Colonel Leaders and Scholars Award Ceremony

Ninety outstanding Nicholls students will be recognized at the Colonel Leaders and
Scholars Awards Ceremony at 4:00pm in the Mary and Al Danos Theater in Talbot Hall.

Vice President of Student Affairs Eugene Dial said the purpose of the event is to
recognize Nicholls students that demonstrate a high level of leadership in and out of the
classroom.

Nicholls Alum Kevin George will be the guest speaker, and he will talk about leadership.
George is the superintendent of the St. John the Baptist Parish School Board and was the
principal of three high schools, including Thibodaux High School.

Vice President Assistant Amanda Fremin explained that students must have at least a 2.5
GPA and must be involved in some leadership capacity to be recognized.

Professors, student organization advisors, department heads and other staff members
were encouraged to nominate students for the award.

The nominated students were then asked to submit their co-curricular to a committee for
ranking and selection of students.

The Colonel Leaders and Scholars Awards Ceremony took the place of the “Who’s Who
Among Students Program.”

Dial said, “Originally it was the Who’s Who program that recognized the top 1 percent of
student leaders on campus, but Who’s Who no longer exists. The university wanted to have a
program specific to Nicholls that recognized student leaders on campus and in the community.”

The university is in the process of developing a leadership program that will better help
students achieve a Colonel Leaders and Scholars Award.

Inspired by a concept known as “transformational leadership,” the Nicholls leadership
program will have set criteria that students must earn in order to be recognized as a Colonel
Leader.

For example, Dial said one criteria will be approved educational leadership courses.
“The academic deans will help identify the courses in which leadership is taught as a
component.”

Dial said he anticipates the leadership program will provide: student leader training
events, opportunities for leadership positions, and critical thinking narratives to enhance
students’ decision-making.

He said, “People want leaders that will transform their operations into a new direction.
They don’t just want employees, they want employees with impact.”