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'''Robert Allen Alost''', known as '''Bobby Alost''' (February 20, 1935 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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.

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; material may no longer be accesible}}</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.  

 

After attending an education conference in [[South Carolina]], Alost became burdened with opening a boarding school for talented high school students. To make this happened, he worked closely with three [[Democratic Party|Democratic]] state legislators, 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, along with [[Republican Party|Republican]] [[Governor]] [[David C. Treen]], to open on the NSU campus the Louisiana School for Math, Science and the Arts, which enrolled two hundred of the most talented high school students from throughout the state. Alost was the founding 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; material may no longer be accesible}}</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>

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/>

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/>

[[James Henderson]], briefly a former NSU president who now heads the University of Louisiana System, said that Alost guided NSU "through a difficult era, and established a standard of not just surviving adversity, but thriving in its midst. He was simultaneously imposing and infinitely approachable. Personally, I am forever grateful for his mentorship and friendship.”<ref name=ntimes/>

[[James Henderson]], briefly a former NSU president who now heads the University of Louisiana System, said that Alost guided NSU "through a difficult era, and established a standard of not just surviving adversity, but thriving in its midst. He was simultaneously imposing and infinitely approachable. Personally, I am forever grateful for his mentorship and friendship.”<ref name=ntimes/>

==References==

==References==