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Contact: Rene Abadie
Date: 10/12/04
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BARRETT RECOGNIZED AS SOUTHEASTERN ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR – Colletta C. Barrett of Baton Rouge was named Southeastern Louisiana University’s Alumnus of the Year at the Alumni Association’s annual Awards Evening. Pictured, from left, are, Southeastern President Randy Moffett, Barrett, Alumni Association President Tony Paul Ardillo and Alumni Association Director Kathy Pittman. Barrett, a 1991 graduate of Southeastern, is the first registered nurse to serve as chair of the American Heart Association.
BARRETT RECOGNIZED AS SOUTHEASTERN ALUMNUS OF THE YEAR HAMMOND -- Colletta C. Barrett of Baton Rouge has been named Southeastern Louisiana University’s 2004 Alumnus of the Year. Barrett, a 1991 graduate of the Southeastern School of Nursing, was recognized for her years of volunteer service to the American Heart Association and its Louisiana affiliate. Last year she was elected as chair of the AHA, one of the nation’s largest non-profit health organizations. She is the first registered nurse to be elected to the position. Barrett received the university’s top alumnus honor at the Southeastern Alumni Association’s Oct. 8 Awards Evening, held annually during the university’s week of homecoming festivities. Barrett attended Southeastern from 1972-74, leaving to obtain her diploma in nursing from Charity Hospital. She returned to Southeastern in the late 1980s to earn her undergraduate degree then received a master’s degree in public health from Tulane University. “Were it not for the Southeastern faculty and their persistence in pushing me to finish, I would have never completed the program,” Barrett said. “They have always been so understanding of students’ needs.” Barrett is vice president of policy development and research for the Louisiana Hospital Association. Previously she worked with Baton Rouge General Medical Center as vice president of administration and as a system vice president for care management. Also at the Awards Evening, three other Southeastern alumni were recognized as distinguished graduates of their schools: award-winning author and Southeastern writer-in-residence Olympia Vernon by the College of Arts and Sciences; R. K. Hoddinott of New Orleans, a senior financial planner with Merrill Lynch, by the College of Business and Technology; and Stephen Soutullo, Southeastern’s dean of enrollment management, by the College of Education and Human Development. Several special Alumni Association awards were also presented. Marion Ruth Chandler of Hammond received the Director’s Diamond Award for her many hours of volunteer service to the association. Eric Summers, Southeastern director for multicultural and international student affairs, was awarded the L.E. Chandler Award, which recognizes a faculty or staff member who works closely with student groups. Summers serves as the African American Alumni Chapter advisor, NAACP collegiate advisor, and coordinator of the campus’ Black History Month. The Distinguished Service Award was presented to Patricia Vitter Williams of Ponchatoula, a member of the Alumni Association board of directors and 1978 graduate, for the time and talent she has dedicated to the association. |
