The newsletter for the WKU community
March 5, 2021
Kentucky Building to be renamed in honor of Charles Hardcastle
For Charles Hardcastle and his wife, Carolyn Hardcastle, caring for his community is second nature. A former Mayor of Bowling Green and current President of Consolidated Paper Group, Charles Hardcastle has been a prominent member of the community for many years.
 
Now, his dedication to the region will be permanently memorialized, as the Kentucky Building will be renamed the Charles Hardcastle Kentucky Building in honor of a $1.5 million gift made by the namesake and his wife. The naming was approved today by the WKU Board of Regents.
 
“WKU is incredibly grateful for the philanthropic support Charles and Carolyn provide, demonstrating their strong connection to and belief in our institution,” said WKU President Timothy C. Caboni.
 
The Charles Hardcastle Endowed Fund for Excellence will provide annual support for the Kentucky Building facility and related University programming, including the Kentucky Museum, the Kentucky Library Research Collections, the Department of Library Special Collections and the Kentucky Folklife Program.
Regents OK changes to president's contract
The WKU Board of Regents today (March 5) approved an addendum to President Timothy C. Caboni’s employment contract that includes retention and performance-based bonuses, a deferred compensation plan, separation payments and an increase to his base salary. “One of our primary roles as a board is to hire and retain the university’s president,” Regents Chair Frederick Higdon of Lebanon said. “After the outstanding evaluation he received in January and the ongoing remarkable performance increases at WKU, we wanted to ensure President Caboni remains with our university for many years to come."
Check WKU's Healthy on the Hill website for COVID-19 information, including Vaccine Information, FAQs, Reported Cases Dashboard, Symptoms & Health Checks and more.
CLIMBING HIGHER
WKU's College of Education and Behavioral Sciences is leading the way as institutions across the state celebrate the relaunch of the Kentucky Academy for Equity in Teaching, a cutting edge diversity, equity and inclusion plan. “We appreciate the support of the Commonwealth as we continue our efforts towards diversity, equity and inclusion in the teacher workforce,” said Corinne Murphy, Dean of the College of Education and Behavioral Sciences. Learn More
Child welfare center launches grant-funded collaborative
WKU’s College of Health and Human Services and the Center for Child Welfare Education and Research are pleased to announce the launch of the Kentucky Child Welfare Workforce Wellness Initiative. The KCWWWI is a grant-funded collaborative and interdisciplinary effort designed to improve the health and wellness of child welfare workers across all of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s 8 Dimensions of Wellness. More: View from the Hill
Spotlight: Global Learning Forum
Global Learning & International Affairs (GLIA) is excited to share a recent addition to the Global Learning Forum: Around the World in Quarantine Days podcast series.
Naming and Symbols Task Force feedback deadline March 15
Here's a campus message from Saundra Curry Ardrey and Margaret Gripshover, Co-Chairs of the WKU Naming and Symbols Task Force:

On behalf of WKU’s Naming and Symbols Task Force, we would like to thank those who have provided feedback. We have received more than 250 submissions from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and community members. Some respondents have asked for additional information, both on the history of the names and symbols used on our campus and on the role of this task force. To satisfy those requests, we have created a resource page and a set of FAQs on the Naming and Symbols Task Force’s website. We are also extending the deadline for feedback to March 15 to allow more time for those who wish to share comments after reviewing these resources.
2 students honored in Hearst multimedia competition
Two WKU photojournalism students finished in the top five of the second multimedia competition of the 2020-2021 Hearst Journalism Awards Program. More: Students, faculty honored by KNPA
State Climate Office provides overview of recent conditions
February. What a month of weather here in Kentucky! The state was hit by multiple winter storms before experiencing widespread flooding. On Thursday, the State Climate Office for Kentucky, a division of the Kentucky Climate Center at WKU, hosted its Kentucky Monthly Climate Perspective on Drought and Hydrologic Conditions webinar.
GRADLEARN Seminar series
The Graduate School is pleased to announce the Spring 2021 GRADLEARN seminar series. The series provides new information to the WKU community about evidenced-based practices to promote innovation in graduate education. Professional Science Master’s Program, the second webinar in this series, will feature experts associated with the National Professional Science Master’s Association (NPSMA). The webinar will be held from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday (March 10).
View from the Hill
WKU, home to Kentucky’s first child welfare center, is launching an initiative to study the health consequences of frontline child welfare workers. WKU’s Amy Bingham has details in this week’s View from the Hill.

Athletics
March
5
Friday
Folklife Network Gathering

The Kentucky Folklife Program, part of WKU's Department of Folk Studies and Anthropology, will host the first virtual Kentucky Folklife Network Gathering today and Saturday. Learn More
March
5
Friday
DEI Community of Practice

CITL’s Diversity Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Community of Practice will host (In)Visible (Dis)Abilities at 1 p.m. today via Zoom. Learn More
March
6
Saturday
Studio Series 2021

WKU's Department of Theatre & Dance will present streaming performances of Studio Series 2021 at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday and 2 p.m. Sunday. Tickets are $10. Learn More
More events: Check WKU Events calendar or follow @wkuevents on Instagram
Western Kentucky University 
1906 College Heights Blvd. 
Bowling Green, KY 42101