May 12, 2011
Improved website set to launch before the fall semester
Written by Jenna Lostritto
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New Athletics Website |
In keeping with the Building on Tradition initiative, the Northwest website is now being redesigned and expanded to attract more users and be more user friendly.
Sarah Sapp, director of Communications has largely contributed to the planning and construction of the brand-new look for the website.
“We felt the current website was outdated,” Sapp stated. “We hope to improve the website for our constituents using multi-media such as polls, photo galleries, and links to our social networks.”
The sports and news headlines have already been improved with polls, videos, and a totally new design.
“I think we have a good site because it has always been easy for me to use,” said Nursing major Trisha Watson, a freshman from Hernando. “Other colleges’ websites are difficult to understand.”
Although Sapp agreed with Watson, there’s always room for improvement.
“We want to maintain the integrity of the existing site while improving the navigation efficiency for students and use space more effectively,” Sapp explained.
“We want it to look like we want it to look and work like we want it to work,” said Ray Sharpe, webmaster for the Northwest website. People use it as a primary source. The information needs to be broader. The design needs to be refreshed in order to do what we need it to do.”
Sharpe also realized the need for a change to make it easier for those trying to access the Northwest website with new devices like iPhones and for the growing number of eLearning students.
Sapp explainded that she had sent out a survey to students and faculty to decide what to keep and what to change for the new site. Over 1,000 people supplied feedback.
“Knowing the most important items on the site gave us the ability to prioritize how we can structure it,” Sharpe explained.
Sapp worked alongside Chuck Adams, Amy Latham, Kevin Malone, Ray Sharpe, and Dan Smith to plan and execute the updated look for the Northwest website.
“We are aiming to launch the new website July 1,” Sapp said. “It will definitely be done before the beginning of the fall semester.”
College prepares for record-setting Commencement
Staff Report
Northwest President, Dr. Gary Lee Spears, announced Mississippi Rep. Kelvin Buck of Holly Springs and Brent Warren of Senatobia will serve as speakers for the two graduation ceremonies on Friday, May 13, that will be held at the Howard Coliseum on the Senatobia campus. Warren will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony for Career Certificate and Associate of Applied Science graduates, and Buck will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony for Associate of Arts graduates.
According to Dean of Enrollment Management and Registrar Larry Simpson, Northwest will graduate a record total of 756 students.
“Enrollment numbers continue to increase and our graduation numbers likewise, and we are very proud of that,” said Simpson. “This will be the largest number of graduates the college has ever had,” he said.
Buck has served in the Mississippi House of Representatives since 2004 and is a graduate of Rust College with a bachelor’s in mass communication and broadcast journalism. He is currently working on a master’s in public administration and policy at Jackson State University. He has 19 years of television experience including serving as coordinating director for WPTY ABC 24/UPN 30 in Memphis, technical director for WTVA NBC 9 in Tupelo and director of cable operations for RCTV 2 at Rust College. He is also a former city alderman of Holly Springs.
His current legislative committee memberships include Education, Juvenile Justice, Medicaid, Public Utilities, Select Committee on Utility Cost Recovery and Select Committee on Poverty. He is the vice-chair of the University and Colleges Committee. While at Rust, he received the Outstanding Service and Dedication Award for Mass Communications and the Citizen of the Year Award from the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. More recently, Buck received Tribute and Resolution from the Marshall County Branch of the NAACP and the Rust College Tower of Hope Leadership Award. Buck is affiliated with the NAACP and the Boy Scouts of America.
Born in Tupelo, Buck currently resides in Holly Springs. He is the son of John and Vassar Buck of Tupelo and is married with five children to Kimberly Campbell Buck.
After earning his Associates of Applied Science in tool and die technology from Northwest, Warren went on to become a sales engineer for Jeffreys Manufacturing and later a manufacturing engineer for Smith & Nephew. He is currently a manufacturing engineer for Integrity Systems.
During his time at Northwest he was named Outstanding Student for tool and die, placed first in the State VICA Precision Machining competition and was a member of Phi Theta Kappa.
In addition to his membership at First Baptist Church of Senatobia and Gideons International, Warren has completed mission work locally, nationally in New Mexico and the Gulf Coast and internationally in Belize and Mexico. He has also chaired various Advisory Boards for career-technical schools in Tennessee.
Warren was born and raised in Batesville and currently lives in Senatobia. Warren is the son of Rodger and Jeanne Warren of Batesville, husband of Hayley Mock Warren and father of Ella Grace Warren, both of Senatobia.
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