WKU Receives $1 Million For Education
Program And Academic Athletic
Performance Center
April 22, 2003
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University announced today that it has received a $750,000 commitment from a donor who wishes to remain confidential. Additionally, $250,000 will be provided through the Commonwealth of Kentucky's Regional University Excellence Trust Fund.
According to Tom Hiles, WKU's vice president for Institutional Advancement, the gift will provide $500,000 in support of the academic advising portion of the new Academic Athletic Performance Center. It will also offer $250,000 to create a visiting professorship in curriculum and instruction in the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. The $250,000 portion of the gift will be matched.
Dr. Sam Evans, dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences, expressed his appreciation for the gift.
"This endowed visiting professorship will provide Western with the opportunity to invite individuals who have demonstrated exceptional expertise in their field to campus to provide professional development opportunities for public and private school personnel, undergraduate and graduate students, and university faculty members," he said. "These professional development opportunities, whether they be lectures, workshops or courses, will provide educators with the opportunity to meet authorities in the field of education and will create a wonderful recruiting opportunity within our local and regional schools."
Dr. Evans continued, "The purpose of the visiting professorship is to recognize the contributions that teachers have and continue to make to the lives of so many individuals by giving something back that will contribute to their professional growth and development."
Dixie Mahurin, WKU's coordinator of Academic Support for Athletics, said her program is extremely grateful for the vote of confidence displayed through the gift.
"The academic support staff is excited about having a stand-alone center devoted primarily to academic excellence," she said. "The Academic Athletic Performance Center will place an emphasis on excellence in school work. Students will benefit from this facility for years down the road."
"This facility is at the top of our current wish list to benefit all of our 350 student-athletes," said Dr. Wood Selig, WKU's director of Athletics. "It will assist all student-athletes with computer labs, study areas, and our primary academic advising center, and it will also house our primary weight training facility, athletic training and rehabilitation center, and offices and locker rooms for football and baseball."
Dr. Selig said the Academic Athletic Performance Center will be located in the heart of the athletic precinct and will accessible to all 20 intercollegiate athletic programs. "The name of the Academic Athletic Enrichment Center is completely accurate as it will serve to enhance the scholarly and athletic performance of all of WKU's student athletes," he said.
Dr. Selig added that the request for proposals to potential consultants to produce the feasibility study for the placement and design of the new facility went out earlier this week. "Our goal is to complete the feasibility study by the end of the summer and to have an architect and funding in place by the fall," he said.
WKU President Gary Ransdell said this gift truly integrates a number of components that represent the Western Spirit.
"First, the visiting professorship will provide greater access to distinguished educators, and will allow us to energize students and faculty while offering focused attention on timely issues which experience rapid change," he said. "In addition, the gift in support of the Academic Athletic Performance Center is another step in creating the facilities necessary to enable our students to be nationally competitive – in the classroom and on the athletic field."
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.
