WKU News & Events

March 18, 2002

Rocket Boys" Author Homer Hickman
Launches Center For Gifted Studies
20th Anniversary Celebration

Bowling Green, Ky. - Author Homer Hickam will be the keynote speaker for the 20th year celebration for The Center for Gifted Studies at Western Kentucky University.

The event, "20 Years and Counting: The Sky's the Limit," is scheduled for April 20 at the Knicely Institute for Economic Development and Conference Center, 2355 Nashville Road. A reception begins at 5:30 p.m. with dinner at 6:30.

Hickam's first book, "Rocket Boys," focuses on his high school years at Big Creek High School as he and his childhood friends dreamed of careers with NASA when they designed, built and launched their own model rockets. The book was adapted into a screenplay "October Sky" and the 1999 release of the film won critical acclaim.

Hickam, a native of Coalwood, W.Va., indeed went on to work as a NASA aerospace engineer at Marshall Space Center in Huntsville, Ala., until his retirement in 1998. Since then, Hickam has released "The Coalwood Way," the follow-up to "Rocket Boys" and "We Are Not Afraid," thoughts and reflections in a post-Sept. 11 world.

During the 20th year celebration, The Center also will honor three individuals who have made tremendous contributions to the education of Kentucky's gifted youth - Doris Mills, the late Dr. Larry Laird and House Speaker Jody Richards.

Mills was one of the founders of the Kentucky Association for Gifted Education, serving as president and executive director. Today, the nonprofit organization is an affiliate of the National Association for Gifted Children and a leader in the pursuit of quality education for Kentucky's gifted youth.

Dr. Laird was a psychology professor at Western Kentucky University and former president of the National Association for Gifted Education. His concern for gifted students lives on.

Richards has sponsored key legislative initiatives in the past two decades that established and promoted education in the Commonwealth.

Since its inception, The Center has been an advocate for gifted education, providing services to gifted and talented young people, their parents and educators. More than 12,000 children and 3,500 adults from 43 states have participated in The Center's year-round activities including SCATS (Summer Camp for Academically Talented Students), VAMPY (The Summer Program for Verbally and Mathematically Precocious Youth), Super Saturdays for gifted and talented elementary children, and the Advanced Placement Institute for educators.

Tickets for the April 20 event are $50 for the reception and dinner or $25 for dinner only. They can be purchased by calling The Center for Gifted Studies at (270) 745-6323 or e-mailing gifted@wku.edu.

For more information, contact Julia Roberts at (270) 745-6323. 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.