The daily newsletter for the WKU community
March 29, 2019
More than 550 scholarship donors, student recipients meet at annual event
“This year, 2,627 students at WKU received $5.8 million in scholarships funded through private donors,” said Dr. Donald Smith, President of the College Heights Foundation.
More than 550 endowed scholarship donors and their student recipients were able to meet face-to-face Thursday night during the 2019 Scholarship Celebration at the Knicely Conference Center.

This annual event provides a great opportunity for endowed scholarship donors to learn more about the student or students who benefit from their support, and it allows the recipient to express their gratitude directly to their donor. The Ridley Group of Wells Fargo Advisors, a longtime supporter of WKU, was the presenting sponsor of the event.

“Since the establishment of the College Heights Foundation 95 years ago and the WKU Foundation 25 years ago, the University has awarded more than $100 million in privately funded scholarships,” said WKU President Timothy C. Caboni speaking to the attendees. “Your generosity and personal donations remove financial obstacles for so many and enable Hilltoppers to join our Hill – many times becoming the first college graduates in their families.”

Rickey D. Williams, a sophomore from Kenosha, Wisconsin, and the recipient of the Gary Koon Scholarship, said: “If it weren’t for the scholarship made possible by Mr. Gary Koon, I wouldn’t be speaking to you today. At times, I know it may feel like if we aren’t helping everyone we aren’t doing enough. No matter the amount of a contribution, your impact will always be massive.”
CLIMBING HIGHER
WKU senior Kylie Carlson, a professional writing major from Cadiz, presented her research project at the annual Conference on College Composition and Communication in Pittsburgh. Carlson presented her research on digital badging and her proposal for implementing it in first-year English courses at WKU. Dr. Dan Liddle, assistant professor of English, is her mentor for the project.
Parking & Traffic Advisory
WKU is hosting the Southeastern Color Guard Circuit Friday through Sunday at Diddle Arena. The weekend event will bring a large volume of buses, trucks and tractor trailers to campus. In support of this large regional event, several parking, traffic and transit changes will be in effect beginning Friday afternoon. View the #WKUKnowParking SCGC Video .
Banner & TopNet Maintenance
A reminder from ITS: Banner and TopNet will be down for maintenance from 6 a.m. to noon Saturday. Infoview and Banner Finance Reports will also be down. Systems that query Banner data, such as MyStuff and password reset pages, will also be affected. Blackboard, Email, WKU file shares and most other systems will not be affected. Updates during outages are posted to the ITS Systems Status page .
WKU History Contest Winners
Congratulations to the winners in WKU’s annual Frances Thompson Memorial History Contest:
  • Senior High World History: Stanley Zhao, Portland (Tennessee) High School
  • Senior High American History: Grant Avis, Central Hardin High School
  • Junior High World History: Cameron Anderson, The Frankfort Christian Academy
  • Junior High American History: Drekken Pyles, Casey County Middle School
The annual Frances Thompson Memorial History Contest was held March 22 at WKU's Diddle Arena.
Spotlight: Dance Big Red
The Fifth Annual Dance Big Red, a student-led fundraising event benefiting Norton Children's Hospital, begins at 8 tonight at Preston Health and Activities Center. The event ends at 8 a.m. Saturday. Last year, Dance Big Red raised more than $73,000 for Norton's Children's Hospital. This year, the goal is $85,000.
View from The Hill
Close to 400 students put their research projects on display at the 49 th annual Student Research Conference . WKU's Amy Bingham takes a closer look at three of the presenters in the View from the Hill .
March
29
Friday
2019 GeoBee State Competition
 
100 fourth- through eighth-graders from across Kentucky will compete in the 2019 Kentucky State National Geographic Bee at 9 a.m. at the Knicely Conference Center. More Info
March
29
Friday
SCGC Championships This Weekend

The Southeastern Color Guard Circuit Championships begin at 6:45 p.m. at Diddle Arena and will continue at 10 a.m. Saturday. The SCGC Percussion/Winds Championships begin at 10 a.m. Sunday. Parking/Traffic Info
March
31
Sunday
Hardin Planetarium Show

Starry Tales for a Winter Night ends its run at 2 p.m. at the Hardin Planetarium. Saturn's "Young" Rings will open at 7 p.m. April 2 and will continue at 7 p.m. Tuesday, 7 p.m. Thursday and 2 p.m. Sunday through May 16. More Info
Western Kentucky University 
1906 College Heights Blvd. 
Bowling Green, KY 42101