Dear Colleagues,
During this legislation session, Jennifer Smith, WKU’s Assistant Vice President for Government and External Relations, and I spent a great deal of time in Frankfort engaging in critical discussions with our state’s lawmakers, each aimed at shaping the future of WKU. These conversations, especially those related to WKU’s share of the state budget, underscore the commitment of our legislators to higher education in the Commonwealth, and more specifically, the value they assign to WKU.
Jennifer shared a number of highlights from the budget in her email to campus on March 29. I am pleased that we will receive a 4.5% inflation-adjusted increase to the base appropriation of our budget in the upcoming fiscal year. Furthermore, the performance funding pool will see enhancements in both years of the budget along with a significant allocation of nearly $2.2 million to mitigate the rise in state fire and tornado insurance costs.
WKU also will receive an additional allocation of $28.5 million each year of the biennium through a second installment of asset preservation funding, allowing us to forge ahead with our ambitious campus transformation initiatives. Perhaps most notably, our Hilltop Restoration Project continues to advance as we develop plans to renovate our iconic Cherry Hall. We also received the largest capital project appropriation in WKU’s history, $160 million for the replacement of our Academic Complex.
