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Top photo: Dr. Phillip Bale (left) administered the oath of office to the WKU Board of Regents' new officers (from left) secretary David Brinkley, vice chair Frederick A. Higdon and chair Gillard B. Johnson. Bottom left: Will Harris was sworn in as student regent. Bottom right: WKU President Timothy C. Caboni (right) thanked Dr. Phillip Bale for his two years as board chair. (WKU photos by Clinton Lewis)

The WKU Board of Regents on Friday (Aug. 2) elected new officers and swore in its newest member, Student Regent Will Harris.

Gillard B. Johnson of Nicholasville was elected chair. Frederick A. Higdon of Lebanon was elected vice chair. David Brinkley, staff regent from Bowling Green, was elected secretary.

Dr. Phillip Bale of Glasgow, who has chaired the board the past two years, called WKU as special place. “Not being a graduate make you appreciate it even more,” he said. “The things that we’ve don will position Western well into the future to not only survive, but thrive.”

In addition to being the student regent, Harris, of Glasgow, is the president of the Student Government Association. He is pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Corporate and Organizational Communication and Social Media Marketing.

In other business, the Board:

• Approved changing the name of the School of Journalism and Broadcasting to the School of Media;
• Approved undergraduate and graduate certificates in Emergency Management Disaster Science;
• Approved faculty emeritus status for Robert Pulsinelli (Economics) and Stephen White (Journalism and Broadcasting) and staff emeritus status for Tamela Smith (Information Technology Services).
• Approved naming room 1509 in E.A. Diddle Arena the Col. Gary A. “Mickey” Riggs Military Science Office in recognition of his distinguished career in the U.S. Army and his devotion as a WKU alumnus.

Contact: Bob Skipper, (270) 745-4295