July 19, 2001

WKU To Induct Four Into
Hall Of Distinguished Alumni

Bowling Green, Ky. - A biologist, businessman, former governor and agriculture commissioner will be added to the Hall of Distinguished Alumni at Western Kentucky University during Homecoming week.

The four - Dr. Basil C. Cole, Duncan Hines, Louie B. Nunn and Billy Ray Smith-will comprise the 10th class of noted alumni. They will be inducted during a
formal luncheon on Oct. 19.

Dr. Basil C. Cole
A Warren County native, Dr. Basil C. Cole has been hailed as a scientist, scholar, teacher, innovator and motivator. He is best known for his work in the soft drink industry, helping establish safety standards for the bottling industry and producing the formula for Sugar-Free 7UP.

Dr. Cole graduated at the top of his class at Western in 1931. After earning a master's degree from the University of Kentucky and a doctorate from the University of Iowa, he returned to Western as a biology professor. He then joined 7UP and used his experience as an educator to convince bottlers to expand quality control programs.

Dr. Cole rose through the company ranks, becoming executive vice president in 1960. In the 1970s, he played a leading role in developing Diet 7UP and Sugar-Free 7UP. His influence transcended 7UP and in 1983 he was honored by the soft drink industry with his induction into the Beverage World Hall of Fame for his role in starting the Society of Soft Drink Technologists and in developing standards for package safety and bottler's granulated and liquid sugar.

Dr. Cole, who died in 1987, is survived by his wife, Florence, of Kirkwood, Mo., a daughter, Sandra Coyle, and two sons, William and Robert.


Duncan Hines
Duncan Hines is one of the most recognized names associated with food and hospitality, especially in bakery items found in grocery stores. Even though he died in 1959, Duncan Hines is still the second-largest baking mix company with a product line that includes more than 60 different products.

Hines, a Bowling Green native and alumnus of Bowling Green Business University, worked for Wells Fargo, Coal Fuel Oil Co. and Green Copper Co. before becoming a salesman with a direct mail firm in Chicago. In 1935, Hines began including in Christmas cards a list of 167 outstanding restaurants. After popular demand, he turned his list into an annual edition. Later, he published "Lodging for a Night," "Adventures in Good Cooking," and "Duncan Hines Vacation Guide."

Following the death of his wife, Hines returned to Bowling Green in 1939 to build his home and office. In 1949, Hines and Roy Park formed a business to offer a line that grew to offer more than 250 products marketed under the name of Duncan Hines. In 1956, Procter and Gamble bought Hines-Park Foods. In 1998 Aurora Foods acquired the Duncan Hines brand.

Hines' legacy is celebrated annually with the Duncan Hines Festival in Bowling Green. In addition, an 80-mile scenic tour begins and ends at the Hines historical marker in front of his former office on Louisville Road and a three-mile stretch of U.S. 31-W is named in his honor.

Louie B. Nunn
When elected governor of Kentucky in 1967, Louie B. Nunn became the first Republican to achieve that milestone in 20 years. It was just another in a string of accomplishments for the Barren County native.

Nunn was born in 1924 to parents who were farmers and general store operators. He attended Bowling Green Business University and the University of Cincinnati before earning a law degree from the University of Louisville in 1950. He began his law practice in Glasgow.

In 1953, Nunn became the first Republican to be elected to county-wide office in Barren County when he was elected Barren County judge. He was active in the party, serving as the state campaign chair for President Dwight D. Eisenhower and for the senatorial campaigns of John Sherman Cooper and Thruston B. Morton. He made an unsuccessful run for governor in 1963, falling by some 13,000 votes.

Nunn's term was marked by major increases in fund for education at all levels, the completion of the Kentucky Educational Television Network, the formulation of special education plans for exceptional children and raising teachers salaries. State-supported higher education institutions also increased with the opening of Northern Kentucky State College (now Northern Kentucky University) and the addition of the University of Louisville to the state system.

Nunn also expanded the state's park system with the creation of Barren River Lake State Resort Park and the doubling accommodations in the state system. Three more parks were planned and funding committed during his administration.

After his term as governor, Nunn remained active, serving leadership roles on various boards. He served as chair of the Board of Trustees at the University of Kentucky, Morehead State University and Kentucky State University. He has also served as a distinguished lecturer of government at Western and received the 1999 University of Louisville Distinguished Alumni award.

He was married to the late Beula Cornelius Aspley and they have two children, Stephen Nunn and Jennie Lou Penn.

Billy Ray Smith
Billy Ray Smith's life has always revolved around agriculture and service to others.

An award-winning fourth generation farmer, cattle breeder, and businessman, the Bowling Green native managed a grain elevator and livestock feed products company for nearly 30 years. He also served in the Kentucky General Assembly as the representative for Warren and Simpson counties for 14 years.

In 1996, Smith took his service to the state level after being elected Kentucky's Commissioner of Agriculture. Four years later, he became the first person in state history to succeed himself in that office.

During his tenure, Smith has put a greater emphasis on the value-added industry. He has also broadened Kentucky's agricultural product marketing to a worldwide base and has strengthened the relationship between agriculture and economic development. A strong proponent for education, Commissioner Smith has expanded the state's Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom program and he instituted a Farm and Home Safety program which has been credited for the recent significant reduction in Kentucky's farming-related deaths.

Always a strong advocate for his alma mater, Smith received his bachelor's degree in agriculture from Western in 1965. Since then, he has served on the school's Board of Advisors, and all four of his children are WKU graduates.

Smith's other activities include serving on the board of directors for the Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center, the Kentucky International Convention Center, the North American International Livestock Exposition and National City Bank. He recently served as president of the Southern Association of State Departments of Agriculture and he will become president of the National Association of State Departments of Agriculture in September.

Awards Smith has received include the Public Service to Forages Award, Associate Member of the Year Award by the Kentucky Pork Producers, Man of the Year Award by Progressive Farmer, Outstanding Young Farmer in Kentucky and WKU Agriculture Alumnus of the Year.

He and his wife, Sandra, have a son, Kelly Reed Smith, and three daughters: Cindy Smith Crume, Heather Jane Ragan and Leslie Smith.

For more information, contact the Office of Alumni Relations at (270) 745-4395. 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.