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Southeastern cuts ribbon on new business lab
Southeastern officials and guests formally opened the Barrios Ng Family Lab for Global
Marketing and Latin American Business at a ribbon-cutting ceremony held Friday (May
5) in the College of Business.
Cutting the ribbon to open the new facility were Jose Barrrios Ng and his wife
Veronica. Barrios Ng, a successful business director and entrepreneur in the Republic
of Panama with strong ties to Louisiana, is currently president and chairman of the
board for one of the largest private universities in Panama, the Universidad Latina
de Panama. The institution works closely with the Southeastern Latin American Business
and Development Initiative.
“The addition of this lab provides new and very significant resources for our
students and will better prepare them for the real world of business,” said Antoinette
Phillips, interim dean of the College of Business. “We are grateful to Dr. Barrios
Ng and his family for their generosity in helping to provide our students with the
high-tech tools they need to be successful in their careers.”
The new lab has five workstations with 30 iMac computers and software access to
Adobe Creative Cloud, Hootsuite and other resources used in marketing courses, such
as advertising, analytics and digital and social media marketing. The lab also features
a 136-inch widescreen, interactive learning system, called ActivWall. Southeastern
is the first U.S. university to install the system that allows faculty and students
the ability to collaborate, connect and share ideas. The equipment has the ability
to use Skype for webinar sessions with speakers internationally.
The lab will also be used to help instruct participants in the Panama Bilingue
Program, a joint project with the Republic of Panama to instruct teachers from the
Central American nation in English through several months of immersion in the language.
The participants in the program will have access to the lab to use the software program
Mango Languages to learn English.
Barrios Ng holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from LSU and a
master’s from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He earned a master’s degree in
economic engineering and a doctorate in operations research from UCLA. He also has
earned a doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Pennsylvania.
In 2014 Southeastern awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Humanities degree.
In 2002 Barrios Ng joined the Panama Canal Authority as chief financial officer,
and in 2007 he assumed the role of deputy administrator, where he directed the group
that managed the financing for the canal’s $5 billion expansion project. He served
as the negotiator on behalf of the Panama Canal Authority of the Free Trade Agreement
between Panama and the United states. He has served as president of the Panama Stock
Market, Optima Insurance, and the media group Nueva Prensa Financiera, which includes
the “Capital Financiero” newspaper.
He has received numerous awards, including Executive of the Year for his leadership
at “Capital Financiero,” Financial Executive of the Year (1996 and 2001) for his work
with the Panama stock exchange, several outstanding teacher awards, and the Outstanding
Member Award by the Rotary Club of Panama.
 OPEN FOR BUSINESS – Jose Barrios Ng, Panamanian entrepreneur and president of the Universidad Latina
de Panama, and his wife Veronica prepare to cut the ribbon on a new computer lab in
the Southeastern College of Business. Pictured are, from left, April Kemp, instructor;
Russell McKenzie, head of the Department of Marketing and Supply Chain Management;
Barrios Ng and his wife Veronica; Southeastern President John L. Crain; Vice President
for Advancement Wendy Lauderdale; Interim Dean of the College of Business Antoinette
Phillips; Associate Professor Tara Lopez; and Aristides Baraya, instructor and head
of Southeastern’s Latin American Business and Development Initiative.
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Orientation program experiences success
On Thursday, April 20, Southeastern held one of its largest orientation programs ever.
The start of orientation season went off very successfully against an already high
number of applicants and admitted students.
“We are fortunate that our efforts are really showing results. Last year we had
one of the largest freshmen classes ever and the early numbers for this year look
strong as well. This first event showed that we are on the right path,” said Assistant
Vice President for Enrollment Management Kay Maurin.
The orientation brought in nearly 450 students with over 600 guests, which was
the largest orientation group in at least five years.
Students attending the early orientation session in the spring are generally
scholarship students who are high achievers in high school with strong ACT scores
and GPAs. The fact that this orientation, specifically for this type of strong student,
is one of the largest of all orientations speaks volumes to the attractiveness of
Southeastern and the success in recruiting efforts.
The orientation was held two days after launching the Southeastern Promise. Many
parents and students were anxious to review the program after seeing media coverage.
The launch and review resulted in over 100 students signing on within a few days.
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Summer work schedule begins Sunday, May 14
Effective May 15, the university will begin a four-day workweek with 10-hour days.
The officially recognized work schedule for employees of the university will be from
7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday with a 30-minute lunch break. The university
will resume the four and a half day workweek on Aug. 7.
The university will observe Memorial Day on Monday, May 29, as a designated holiday
with pay. The university will also be closed on Tuesday, July 4, in observance of
Independence Day, which is a designated holiday with pay.
It is recognized that work schedules within offices/work units may need to be
varied from the officially recognized schedule in order to provide coverage due to
special circumstances. The university has a Flexible Work Hours Policy to facilitate
such requests which can be found on the university’s website. An approved flexible
work schedule must be submitted to Human Resources prior to the beginning of the semester.
Time reports for classified employees are to reflect actual hours worked during
the workweek. In the event an employee is required to work in excess of their officially
recognized schedule, a request for approved overtime/k-time must be processed in advance
through regular channels.
It is recognized that during this period there may be problems that arise which
are not specifically addressed here. Please feel free to contact Sam Domiano at extension
2282 or Nettie Burchfield at extension 2088 as the need arises.
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Southeastern student awarded fellowship to Howard University
A graduate student in Southeastern’s communication sciences and disorders program
has been awarded a fellowship to Howard University in Washington, DC.
Caprice Lee of Monroe won the Frederick Douglass Fellowship to support her doctoral
studies. The award comes with a full tuition waiver and a yearly $20,000 stipend.
Lee is a graduate of Southeastern’s bachelor’s program in communication sciences and
disorders and will receive her master’s degree at the university’s commencement.
“From her undergraduate days until the present, Caprice’s intellect and work
ethic have been prized and respected by our entire faculty,” said Professor of Communication
Sciences and Disorders Lillian Stiegler. “She is always thoughtful and thorough in
her work and has the persistence to stick to tasks until they are not simply completed,
but beautifully so. Caprice is certainly among the top students I have worked with
in my 23 years at Southeastern.”
The Frederick Douglass Doctoral Scholars fellowship program is awarded to new
doctoral level students who are also new to Howard University Graduate School. It
is designed to recruit academically talented students with an interest in college
or university teaching to pursue doctoral studies in the Arts and Humanities and Social
and Behavioral Science disciplines at Howard University. The Frederick Douglass award
is offered on a competitive basis upon recommendation by the candidate’s prospective
department chair and the Financial Aid Advisory Committee.
To be selected for the program, Lee had to submit three letters of recommendation,
a five-page scholarly academic or research writing sample, participate in an interview,
and prepare a statement describing how the professoriate fits into her career goals.
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Traffic changes planned for Southeastern commencement May 13
Motorists and visitors planning to attend Southeastern’s commencement ceremonies
on Saturday, May 13, should anticipate heavy traffic and route changes affecting University
Avenue (Hwy. 3234) between Interstate 55 and North Cherry Street.
Michele Kidd Sutton, the president and chief executive officer of North Oaks
Health System in Hammond, will address approximately 1,100 graduates who will receive
associate, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees at the 10 a.m. ceremony in the University
Center.
Harold Todd, director of University Police, said the section of University Avenue
between West Lion Lane and SGA Drive will be restricted from 7 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. that
day. Local traffic will be allowed to proceed on University Avenue for as long as
possible but will be diverted through the campus as congestion increases.
Prior to commencement, the University Center parking areas are expected to fill
early, and all traffic on University Avenue will be diverted to main campus via North
General Pershing Street and SGA Drive. Eastbound commencement traffic will be diverted
to West Lion Lane for parking at the University Center, and westbound commencement
traffic will be diverted to the campus at SGA Drive.
“Traffic will begin to get heavy early in the morning,” said Todd. “We anticipate
the parking areas around the University Center to be filled before 9 a.m.”
Additional parking spaces around the University Center will be set aside for
vehicles with appropriate handicapped placards. Individuals requiring handicap accommodations
should try to arrive as early as possible.
Vacant parking spaces in the Southeastern Oaks/Greek Village complex will also
be used for this event. Residents are requested to use the back gate near the laundry
facility and maintenance warehouse for entering and exiting between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.
Southeastern Lion Traxx shuttle buses will be in operation before and after the
ceremony to accommodate those parking in outlying areas or needing special transportation
assistance, Todd said. Shuttle stops will be marked with signs and/or canopies.
Drivers not attending commencement are asked to use U.S. 190 (Thomas Street and
Morris Street) or Natalbany Road (Hwy. 1064) to avoid University Avenue traffic.
Southeastern students wishing to return rental textbooks that day should wait
until after 2 p.m. to do so.
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Day of Giving successful
 This year’s Day of Giving was held on Wednesday, April 26, and was a huge success!
Thanks to many faculty and staff, some key donors and an influx of new donors, we
topped even our best expectations raising over $180,000. Donation pledges are still
being fulfilled so the total amount raised will still increase.
Last year, the Southeastern Foundation was able to increase its support of academics
and athletics due to a strong Day of Giving in 2016, and this year should prove even
better.
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Football, 17th Annual Coaches Memorial, Greystone Plantation Golf Club, 1 p.m.
