The newsletter for the WKU community
May 8, 2020
Campus Message: FY 2020-21 Budget Executive Committee Recommendations
Dear WKU Faculty and Staff,

In late 2019, the Budget Executive Committee (BEC) began the fiscal year 2021 (FY21) budget development process. Budget request hearings took place, and tuition revenue projections began. WKU is on track to yield our largest one-year increase in freshmen in 18 years, thanks to a new aggressive scholarship model and large strides in the recruitment of Kentucky students. This had WKU poised to manage through an expected modest decline in overall enrollment and relatively flat state funding.

However, the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic has shifted the community landscape. While the full fiscal impact from this crisis is still solidifying for FY21, we now must prepare for an additional enrollment decline, along with a projected decline in state appropriations.
Gatton Academy student earns full scholarship to Royal Veterinary College
Gabriella Lynn, a graduating Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky student from Hopkinsville (University Heights Academy), has been admitted and fully funded to London’s prestigious Royal Veterinary College (RVC). Each year, the RVC issues only one full scholarship to admitted students. Lynn is this year’s recipient. Lynn will pursue a joint undergraduate-graduate degree at the RVC. Upon degree completion and successfully passing licensure exams, Lynn will be registered as Member of the Royal Veterinary College and able to practice veterinary medicine in broad swaths of the world, including in the United States, Canada, and throughout Europe.
CLIMBING HIGHER
WKU Housing and Residence Life congratulated the Class of 2020 by lighting up Pearce-Ford Tower with WKU 2020. Learn More
As our communities face the COVID-19 pandemic, members of our WKU Family are rising to the challenge to go above and beyond, providing services that truly demonstrate what it means to be a Hilltopper. The WKU Alumni Association is excited to share these stories of hope. Learn More
#WKUGrad: Senior pursues passion for career in public health
When applying for colleges four years ago, WKU senior Conner Hounshell from La Grange sought unique opportunities to learn paired with a personal education. After touring campus and meeting with the staff of the Mahurin Honors College, he discovered his perfect fit at WKU. "I knew that if I went to WKU I would not be just a number, and that I would be able to engage in a large variety of opportunities that undergrads at other universities often cannot, such as working directly with a faculty member in research," Hounshell said.
#WKUGrad: WKU to confer degrees in virtual ceremony May 15
Hilltoppers, as we count down the days until we come together for Commencement this fall, join us in celebrating our nearly 2,700 spring 2020 graduates virtually. On May 15, the WKU Board of Regents will accept the recommendation of President Timothy C. Caboni and Provost Cheryl Stevens to confer degrees upon graduating students. This ceremonial process will be streamed online at 4 p.m. CDT on Facebook and YouTube . More: President Caboni's message to students
5 WKU students awarded Boren Scholarships
Five WKU students have been awarded $20,000 David L. Boren Scholarships to fund intensive language study in the US and abroad during the 2020-2021 academic year. All five are students in the Chinese Flagship Program .
WKU Regents to meet May 15
The WKU Board of Regents will conduct its second quarterly meeting on May 15. The meeting begins at 9 a.m. and will be conducted via Zoom. It can be viewed  here .
Spotlight: Our Chance to Dance
The WKU Dance Program will present Our Chance to Dance at 7 tonight on its social media platforms.
WKU Alumni, CPD partner for professional development
As part of its Hilltoppers at Work program, the WKU Alumni Association is offering free digital content to alumni to assist with their professional and career development. This partnership with WKU’s Continuing & Professional Development (CPD) will cover topics ranging from stress management, motivation, change, communication and proactivity.
WKU COVID-19 Updates and Campus Information
Here are the latest updates on WKU's response to COVID-19. Check the website for updates , campus messages , resources , FAQs and more.

Alumni Association establishes Diversity & Inclusion Council
The WKU Alumni Association Board of Directors has chartered a Diversity & Inclusion Council to help guide the Association’s work to engage our diverse community of 114,000 alumni. The WKUAA Board of Directors is accepting nominations for alumni and WKU-affiliated stakeholders to serve as the founding members of the council.
School of Media alumni part of Pulitzer-winning news staff
Several alumni of WKU’s School of Media were part of The Courier Journal news staff that won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Breaking News Reporting on Monday. WKU journalism alumni Kristina Goetz and Tessa Duvall were involved in the staff win for The Courier Journal. Contributing reporters, editors and photographers included journalism and photojournalism alumni Mary Ann Gerth, Sam Upshaw, Dustin Alton Strupp, Emma Austin and Judson David Harten Jr.
View from the Hill
A WKU senior education major says even though her in-person student teaching experience was cut in half, she feels prepared to take on her own classroom this fall. WKU’s Amy Bingham tells us why in this week’s View from the Hill .
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