The WKU Board of Regents on Friday approved the first step in a new Doctor of Physical Therapy degree.
The Board approved the DPT degree type, which allows WKU to hire the staff needed to fully develop the program. The first students will enroll in the fall of 2012.
“The Doctor of Physical Therapy is the third professional practice doctorate at WKU,” Provost Gordon Emslie said.
WKU will use $650,000 in private funds to cover start-up costs, President Gary Ransdell said. While the University is continuing to raise private funding, the program will be self-supporting through tuition, he said.
“Pricing will be fluid and we will evaluate tuition to make it self-sufficient and still highly competitive,” he said.
John Bonaguro, dean of the College of Health and Human Services, said searches are underway for a director and coordinator for clinical education. Those positions should be filled in late spring.
WKU currently offers a Doctor of Educational Leadership and is implementing a Doctor of Nursing Practice.
The Board also approved honorary doctor of public service degrees for Elaine Chao and Dr. Xu Lin.
Chao is a former U.S. Secretary of Labor under President George W. Bush. She is the first American woman of Asian descent, and the first Kentuckian since 1945, to be appointed to the president’s cabinet. She is now a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation.
Dr. Lin is Director General of Hanban, a branch of the Chinese Education Ministry. She is responsible for the vitality of the 322 Confucius Institutes worldwide and an active advocate for the mission to disseminate Chinese culture and languages as a means of promoting understanding between cultures. WKU is home to the first Confucius Institute in Kentucky, one of 72 in the United States.
Dr. Ransdell said plans are to present the honorary degrees at the May 20 Presidents Circle Gala, opening of the Chinese Learning Center and first anniversary celebration of the WKU Confucius Institute.
In other business, the Board:
*Approved a $70 per semester student fee to help fund a $49 million renovation of the Downing University Center. The fee, which will be prorated for part-time students, will begin in the fall semester and has been approved by the WKU Student Government Association. Student fees will cover 60 percent of the cost with the rest covered by auxiliaries, such as dining services and the WKU Store. The fee will end once bonds used to fund the renovation are retired.
*Heard a presentation on the Kentucky Council for Postsecondary Education’s strategic agenda from CPE President Bob King.
*Approved a Master of Arts in Teaching degree type that would prepare students for initial teacher certification at the graduate level.
*Approved a Master of Arts in Social Responsibility and Sustainable Communities; a Bachelor of Science in Mathematical Economics; and undergraduate certificates in Computer Literacy and Information Systems.
*Approved reorganizations of the Academic Affairs and Research divisions and the University College.
*Approved emeritus status for John T. Riley, retired professor of chemistry.
*Approved the Six-Year Capital Plan for 2012-18, which has been submitted to the Capital Planning Advisory Board and the Council on Postsecondary Education.
*Recognized the first five students to complete the Doctor of Educational Leadership and will graduate in May. Sam Evans, dean of the College of Education & Behavioral Sciences, said an additional 15-18 will graduate in December.
