Western Kentucky University

A statue of Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry, WKU's founder, stands at the top of The Hill, in front of Cherry Hall The roots of Western Kentucky University go back to 1876 with the founding by A. W. Mell of the privately owned Glasgow Normal School and Business College in Glasgow, Kentucky . This moved to Bowling Green in 1884 and became the Southern Normal School and Business College . [ 7 ] In 1890, Potter College was opened as a private women's college by Pleasant J. Potter. [ 8 ] In 1906, Henry Hardin Cherry sold the Southern Normal School and became president of the Western Kentucky State Normal School , [ 8 ] which had just been created by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly . Southern's student body and its building became the new school, with classes beginning on January 22, 1907. [ 9 ] In 1909 Potter College closed and Western bought the buildings and property of the school. [ 10 ] In 1911, Western relocated to its present site on the property that had been Potter College. [ 9 ] In 1922, the school was authorized by the state to grant four-year degrees and was renamed Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College . [ 11 ] The first four-year degrees were awarded in 1924. In 1927, the school merged with Ogden College, which occupied an adjacent campus. The name changed again in 1930 to Western Kentucky State Teachers College . The school was authorized to offer the Master of Arts degree in 1931. Another name change took place in 1948 when the school became simply Western Kentucky State College . WKSC merged with the Bowling Green College of Commerce , which had formerly been the Bowling Green Business University, in 1963. Bowling Green Business University had originally been a part of the Southern Normal School and had been sold off by Henry Hardin Cherry when Southern Normal School was transferred to the state. The structure of the institution changed at this time, divided into separate colleges.

Bowling Green College of Commerce maintained its identity in this way. The Graduate School also became a constituent college. In 1965, three additional colleges were created. In 1966, Western Kentucky State College became Western Kentucky University. For many years, the college was popularly known as "Western", as indicated in its fight song, "Stand Up and Cheer". [ 12 ] However, administrators in recent years have preferred to call it "WKU." [ 13 ] On July 1, 2017, Timothy C. Caboni became the university's 10th president. [ 14 ] Presidents Western Kentucky University officially lists ten presidents since the formation of the Office of the President; Paul Cook served as interim president from 1985 to 1986. [ 15 ] More information No., Name ... No. Name Years served 1 Henry Hardin Cherry 1906–1937 2 Paul L. Garrett 1937–1955 3 Kelly Thompson 1955–1969 4 Dero Downing 1969–1979 5 John Minton 1979 6 Donald Zacharias 1979–1985 7 Kern Alexander 1986–1988 8 Thomas Meredith 1988–1997 9 Gary Ransdell 1997–2017 10 Timothy Caboni 2017–present Close

Western Kentucky University houses five academic colleges, an honors college, and a graduate school. [ 16 ] College of Education and Behavioral Sciences Ogden College of Science & Engineering Potter College of Arts & Letters Gordon Ford College of Business College of Health and Human Services Mahurin Honors College The Graduate School Reputation and rankings Quick facts Academic rankings, National ... Academic rankings National U.S. News & World Report [ 17 ] 363 (tie) Washington Monthly [ 18 ] 338 Close The Spirit Makes the Master, WKU's motto, is on the pylon at the entrance to the university. Pearce-Ford Tower, the largest dormitory at Western Kentucky University and the second largest in the United States [ citation needed ] Jody Richards Hall, home to WKU's School of Journalism and Broadcasting As of 2007 [ update ] , twenty-seven alumni of WKU's photo and print journalism programs have been awarded thirteen Pulitzer Prizes , including eleven alumni recognized for their coverage of the Carrollton bus crash . [ 19 ] The school publishes a twice-weekly newspaper, the College Heights Herald . [ 20 ] View from the middle of the campus

The WKU Honors College became the first Honors College in the Commonwealth of Kentucky on July 1, 2007. The Honors College serves over 1,300 active Honors students with the 2016 incoming freshman class ACT/SAT average ranking among the top 6% in the nation. [ 21 ]