraits, and other impressive figures, though as described by the president of the Friends of the Chauvin Sculpture Garden, Dr. Gary LaFleur, many sustained massive damages.

LaFleur reported to Houma Today, “It has gotten some damage from hurricanes before like Katrina and Gustav, but nothing of this magnitude. The winds in Chauvin were pretty high, maybe as high as 150 mph. A lot of trees came down. One tree branch came down on part of the “Flowered Path,” where the artist Kenny Hill was able to make angels look like they’re flying in the air. But they weren’t made to have a big branch on them. One of those angels is carrying a baby, and somehow the baby fell out of the angel’s arms and got caught up in the branches but did not hit the ground. We caught the baby and stored it away so the baby is OK, but most of the angels took some damage.”

LaFleur continued to explain that though it’s a bit early to restore the garden, due to the substantial damages to the surrounding area, the wheels are already in motion. In fact, as soon as the story of the garden’s damages was spread across social media channels, organizers began to organize together with a goal of restoring the garden so as to bring a symbolic gesture of faith and hope to a community similarly weakened by the storm.

Jonathan Foret is the Executive Director of the South Louisiana Wetlands Discovery Center in Houma, and upon seeing Ida’s impact on the garden, he reported to Houma Today that he was particularly pained by it.

Foret expressed, “it may seem odd, but of all the things I didn’t want to see this broken the most. Not to make insignificant all the people that lost their possessions and homes. I know that is most important. I’m not sure why, but maybe I do. It’s an important symbol of Chauvin … and Terrebonne Parish. I want to be a part of putting this back together. It’s symbolic … and I hope it can help us all heal.”

If you’d like to track the restoration efforts of bringing the Chauvin Sculpture Garden back to its full, former spectacle and glory, it’s suggested that you visit the Garden’s Facebook Page. In addition to this restoration effort, if you’d like to also assist struggling residents in the Houma area who were affected by the storm, please visit the New York Times’ linked resources.

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Nicholls Awarded Nearly $500,000 For Coastal Research

In an effort to save the eroding coast of the state of Louisiana, students from Nicholls State University have been given nearly $500,000 to conduct coastal research, according to Houma Today.

This hefty amount that will be used to research the Louisiana coastline is among eight Louisiana research grants announced recently by the Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Water Institute of the Gulf. These eight grants all together amount to a pledged $2.5 million.

The Water Institute of the Gulf is responsible for “vetting” grant proposals on behalf of the State of Louisiana. Afterward, they select recipients whose proposals will be funded by oil money, which is required to be spent on coastal restoration projects. In fact, the $495,368 research grant going to Nicholls students consists of funds originating from penalties and fines that have been levied against BP and other companies that were involved in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

An assistant professor of biological sciences at Nicholls, Dr. Jonathan Willis, said of the aim of their research, “our understanding of how ridges function and the ecological and sociological communities they support is limited. By resolving targeted data gaps and providing conceptual models of ridge function, we can facilitate planning for coastal ridge restoration projects.”

The students at Nicholls will focus their research on ridges in particular. Ridges are strips of elevated land created by the Mississippi River, area bayous, and other waterways when collected sediment overflows their water banks. In most cases, that process ended sometime after flood-prevention levees were built along the Mississippi River and some of its connected tributaries in the late 1920s, and as a result, many of these ridges have since eroded and can no longer buffer communities and wetlands from flooding.

The Dean of Nicholls College of Science and Technology and the director of coastal initiatives, Dr. John Doucet said of the research grant, “this funding is recognition of the strong reputation of Nicholls scientists and students and the important coastal work they’ve been conducting over the years. This grant award is a win for Nicholls and the Coastal Center but it is also a win for the communities of the Terrebonne-Lafourche-Barataria region.”

Students at the University will conduct their research through a portion of south Louisiana between the Atchafalaya and Mississippi rivers known as the Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary, including all of Terrebonne and Lafourche. This area has lost 598,730 acres or 935 square miles of land to erosion and rising seas since 1935.

Contributing to the research will be multiple members of faculty and students from Nicholls’ Biology, English,Geomatics, and History departments. These contributors will be in the field conducting surveys, performing lab analysis, conducting historical reviews, using drones to take aerial video and photography, and interviewing estuary residents. Nicholls State University reports that the work will begin this upcoming fall and continue well through 2023.

With this multi-year research project beginning soon, Nicholls will be positioning itself as a leading center in the region for coastal education and research. In fact, the school will begin preliminary work in the next year on a $14.5 million Coastal Center that will serve as a hub for research on Louisiana’s eroding wetlands that will give guidance on how they can be preserved and eventually restored. Gov. John Bel Edwards announced in 2019 that Nicholls expects to receive bids by the year’s end to start groundwork on the 33,000-square foot building with the work being financed by $2.5 million from the state coastal agency. They are expecting to get to work and break ground early next year.

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The Sales Program at Nicholls Receives Critical Acclaim

Once again the professional sales program at Nicholls State University has been named one of the best in the nation by a national sales publication, according to a press release from the school.

The critical acclaim comes from the Sales Education Foundation, a non-profit that has been offering support, information, and guidance to universities and prospective students alike since 2007. The 2021 edition of Sales Education Foundation Annual Magazine praised the professional sales education programs of several universities, and Nicholls was one of the five Louisiana institutions to top the list. The other schools were Southeastern Louisiana University, Louisiana State University, The University of Louisiana at Lafayette, and  Xavier University of Louisiana.

The publication praised Nicholls’ College of Business Administration for its specialization, sales lab, and job replacement rate of 80%. Specifically, SEF’s publication said of the school, “this program utilizes a professional, corporate-style training facility including five role-play rooms that enhance the sales and behavioral skills of students in the program. Nicholls also has a cross-disciplinary degree program with Finance to prepare students for a career in Financial Services Marketing.”

While students who are enrolled in the College of Business Administration can earn degrees in  Accounting, Business Administration, Computer Information Systems, Finance, Management, and Marketing, it’s the two latter programs that often attract students across the school’s various departments.

Laura Valenti, the assistant professor of marketing and a faculty sales advisor, told Nicholls press that the Marketing program often attracts students of various disciplines. The acclaimed program is known to attract more than marketing students with students earning degrees in human resources, mass communications, and music who have benefitted from the faculty, curriculum, and resources from the department over the years.

The College of Business Administration holds an accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB), the world’s largest business education alliance and the gold standard in quality accreditations for all Colleges of Business. In fact, less than 5% of Colleges across the world hold this accreditation, and the College of Business Administration at Nicholls State University has held this respected distinction for over 30 years.

Valenti said of her department, “this program is unique because it embraces the diversity of the Nicholls student. Personal selling is a universal skill set and all are welcome to learn in the sales class. The outcome is a student who in three months can approach the real world with the ability to sell themselves as well as a product or service.”

Also praised by the SEF was the school’s Annual Bayou Sales Challenge, a regional, intercollegiate sales competition hosted by the College of Business each spring. The annual sales challenge is famous in the state for offering an opportunity for students who are interested in pursuing a sales career to showcase their professional selling skills through role-play. The 2021 competition saw competitors from Florida State University, Louisiana State University, Nicholls State University, Southeastern Louisiana University, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.

The Bayou Sales Challenge began in 2003 after Nicholls’ state-of-the-art and interactive sales lab was built thanks to a generous donation from Northwestern Mutual. This past February marked the 17th year of competition as participating universities sent their top sales students to showcase their sales talent and knowledge in front of company representatives who served as judges of the competition.

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Nicholls Culinary Institute Gains Two Scholarships from Rouses Markets

It was recently announced that the Nicholls’ Chef John Folse Culinary Institute will be receiving two new scholarships from a Louisiana grocery store chain.

Having just celebrated its 60th–anniversary last year, the Louisiana-based grocery brand known as Rouses Markets opened one of its first stores in Houma, so it’s only poetic that the two new scholarships offered to future culinary institute professionals at Nicholls will be named after influential members of the Rouses’ legacy. One scholarship will be named after Anthony Rouse, Sr, who pioneered the first Rouses Market in 1960, and the other will be named after Leroy Theriot who was the innovative butcher and meat manager at the original Rouses Market.

The current CEO of Rouses’, Donny Rouse, said of the two new scholarships, “We’re happy to continue our commitment to Nicholls State University and the next generation of culinary and grocery professionals with the endowment of these two scholarships.”

Both scholarships are categorized as “endowed scholarships,” which are those academic grants that are established for scholarship funds to be awarded for multiple years, depending on the initial donation size. The director of the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute, Chef John Kozar, told the University that each scholarship would be ideal to cover the sets of fees culinary students will sustain or incur throughout their degree program.

As Anthony J. Rouse, Sr. was and still is a prominent name in the local grocery industry, the Anthony J. Rouse, Sr. Food Entrepreneurship Scholarship will award $1,500 per academic year to any part-time Rouses Markets employee or any dependent of any Rouses employees who are culinary institute majors. The scholarship board for the Rouses Scholarship will be giving preference to applicants who have an interest in food entrepreneurship.

In a similar trend, the Leroy Theriot Meat & Charcuterie Culinary Arts Scholarship will give preference to any applicants with an interest in the art of butchery and butcher crafts. Before he was Rouses’ first meat manager, Theriot was a prominent butcher at Ciro DiMarco’s grocery before DiMarco left the shop to open the initial 7,000-square-foot Rouses in Houma. According to Rouses’, the Theriot scholarship “seeks to develop the next generation of meat science professionals.”

When speaking on the naming and intention of each scholarship, Rouses CEO Donny Rouse said, “Leroy Theriot set the standard for every butcher who has followed him at Rouses. And Pa knew success doesn’t just happen; it is made to happen and requires sacrifice, dedication, and a commitment to quality and service. He was a true entrepreneur.”

Chef John Kozar, who has a valuable stake in both the culinary students at Nicholls and the nearby grocery industry, said of the partnership between university and grocery chain, “Rouses Markets has been a Bayou Region icon for nearly a century. Many of our students and graduates work for the company, and we are thankful for their constant support.”

The sentiment was echoed by the executive director of the Nicholls Foundation, Jeremy Becker, who remarked on the strengthening partnership between Nicholls and Rouses, two titans of the Bayon Region. Becker called the installation of the two new scholarships exciting and also rewarding in that they will “not only benefit Rouses employees but also honor two very important people in the history of Rouses; it is a great example of Rouses investing in their employees, their community and Nicholls.”

The Chef John Folse Culinary Institute is the single post-secondary institution in Louisiana that offers a four-year culinary degree. The sheer impact that the faculty, current students, and graduates have made on the culinary landscape of Louisiana is immeasurable, and that impact will continue to grow thanks to Rouses Markets’ two new endowed scholarships.

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