WKU Fall Semester Opening
Events

August 09, 2004

Bowling Green, Ky. - Here's a list of several upcoming events as Western Kentucky University prepares for the fall 2004 semester:

M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan: About 1,600 first-time students will arrive on campus this weekend for M.A.S.T.E.R. Plan (Making Academic and Social Transitions Educationally Rewarding), a four-day educational and informational program. The opening ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Aug. 15 at the Colonnade. Activities continue through Aug. 19. Contact: Housing and Residence Life, 745-2037.

Opening convocation: President Gary Ransdell will address faculty and staff at 8 a.m. Aug. 17 at E.A. Diddle Arena. Faculty, diversity and other awards will be presented. An annual faculty meeting will follow. Contact: University Relations, 745-5428.

Classes: Day and evening classes begin Aug. 23 at the WKU main campus, WKU's Bowling Green Community College and WKU's extended campuses in Glasgow, Owensboro and Fort Knox/Elizabethtown. Enrollment is projected to remain close to last fall's record of 18,391. Contact: Registrar's Office, 745-3351.

Welcome back: The annual Welcome Back Western festival, featuring campus and community groups, is scheduled for Aug. 25 on the Preston Center lawn. Contact: Special Events, 745-2497.

Benefit concert: Athena Cage and Dionne Warwick will perform in concert at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 28 at the National Corvette Museum Amphitheater. Proceeds benefit the Athena Cage Scholarship Fund. Tickets: WKU Ticket Office, 745-5222.

Other highlights

The 2004 fall semester marks the first time in four years that all residence halls are open after a more than $50 million project to renovate campus housing. Residence halls open for all students on Aug. 19.

Campus dining facilities continue to improve with plans for the Red Zone, a WKU sports-themed grill at the Downing University Center. The Fresh Food Company at DUC opened last fall. The number of meal plan participants has increased from 1,000 three years ago to 4,000 this fall.

The $20 million Complex for Engineering and Biological Sciences is expected to be complete Sept. 30. The facility includes laboratory space for engineering programs and biology research.

Construction of a new parking structure between Smith Stadium and Diddle Arena is scheduled to begin this fall.

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-