As another school year ends, students may take time to think about how their year went. Some of them will look back with fond memories; others, with regret. But what about the staff and faculty?
Chris Maggio, president of Northwestern State, is going into his second year in office. To mark the occasion, Maggio has shared the highs and lows of the past year, and what he plans for the future of the university.
“It’s been an enjoyable first,” Maggio told The Current Sauce. “I have enjoyed [seeing] the growth of Northwestern State University and the involvement of our students.”
The president mentioned many highs occurred in his first year. He said that he has seen students “across the spectrum” become more involved.
Maggio said student engagement is “visible.” He also spoke highly on the “record year” of private giving by alumni. He said they do this by “coming to events, by recommending students to the university and by giving dollars.”
As for the lows, President Maggio only mentioned there was a little frustration in trying to get funding for programs like TOPS and Go Grants.
Looking to the future, Maggio talked about bringing new academic programs to NSU. Some of the new programs proposed are a concentration in cyber security with CIS, a master’s degree program in CIS, and a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts in Dance.
One project the president is pushing for is the creation of a new academic building, what he stressed as a “new Kyser Hall.” He stressed that the school would not “do away” with the present Kyser Hall.
“We have a lot of conceptual plans but nothing [concrete,] so again we want student input, we want faculty input,” said Maggio on the proposed building. There are many ideas of where the building would be, though no final decision has been made.
Strategic budgeting was enacted at the university this year. The president said that every member of the staff and faculty was able to submit a proposal for the budget. Small projects and big projects alike were proposed, about $2.1 million worth of proposals altogether. A committee of faculty and staff found that over $1 million of the proposals were able to be funded.
Another project will be overlaying Caspari Street.
“We’ll start down by the track around the [Baptist Collegiate Ministry], we’ll come up as far as the intersection [in the middle of campus] and then we hope to finish it out over the next year to University Parkway,” Maggio said.
The overlay, a $500,000 project, will also include a parking lot by South Hall.