Hardin County Donor Supports
Scholarships And Visiting Professorship

January 31, 2003

Bowling Green, Ky. - New student scholarships will be provided and a visiting professorship funded at Western Kentucky University thanks to a recent gift from a donor from Hardin County, Ky., who wishes to remain confidential.

According to WKU President Gary A. Ransdell, this gift will be made through a $500,000 charitable remainder trust, which will create both a $100,000 scholarship endowment for select Central Hardin High School students who attend WKU, and a $400,000 endowment to create a Visiting Professorship in Business Leadership and Ethics in the Gordon Ford College of Business.

"We are extremely grateful that this donor has chosen to support Western in such a generous way," Dr. Ransdell said. "Endowed student scholarships are one of the most important priorities outlined within our "Challenging the Spirit" strategic plan. In addition, support for nationally prominent faculty is essential in preparing competent graduates and leaders seeking to create, renovate, or grow existing business organizations or to bring new ideas for business development to Kentucky."

Dr. Robert Jefferson, dean of the Gordon Ford College of Business, said this new professorship will enable the Gordon Ford College of Business and WKU to attract a highly qualified faculty member to work with students and faculty striving to become ethical leaders, executives and entrepreneurs.

"Such a faculty member will help bring distinction to WKU business students, alumni and graduates," Dr. Jefferson said. "The encouragement of personal and professional leadership with high ethical standards will be enhanced through the use of these endowment funds."

Lois Gray of Vine Grove, Ky., chair of the WKU Board of Regents, expressed her appreciation to the donor.

"I am very pleased that this individual has chosen Central Hardin High School students to be recipients of these endowed scholarships," she said. "In addition, I think it is remarkable that the donor had the foresight to fund a visiting professorship in business which will enrich the experiences of students in that program."

This gift will make the donor a member of the "Colonnade Level" of the "Henry Hardin Cherry Society," a recognition society which honors the leadership and lifelong dedication of the University's most generous supporters. In addition, the donor will become a member of the Legacy Circle of The Society of 1906, a recognition society for individuals who make Western a part of their estate plans.

For more information, contact Tom Hiles, vice president for Institutional Advancement, (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.

-WKU-