The newsletter for the WKU community -- April 22, 2026 | |
President's Message: Legislative Session Update; Faculty/Staff Baseball Game; Commencement
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Dear Colleagues,
With the conclusion of the 2026 Kentucky legislative session yesterday, I would like to take a moment to reflect on the important work that takes place each year on behalf of WKU. Throughout the session, WKU leadership works tirelessly to advocate for our institution and to ensure that members of the General Assembly understand our priorities, our influence and the needs of our students and community. I would especially like to extend my sincere appreciation to Jennifer Smith, Assistant Vice President for Government and External Relations, for her leadership and dedication during the session. Her efforts are instrumental in advancing our voice in Frankfort.
As many of you know, this was a budget year for the Kentucky General Assembly, and legislators outlined funding allocations for the next biennium for all public colleges and universities in the Commonwealth. While there was, at one point, a budget reduction on the table for WKU, I am pleased to share that the General Assembly has adopted a budget that keeps funding flat for WKU and all public universities. We are thankful that the General Assembly recognized and affirmed the value of higher education through this funding decision.
| | Congratulations to Jeremy Hickman, a part-time faculty member in PCAL, for winning the 3rd Annual WKU Internal Audit Bracket Challenge! Hickman beat out 169 participants with a score of 324 points! Bruce Weisman, Director of Internal Audit, presented the award. Learn more about WKU Internal Audit. | |
Final 2026 Legislative Update
The Kentucky General Assembly adjourned sine die until January 5, 2027. Entering the final two days of the session, most universities were facing base appropriation reductions of approximately 4% over the biennium. However, following extensive discussions between university leaders and legislators, those reductions were ultimately restored.
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Mesonet adds station in Trimble County
The state’s official weather and climate monitoring network – Kentucky Mesonet – held a ceremony Monday for one of its newest sites in north-central Kentucky: Trimble County.
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Fresh Food Company earns awards
WKU's Fresh Food Company has won the 2026 Sustainable Food Award, the 2026 Sustainable Seafood Award and the 2026 Green Marketing Award from the Green Restaurant Association.
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Fulbright U.S. Student Program Grant
Priscilla Riggs, a first-generation college student in English and Marketing, has been awarded a Fulbright U.S. Student Program English Teaching Assistantship to South Korea.
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CanStruct exceeds 55,000 food items
WKU Greek fraternities and sororities culminated their food drive collections for CanStruct, donating approximately 55,424 food items to House on the Hill.
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ASCE concrete canoe competition
WKU's American Society of Civil Engineers student chapter brought home an array of accolades from the 2026 ASCE Indiana-Kentucky Student Symposium.
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Kelly Autism Program Alliance Award
Morgan Moran, Student Employment Coordinator with WKU Libraries, has been named a 2026 recipient of the Kelly Autism Program Alliance Award, which recognizes individuals for excellence in collaboration, advocacy and service.
| | | | | Student Spotlight: Caleb Penick | For Caleb Penick the road to psychology and child therapy wasn’t straightforward. “Originally, I came into WKU with a communication disorders major,” he recalls. “I thought I could work with kids that way, but it was a lot more science than I was comfortable with.” That realization set him on a new path. A child development course with Dr. Babb in CHHS sealed the shift. “She was like, you should consider having this as a major so you can get the holistic experience ...you need to know how families interact before you can help them.” | | |
Oden centers growth en route to SLP career
Focused on a career as a speech-language pathologist, Emily Oden has shaped her Hilltopper Journey around opportunities for growth. Majoring in Communication Disorders, Oden left her hometown in Guthrie, focused on learning from each experience to be the best in her future career. “From a young age, I knew that I wanted to help people. In my senior year of high school, a close family friend asked me if I had ever considered speech-language pathology,” Oden said.
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Fund for Education Abroad Scholarship
WKU student Brianna Bennish, a first-generation college student, was awarded a Fund for Education Abroad scholarship in the Spring 2026 application cycle for study abroad to Poland in Summer 2026.
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Lucas elected as SGA president
The new executive council for WKU’s Student Government Association was elected on Wednesday, April 15.
Photo Credit: Photography by Jacob Sebastian.
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GFCB celebrates 2026 award recipients
The Gordon Ford College of Business is proud to celebrate the accomplishments of its faculty, staff, students and alumni at the 2026 GFCB Awards.
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Student Publications names new leadership
WKU Student Publications has selected its student leadership for 2026-27.
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Robinson reflects on student involvement
Philosophy faculty member, Landon Elkind, recently sat down to ask Rush Robinson, current Student Government Association President, about his involvement in SGA, what students can look to SGA for and why they might be interested in getting involved.
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A place for community and connection
Every month at WKU, an Open Mic Night takes place in Grise Hall room 235. Students, faculty and staff sign up to share their work for a crowd and seize a valuable opportunity to develop public speaking skills and build community.
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English showcases work by Dr. Winters
WKU English is proud to showcase Dr. Dawn Winters who co-authored an article: “Strengthening Faculty Retention and Belonging: Applying and Expanding Job Embeddedness Theory through an Onboarding Initiative in Higher Education.”
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Course Evaluations
Here's a reminder from the Office of Institutional Research: WKU students are asked to visit wku.evaluationkit.com to complete course evaluations. Students who complete all course evaluations will receive early access to their grades on TopNet.
| | | Check out the latest WKU Week in Photos for a look back at last week's events. Photos by WKU Athletics and WKU Communications & Marketing. | WKU Earth Day Celebration | Enjoy food trucks, local vendors, information tables and giveaways at WKU's Earth Day Celebration on Friday at 10:30 a.m. in Centennial Mall. | | | |
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Greek Week
Greek Week activities continue today with a blood drive at the Preston Center and Greek Week Events Day at 4 p.m. at William "Gander" Terry Colonnade, Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. Learn More
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Take a Child to Work Day
WKU Human Resources will host Take A Child to Work Day tomorow. The event begins at 8 a.m. at Downing Student Union, room 3024. Learn More
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Evening of Dance
The WKU Dance program will present Evening of Dance on Thursday, April 23, at 7:30 p.m. in Russell H. Miller Theater in the Ivan Wilson Fine Arts Center. Additional showtimes include 7:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday. Learn More
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Board of Regents
The WKU Board of Regents will hold a special called meeting Friday at 9 a.m. in the Martin Regents Room in Jody Richards Hall to discuss and take action on the execution and delivery of project documents for the university's public-private partnership. Learn More
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