November 12, 2007
Bowling
Green, Ky. -Western Kentucky University today announced the creation of the Center for Regional
Development in Radcliff, Ky.
The Center is being developed to help WKU meet the needs facing the Hardin County area because of changes at Fort Knox caused by the U.S. Army’s Base Realignment and Closure Law, or BRAC. BRAC will be bringing a significant number of military and civilian jobs to Fort Knox, including the Army’s Human Resources Command and the Accessions Command.
The Center is being developed in collaboration with the Fort Knox Federal Credit Union, North Central Education Foundation, the BRAC-One Knox Task Force, the Lincoln Trail Area Development District, area chambers of commerce, Elizabethtown Community and Technical College and the city of Radcliff. The credit union is helping WKU develop 44,000 square feet of space at the site of its temporary Radcliff branch at 599 W. Lincoln Trail Blvd. It will house four multi-purpose classrooms—including two interactive video studio classrooms, a computer lab classroom and a technology-enhanced classroom—and offices. It is intended to serve Hardin and surrounding counties and communities across the region.
“These counties and Fort Knox are at the heart of WKU’s primary service region. We take seriously our responsibility to gear up to meet BRAC-related needs,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said. “BRAC jobs will have a tremendous impact on this region. It is imperative that WKU take the lead in meeting the area’s educational and workforce development goals.”
Fort Knox Federal President and CEO Bill Rissel said: “It is our pleasure to be a partner with Western Kentucky University, the North Central Educational Foundation and others to make this Center for Regional Development a reality here in Radcliff. This Center will be an important addition to our community and will bring additional and higher levels of educational opportunities to benefit the residents, employers and work force in Hardin County.”
Dr. Ransdell said that for the Center concept to work, WKU had to find the right person to establish it and initiate its operation. In this regard, WKU announces the appointment of Laura Emberton Owens as the Assistant to the President for Regional Development. Owens is currently serving as Secretary of the Education Cabinet in the Fletcher Administration.
“Laura Owens brings an ideal combination of knowledge, experience, objectivity and insight to this endeavor,” he said. “I am both pleased and excited about the opportunity for her to work with me and our colleagues at WKU, in this region and in Owensboro and Glasgow as well.”
Owens will begin her new duties Dec. 12. She has spent 25 years in education, workforce training and government was appointed Kentucky’s Education Secretary in 2006. She joined the Education Cabinet in 2004 as commissioner of the Department of Workforce Investment and was later appointed deputy secretary of education.
Owens is a WKU graduate and has been a classroom teacher in Warren and Barren counties, served on the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board.
“The concept of the Center for Regional Development exemplifies the philosophy that I have promoted throughout my tenure as both commissioner for Workforce Investment and secretary of Education,” Owens said. “We must encourage collaboration between education and workforce entities, making sure to meet the specific needs of a region and prepare a well-trained workforce.”
“I commend Western Kentucky University for taking such a bold initiative in creating the Center. This new facility, programs, and partnerships will provide opportunities for success for all involved.”
The facility element of the equation became available when Fort Knox Federal made its temporary location available to WKU when it moves into a new building in January. WKU will lease the building, a former grocery store, from Houchens Industries, a Bowling Green-based corporate partner for WKU. The credit union is making the necessary renovations, a gift worth more than $100,000 to WKU.
“It was Fort Knox Federal’s generous offer that helped prompt our decision to locate this Center in Radcliff,” Dr. Ransdell said.
The Center’s goals include:
- Developing specific degree, non-degree and certification programs to meet the needs of the civilian jobs coming to the area as a result of BRAC;
- Providing educational and training opportunities for local citizens to prepare for jobs associated with the BRAC impact;
- Helping train new teachers needed for the Radcliff and surrounding communities as a result of the dramatic increase in students moving to the area;
- Providing educational and training support for the business and industrial community which will grow as a result of BRAC.
- As an educational institution, we talk about WKU’s international reach, but we must also meet our primary mission of enhancing the quality of life for Kentuckians in our service region,” Dr. Ransdell said.
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