February 07, 2001

WKU Announces Mid-Way Campaign Report; Major Gift Received In Support Of Engineering

Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University announced today that it has raised $57.6 million in cash and pledges in support of the Investing in the Spirit Campaign. According to Tom Hiles, vice president for Development and Alumni Relations, this represents 74 percent of the five-year goal of $78 million.

Hiles said Dec. 31, 2000, marked the halfway point in the campaign, which is designed to support the people, places and programs that make Western unique. Hiles added that Western received $4.7 million in cash gifts during the first six months of the fiscal year - 12 percent more than the dollars raised during the entire 12 months of fiscal year 1997-1998.

WKU President Gary Ransdell said: "It is remarkable to have achieved 74 percent of the goal at the Campaign's halfway point. We are so appreciative of the support we have received from our alumni and friends."

In addition, Hiles announced a $125,000 commitment from Bill and Joyce Bell of Lexington, Ky., to establish a visiting professorship in engineering. Their gift will receive a 100 percent match from the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Regional University Excellence Trust Fund.

"The state's appropriation to the Council on Postsecondary Education is designed to strengthen endowed faculty programs at Kentucky's comprehensive institutions," Hiles said. "Over the last two years, Western has accessed nearly $7 million through this pool."

The William A. and Joyce R. Bell Professorship in Construction Engineering and Management will bring prominent leaders in industry, academia and government to campus to provide lectures and short course experiences for students and faculty in the program, said Western's Provost Barbara Burch.

"Revenues from the endowment will be utilized for stipends and expenses associated with the visiting professorship, including general faculty development," Dr. Burch said.

Bill Bell grew up in Scottsville, and he said Western has been a part of his life since childhood. "Its very being influenced the quality of life in my home county, just as it did throughout that area of Kentucky," he said.

That influence became more personal for both Bell and his wife when they attended college at Western. "Western Kentucky University, its professors and fellow students became a major part of our life during those formative years," he said. "Not only did Joyce and I meet at Western, we learned lessons and developed friendships that have lasted all of our lives. Western was, in a very real way, a large part of any successes that we have had during the past 40 years."

Bell, CEO of Grayhawk Corp. in Lexington, said he and his wife feel strongly that private financial support is essential for Western to reach its potential. "We are pleased to be able to participate in that endeavor," he said.

Combined Endowment Assets	New Endowed Faculty Positions	Investing in the Spirit Progress
Click on image to view larger graph

For more information, contact Tom Hiles at (270) 745-6208. More WKU news is available on the World Wide Web at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via E-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.