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'''Robert Allen Alost''', known as '''Bobby Alost''' (February 20, 1935 – April 10, 2020),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/robert-alost/e9495953268|title=Robert Alost|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref> was the 16th president of [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]], [[Louisiana]], with service for the decade from 1986 until his retirement in 1996.
'''Robert Allen Alost''', known as '''Bobby Alost''' (February 20, 1935 – April 10, 2020),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mylife.com/robert-alost/e9495953268|title=Robert Alost|publisher=Mylife.com|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref> was the 16th president of [[Northwestern State University]] in [[Natchitoches, Louisiana|Natchitoches]], [[Louisiana]], with service for the decade from 1986 until his retirement in 1996.
As a Northwestern faculty member, Alost worked with three [[Democratic Party|Democrats]], state Representative Jimmy Dale Long, Sr. (1931-2016) and state Senators [[Francis C. Thompson]] of Delhi in Richland Parish and Donald Gene Kelly of Natchitoches, and [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], to open on the NSU campus the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, a boarding school for two hundred selected talented and gifted students. Alost was director of LSMSA from its inception in 1982 until he was named president of the university four years later. Earlier, from 1975 to 1982, he was the dean of the NSU College of Education.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://traditions.nsula.edu/the-hall-of-distinguished-educators.html|title=The Hall of Distinguished Educators|publisher=Traditions.nsula.edu|accessdate=February 20, 2018}}</ref>
Alost obtained his bachelor's and master's degrees from NSU and is doctorate in education from [[Louisiana State University]] in [[Baton Rouge]]. As a Northwestern faculty member, he was promoted to dean of the College of Education, a post he filled from 1975 to 1982. He worked with three [[Democratic Party|Democrats]], state Representative Jimmy Dale Long, Sr. (1931-2016), of Natchitoches and then state Senators [[Francis C. Thompson]] of Delhi in Richland Parish and Donald Gene Kelly of Natchitoches, and [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], to open on the NSU campus the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, a boarding school for two hundred selected talented and gifted students. Alost was director of LSMSA from its inception in 1982 until he was named president of the university four years later.<ref name=bio>{{cite web|url=https://traditions.nsula.edu/the-hall-of-distinguished-educators.html|title=The Hall of Distinguished Educators|publisher=Traditions.nsula.edu|accessdate=February 20, 2018}}</ref>
[[Conservative]] author [[Rod Dreher]], a native of [[Baton Rouge]], entered LSMSA in 1983 at the age of sixteen at the inception of the institution. In his blog, ''The American Conservative,'' Dreher describes how Alost impacted Dreher's life:
[[Conservative]] author [[Rod Dreher]], a native of [[Baton Rouge]], entered LSMSA in 1983 at the age of sixteen at the inception of the institution. In his blog, ''The American Conservative,'' Dreher describes how Alost impacted Dreher's life:
He showed me mercy once. There was quite a drinking culture among high school students in Louisiana back then. Liquor was strictly forbidden at LSMSA ... [After a romantic breakup, I was] depressed ... I went out and bought some booze. The head RA of my dorm caught me with it before I could drink a drop. That was my second offense. I could have been expelled for good, with only a few months till graduation. Had that happened, I would have done it to myself. But Dr. Alost decided to let me stay, when he did not have to. Like I said, I owed him a lot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/lsmsa-robert-alost/|author=Rod Dreher|title=Rpbert Alost, 1935-2020|publisher=''The American Conservative''|date=April 21, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>
He showed me mercy once. There was quite a drinking culture among high school students in Louisiana back then. Liquor was strictly forbidden at LSMSA ... [After a romantic breakup, I was] depressed ... I went out and bought some booze. The head RA of my dorm caught me with it before I could drink a drop. That was my second offense. I could have been expelled for good, with only a few months till graduation. Had that happened, I would have done it to myself. But Dr. Alost decided to let me stay, when he did not have to. Like I said, I owed him a lot.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theamericanconservative.com/dreher/lsmsa-robert-alost/|author=Rod Dreher|title=Rpbert Alost, 1935-2020|publisher=''The American Conservative''|date=April 21, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref></blockquote>
After retiring from NSU, Alost was a financial advisor for AXA Equitable Insurance. He is an inductee of the NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators.<ref name=bio/> He died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-five.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=robert-alost&pid=196075199&fhid=10224|title=Robert Alost obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 25, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>
Under president Alost, NSU enrollments increased from 5,272 to more than 9,000. The expanded enrollment promoted progress in "academic achievement, athletic success, facility enhancements, and other accomplishments that provided ongoing stability for the university after a period of declining enrollment and fiscal uncertainty.<ref name=ntimes/>
After retiring from NSU, Alost became a financial advisor for AXA Equitable Insurance. He is an inductee of the NSU Hall of Distinguished Educators.<ref name=bio/> He died of a lengthy illness at the age of eighty-five.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.legacy.com/obituaries/shreveporttimes/obituary.aspx?n=robert-alost&pid=196075199&fhid=10224|title=Robert Alost obituary|publisher=''The Shreveport Times''|date=April 25, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>
On Alost's passing, current NSU President [[Chris Maggio]] said that all NSU alumni "owe Dr. Alost a debt of gratitude for guiding and advocating for our university. He was a mentor to me personally and professionally and a strong leader through uncertain times at NSU.”<ref name=ntimes>{{cite web|url=https://www.natchitochestimes.com/2020/04/18/former-nsu-president-dr-robert-alost-dies/|title=Former NSU president Dr. Robert Alost dies|author=Leah Jackson|publisher=''The Natchitoches Times''|date=April 18, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>
On Alost's passing, current NSU President [[Chris Maggio]] said that all NSU alumni "owe Dr. Alost a debt of gratitude for guiding and advocating for our university. He was a mentor to me personally and professionally and a strong leader through uncertain times at NSU.”<ref name=ntimes>{{cite web|url=https://www.natchitochestimes.com/2020/04/18/former-nsu-president-dr-robert-alost-dies/|title=Former NSU president Dr. Robert Alost dies|author=Leah Jackson|publisher=''The Natchitoches Times''|date=April 18, 2020|accessdate=April 26, 2020}}</ref>