The newsletter for the WKU community
August 28, 2020
WKU to go test optional for admission
Beginning with the spring 2021 semester, WKU will no longer require standardized test scores, such as the ACT or SAT, for most applicants for admission.

“WKU is excited to be among the first of Kentucky’s public four-year universities to become test optional,” Vice President for Enrollment and Student Experience Ethan Logan said. The University began considering the move to test optional last year, and in the process various internal constituencies endorsed the change.

Logan said that a number of factors led to this decision. “Numerous national studies have indicated that a student’s high school GPA is the better predictor of college success than performance on a standardized test.”
WKU Forensics preparing for season
The 33 members of the WKU Forensics Team have returned to campus and are preparing for the unprecedented 2020-21 season.

The champion speech and debate team welcomed seven new members this fall, recruited from across the nation, and pursuing a variety of academic programs at WKU.

The team will begin its season on Sept. 25 when it hosts the annual WKU Fall Tournament and Alex Elliott Memorial Lincoln-Douglas Debate Round Robin.
Clinical Education Complex receives two grant awards
The Suzanne Vitale Clinical Education Complex (CEC) at WKU is pleased to announce that it has received two generous grant awards from the WHAS Crusade for Children: $21,000 for the Kelly Autism Program Prime Time and $26,000 for the Renshaw Early Childhood Center (RECC) Big Red School. These specific programs serve children with special needs from 15 months through 18 years. The funding will be used directly to support programming for more than 100 individuals and families in southcentral Kentucky.
Spotlight: Phoenix Burchfield
Phoenix Burchfield wanted legal experience while completing her paralegal studies degree at WKU in Owensboro. She found the perfect opportunity in an unusual place: on the shore of Kentucky Lake.
In Memoriam: Dr. Richard Troutman, History Department
The WKU Department of History is sad to share that friend, colleague and former Department Head, Dr. Richard Troutman, passed away recently at the age of 89. He served as Department Head from 1972 to 1998. His work, The Heavens Are Weeping: The Diaries of George Richard Browder, 1852-1886, was published in 1987. Thousands of students learned history in his classroom, and he continued to teach for almost two decades after his retirement.
Nominations sought for University Distinguished Professorship
The University Distinguished Professorship program is designed to recognize faculty members who have served the University with distinction and have compiled an outstanding record of achievement in teaching, research, and service. By providing additional support for their work, the program seeks to enable recipients to pursue more professional opportunities and to increase the leadership role of these faculty at WKU. Faculty may be nominated for a University Distinguished Professorship by a faculty member, department head/chair/director, dean, or self-nomination. Nominations should be submitted to the Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs and include the following information: Name of Nominee; Nominee’s Home Department; Nominee’s e-mail address; and a brief summary of why you feel the nominee should be considered for a University Distinguished Professorship. For additional details, visit the Policy on University Distinguished Professor Selection & Appointment. Nomination deadline is Sept. 15.
Nominations sought for Honorary Degree recipients
The Office of the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs invites the campus community to submit nominations for recipients of honorary degrees. Nominations may be made by students, faculty, staff, administration, alumni, or friends of the University. For guidance, refer to the Policy on Honorary Degrees. Nominations should be directed, in letter form or email, to Academic Affairs; deadline is Sept. 15.
Award-winning bluegrass musician Sam Bush received an honorary degree in May 2019.
View from the Hill
Nearly 50 locations on WKU’s campus have been identified as “Zoom rooms.” This became necessary because so much content is being consumed virtually this semester, as WKU’s Amy Bingham explains in this week’s View from the Hill.
Athletics
September
1
Tuesday
Virtual DiscoverFest

Student Activities will host a Virtual DiscoverFest at 4 p.m. Tuesday for students to learn more about student life and involvement at WKU. DiscoverFest will continue through Thursday. Learn More
September
3
Thursday
Staff Senate

Staff Senate meeting will begin at 10 a.m. Thursday. Learn More
September
4
Friday
English Majors Convocation

The 4th Annual English Majors Convocation will be conducted as virtual event from 3 to 4 p.m. Sept. 4. Learn More
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