WKU News & Events

May 01, 2002

Dedication Ceremonies, Gala, Commencement
Among Events In Busy Week At
Western Kentucky University

Bowling Green, Ky. - Finals week will be busy for students, faculty, staff, administrators, alumni and friends at Western Kentucky University.

The University has several events scheduled between Monday (May 6) and Saturday (May 11). Among those activities are the following:

Dedication of the Guthrie Tower, 9:30 a.m. Monday. WKU President Gary Ransdell, U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, U.S. Sen. Jim Bunning, U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis and Kentucky Sen. Brett Guthrie are scheduled to speak in a ceremony to dedicate the125-foot bell tower between Academic Complex and Tate Page Hall.

The ceremony will include the 113th Army Band from Fort Knox, a 21-gun salute by a Kentucky National Guard unit and the ringing of the bells.

The Guthrie Tower/Plaza, made possible by a gift from the Lowell Guthrie family and Trace Die Cast, Inc., is built in memory of Guthrie's brother, Sgt. 1st Class Robert Guthrie who was killed in the Korean War, and all those who lost their lives in service to this country.

Engineering off-road vehicle, 1 p.m. Wednesday. Mechanical engineering technology students will demonstrate an off-road racing vehicle that will compete next month in the Society of Automotive Engineers Mini-BAJA contest in Milwaukee. President Ransdell and John Russell, engineering department head, will drive the vehicle on a course at the WKU farm.

Meeting of Board of Regents committees, 8:30 a.m. Thursday. Student Affairs, Executive, Finance and Budget committees and Special Committee on Diversity and Internationalism are scheduled to meet at Wetherby Administration Building.

Dedication of the International Center, 4 p.m. Thursday. Zuheir Sofia and Dr. Dero Downing will be recognized in a special ceremony at the International Center, 1536 State St.

Sofia, who earned degrees in economics and business administration at Western in 1969, has excelled in the financial and investments field and was inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1998. Dr. Downing was Western's fourth president and was inducted into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1993.

Board of Advisors meeting, 8 a.m. Friday. About 60 members of the Board of Advisors will gather at the Kentucky Building for their annual meeting.

President's Circle Gala, 6 p.m. Friday. An update on the "Investing in the Spirit" capital campaign will be presented during this annual event to recognize and honor donors at the Preston Health and Activities Center.

Commencement, 9 a.m. Saturday. About 1, 200 students are expected to participate in the ceremony at L.T. Smith Stadium. Dr. Frank Etscorn, a WKU graduate who invented the nicotine patch, will receive an honorary doctorate.

Etscorn received a bachelor's degree in psychology from Western in 1971 and master's in experimental psychology in 1973. He earned his doctorate in experimenta psychology from George Peabody College in Nashville. After graduating from Peabody, he went to New Mexico Tech where he was a professor of psychology and dean of students. Etscorn, who was inducted in Western's Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1993, retired from New Mexico Tech in 1993.

An addition to WKU's 151st Commencement is the oath of commission to second lieutenants in the ROTC program as they enter the U.S. Army.

Hilltoppers exhibit opening, 2 p.m. Saturday. The group that hit the Billboard charts and appeared on the Ed Sullivan show in the 1950s will be honored in "P.S. I Love You: The Hilltoppers" at the Kentucky Building.

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