With the Council of Higher education and Kentucky's universities trying to increase the enrollment of African-American students on college campuses, one person at WKU has made a commitment to make a difference of seeking out the bright students from the state of Kentucky.

Finley Baird, Director of Minority Recruitment in the Office of Admissions is seeking out the bright students in Kentucky, a job she says she has always wanted to do.

Since joining Admissions in 1987, Baird has held every position in the office except director.

"I started from the bottom up five years ago right out of college," said Baird, smiling and shuffling mounds of reply cards across her desk like a young child playing with its food.

Baird was named Director of Minority Recruitment by the University's Board of Regents last Spring.

Like the many positions she has held in the admissions office, Baird says she will continue to do many of her old routines, like making high school visits, college fairs and expos. Only this time she has a focus: the African-American student.

"The kids respond well to me when I visit their high schools. They ask me questions about my age, and classification," said Baird, now in full view behind her desk after wrenching the last of the request cards to the floor.

"They feel I am one of them, instead of an authority figure, she says, referring to black students she encounters on recruitment trips to schools. "This allows me to talk to them openly about the importance of college education," she added.

"There is no typical day," said Baird, when asked to describe her job.

"That is what I enjoy. There is always something new, be it from the student I meet or from their parents."

Baird has received her master's degree also from WKU.

"Being a student here at Western has enabled me to give new freshmen helpful hints on succeeding on the Hill," she says, adding: "I know what it is like to feel out of place and lost in a community that is far from what you're used to. Students here now want more social activities with their ethnic diversity brought forth."

In the years to come, Baird says she hopes to increase the population of black students by commitment and direct communication.

The most rewarding aspect of the job for Baird, she says, is the chance to meet intelligent African American students and give them a chance at higher learning.

Everywhere I go I am reassured that my future is in good hands, judging by the youth I come in contact with every day."

See also - Minorities at WKU Bibliography

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