Bowling
Green, Ky.
- Western Kentucky University will break ground Saturday
on a new Student Publications Building, a grassroots effort
that was funded almost entirely through individual contributions
from alumni who wrote for the College Heights Herald student
newspaper and the Talisman yearbook.
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“This is a historically significant project in that it will
be the first building on WKU’s campus to be entirely privately
financed since the Cedar House was built with student labor
and student and faculty funds,” said Tom Hiles, WKU’s vice
president for Institutional Advancement.
According to Hiles, the Student Publications Center will
be a $1 million, state-of-the-art facility located on Normal
Drive across from the new Mass Media and Technology Hall
(MMTH). “To date 114 contributors have raised a total of
$888,453,” he said. “This has been a largely grassroots
effort in which working journalists have made sacrificial
gifts to honor their alma mater.”
The groundbreaking ceremony will begin at 11 a.m. It will
follow the 55th annual Student Publications Homecoming breakfast,
which begins at 9 a.m., in MMTH.
Bob Adams, WKU’s director of Student Publications, said
the new facility will be constructed to be the newsroom
of the future for the Herald, wkuherald.com, and the Talisman.
“The Herald and Talisman are considering some cooperative
ventures and the Herald plans to expand its online operation
and have the capability to integrate whatever media are
necessary to remain as the primary information source for
WKU students, faculty, staff and administration,” Adams
said.
In 2003, the School of Journalism and Broadcasting moved
to a new, state-of-the art Mass Media and Technology Hall
to the bottom of the campus “Hill.” The Herald and Talisman
and the office of Student Publications stayed in the Garrett
Conference Center on top of the Hill. “Because it’s all
uphill from MMTH there has been limited interaction with
faculty members and with prospective students and their
families,” Adams explained.
“WKU is one of the top journalism schools in the country,
and it is truly fitting that it will now have a state-of-the-art
Mass Media and Technology Hall and an impressive facility
to house its Student Publications,” Hiles said. “We are
indeed grateful to the many alumni and friends who made
this project possible.”
David T. Whitaker, a 1981 alumnus who made a leadership
gift to the project, majored in Journalism and worked for
both the Herald and the Talisman. “The Herald and Talisman,
to me, are the centerpieces of the Journalism program,”
he explained. “The Herald was like my fraternity when I
was at Western. I thought it was important that the publications
staffs have a first-class home, because it will be a big
part of their time at WKU. Also, it will help the Herald
and Talisman stay current, technologically and in quality
of the product, and will help with recruiting for the department
and the university.”
Lee (’85) and Margo Grace (’84) are both alumni of WKU’s
Student Publications programs, as Lee, a Journalism major,
was sports editor for the Talisman and sports reporter for
the Herald and Margo, a Public Relations major, served the
Talisman as design editor and later as co-editor.
“Margo and I are grateful that the Lord has so blessed us
that we can give back to the university and the department
that has given us so much,” Lee Grace said. “We believe
our gift honors the legacy of those that preceded us and
helped to create two excellent award-winning publications.
The Student Publications Building will give future WKU publications
students an even greater advantage over their peers and
will only serve to enhance both the department and the university’s
reputation.”
Margo Grace agreed. “We wanted to give back to the people
and the program that have given so much to us--friends,
fellowship, and the foundation to wonderful careers,” she
said. “We are proud to be part of such a wonderful family.”
Pete Mahurin, senior vice president of Hilliard Lyons, said
his company’s gift is a celebration of success.
“The Journalism area has been a centerpiece for WKU for
a very long time,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to do
something for an area where success has had a long history.”
He added that the gift is also in honor of the Bowling Green
office of Hilliard Lyons reaching the $1 billion mark in
assets gathered. “We don’t have many offices that have reached
that milestone,” he said.
Of the 114 individuals donations, a number of major
gifts led the way. Gifts of more than $50,000 include:
Neil Budde and Ginny Edwards
Lee and Margo Grace
Brad and Judy Wildman Hughes
Hilliard Lyons
Col. and Mrs. Robert E. Spiller
David T. and Fleur Whitaker
Gifts between $10,000 and $49,000 include:
Bob and Sandy Adams
Jerry Brewer
Tom Caudill
Chuck Clark
Chris Poynter
Mason Ralph
Steve and Heidi Thomas
The Herald and Talisman have continued their tradition
of winning national Pacemaker awards. Most recently, they
both won National Pacemaker Awards in October 2005 at the
ACP/CMA National College Media Convention in Kansas City.
The Pacemaker awards are considered to be the Pulitzer Prize
of college journalism. WKU was the only university to take
home national Pacemakers in both newspaper and yearbook
competition. The Herald has won the national Pacemaker 11
times. The Talisman has nine national Pacemakers for yearbooks,
including two straight awards since resuming publication
in 2003.
Both publications are finalists for 2006 Pacemakers that
will be presented Saturday afternoon in St. Louis.
More WKU news is available at www.wku.edu. If you’d like
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