WKU Regents To Get First-Hand Look At
Growing Collaboration With Mammoth
Cave National Park
July 27, 2004
Bowling Green, Ky. - Western Kentucky University and Mammoth Cave National Park continue to expand collaborative projects to protect, preserve and restore a significant natural resource.
Recent examples include the merger of water quality labs into one research facility and efforts to restore American chestnut trees and endangered mussel species.
This week at their annual retreat, members of Western's Board of Regents are traveling to Mammoth Cave National Park to get a first-hand look at the projects. The retreat will begin at 10:15 a.m. July 29 at the Mammoth Cave Hotel.
"The Board of Regents hears me talk about this institutional transformation, applied research, and identifying and solving problems," WKU President Gary Ransdell said. "They see reports, they see data, they see results, they see the hiring of faculty and that's wonderful, but to actually have a board meeting in the national park and see the collaboration between our faculty and the National Park Service, and feel and touch real research projects is huge.
"The board will be able to get a strong sense of the breadth and depth of some of these academic programs by hearing from the National Park Service and from our own faculty, and from seeing the collaborative research taking place."
In recent years, WKU and Mammoth Cave National Park have established cooperative agreements in 13 research areas and have informal partnerships in several others. The park's primary resources and research areas are the cave itself, the Green River and the old-growth forest in the 53,000-acre park. (For more, visit www.wku.edu/mammoth.html)
"Webster defines a partner as someone who shares," Park Superintendent Ronald R. Switzer said. "Western Kentucky University and Mammoth Cave National Park have shared their staff, facilities, scientific expertise and numerous other resources. My staff and I consider it a privilege to partner with Western in so many mutually beneficial programs for the furtherance of education and science, not only for our two institutions, but for the world community."
Dr. Ransdell agreed that the research partnerships are vital. "We are blessed to have such rich natural resources at our front door. To collaborate with scientists from the National Park Service is not only a natural opportunity, but one that we would be remiss if we failed to pursue," he said.
During the retreat, WKU board members will hear reports on collaborative efforts, visit some research sites, tour a portion of the cave and visit the nearby Upper Green River Biological Preserve. The board's regular meeting begins at 9 a.m. July 30 at the park's hotel.
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