WKU Recruiting Nationally At
Forensics Tournament

June 08, 2004

Bowling Green, Ky. - An internationally recognized speech and debate program has created a national recruiting opportunity for Western Kentucky University.

Western is the only university among the national sponsors of this month's Lincoln Financial Group/National Forensic League Beehive Nationals in Salt Lake City. As part of the sponsorship, Western's Admissions Office will have an information booth at the event and the WKU logo will appear in the program, at competition venues and on the group's website.

"We hope to put Western Kentucky University on the map in Salt Lake City," said Dr. Luther Hughes, associate vice president for Enrollment Management.

The June 14-19 national tournament will place Western's name in front of thousands of the best high school students in United States and eight other nations along with parents, coaches and teachers.

"Western will get national exposure that we could never get anywhere else," said Judy Woodring, director of the WKU forensic program.

At last year's tournament in Atlanta, Woodring met Lydia Nelson, a national champion from Massachusetts, and recruited her to WKU.

The national tournament gives Western a chance to recruit high quality students, not just forensics team members, Dr. Hughes said.

Those students are likely to be eligible for a new tuition incentive plan that allows out-of-state students with a 24 ACT and a 3.4 GPA to attend Western for in-state tuition plus 25 percent.

"We think that 125 percent rate will be a good selling point and will be lower than in-state levels for some students," Dr. Hughes said.

The WKU recruitment effort will include Dr. Hughes, Director of Admissions Dean Kahler and two Spirit Masters.

"This is really our first effort at national recruiting with a group of high quality students we know have an interest in the academic programs here," Dr. Hughes said. "We see this a wonderful opportunity."

While Western has been a supplemental sponsor at the national tournament for the past three years, the move to a national sponsorship by a university surprised some in the forensics world, Woodring said. Other national sponsors include Lincoln Financial, Schwan Food Co., and Ted Turner.

"I just asked," she said. "Sometimes it's just that simple."

Woodring thanked Provost Barbara Burch for her support of the sponsorship agreement."Dr. Burch and Dr. Hughes helped get it done," she said. "They saw the significance of it and what it could mean for Western."

For more information, contact Judy Woodring at (270) 745-6340 or Luther Hughes at (270) 745-6169. 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-