Bowling Green, Ky. - Construction of the Clinical Education Complex at Western Kentucky University is under way.

The CEC will house five clinical programs -- Early Childhood Clinic, Communication Disorders Clinic, Family Counseling, Acquired Brain Injury Resource Program and The Kelly Autism Program -- in a facility at 14th and Adams streets in Bowling Green.

At a meeting Wednesday afternoon, the CEC Charter Committee heard an update on construction and fund-raising for the project.

Work on the CEC should be complete by spring, according to Mike Murphy of Scott, Murphy and Daniel. The facility will be 15,000 square feet with 11,000 square feet finished by next spring.

About $1.3 million has been raised for the CEC project, but nearly $1 million is needed to help complete the remaining 4,000 square feet and to provide an endowment for the programs.

Recent gifts include:

• $5,000 from US Bank for the CEC.
  
• $13,500 from Monticello Bank and Board ($5,000 for Clinical Education Complex, $5,000 for Kelly Autism Program and $3,500 in personal gifts from board members to support the Kelly Autism Program).
  
• $17,500 from a CEC fund-raiser hosted by Louis Berman and co-hosted by Maribeth McBride.
  
• $20,000 from the Builder's Association of Bowling Green for the CEC.
  
• $15,000 from LifeSkills for the Kelly Autism Program as proceeds from a 5K run.
  
• A commitment from the Duncan Hines Festival to offer proceeds of an annual event to benefit the CEC.
  

Information about the CEC and the five clinical components is now available online at http://www.wkucec.com/

More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you'd like to receive WKU news via e-mail, send a message to WKUNews@wku.edu.

Editors: The Clinical Education Complex Charter Committee will meet this afternoon at Western Kentucky University’s South Campus to hear an update on construction and fund-raising for the project. The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. at the Knicely Conference Center. CEC Charter Committee Chair Suzanne Vitale, WKU Vice President for Institutional Advancement Tom Hiles, architect Barry Blann and construction manager Mike Murphy will be among those providing updates for the committee members.

For information, contact CEC Charter Committee Chair Suzanne Vitale at (270) 991-7919 or Tom Hiles, WKU Vice President for Institutional Advancement, at (270) 745-6208.