Fox first WKU student selected to attend Fulbright Summer Institute

Sarah Fox, a WKU freshman and Presidential Scholar, is the first WKU student selected by the US-UK Fulbright Commission to attend a Fulbright Summer Institute for Undergraduates.

Sarah Fox

The Summer Institutes provide the opportunity for American freshmen and sophomores to go to the United Kingdom on a three- to six-week academic and cultural summer program.

Fox, a music education major, is the daughter of Brian and Susan Fox of Russellville and a graduate of  Russellville High School, the Governor’s Scholars Program and Governor’s School for the Arts. The Fulbright UK Summer Institute will extend her experience with prestigious academic programs well beyond Kentucky.

“Winning this scholarship is a dream come true,” Fox said. “The music, land and people of the United Kingdom have always fascinated me, and I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be immersed in a culture that has had a profound effect on my heritage and is yet so foreign.”

Fox will have the opportunity to study with other high-achieving students at Newcastle University, explore the culture, heritage and history of the UK, and develop her academic ability by improving her presentation, research and communication skills.

“The summer institute at Newcastle University will be comprised of students from around the world, and it is my goal to expand my horizons by learning about each of them. I hope that my days will be filled with challenges through which I will grow, people from whom I will learn, and experiences through which I will live more fully,” she said.

An English minor, she will take one of several course options at Newcastle University, including creative writing and literary editing. Her music professors expect her to carry her talent and passion for music into a successful experience at Newcastle.

“Sarah has the heart of a solo musician, but also contains the service role of being an accompanist, which is a rare combination for a musician,” Music Department Head Mitzi Groom said. “She will be a stellar ambassador for WKU and the Department of Music. She is clearly one of our up-and-coming stars.”

Fox was supported through the process by the Office of Scholar Development, working on the application with Dr. Melinda Grimsley-Smith for several weeks.

“We had a very strong pool of applicants for the Summer Institutes this year from WKU, and although the Commission doesn’t share the numbers of students who applied, I understand from other scholarship advisors throughout the U.S. that the competition was very stiff. Sarah is just one of six American students nationwide chosen for Newcastle, so she has an awful lot to be proud of,” Dr. Grimsley-Smith said.

Fox expects her participation in the Summer Institute at Newcastle University to act as a stepping stone to further prestigious scholarships and opportunities in the future, and credits her experience at WKU for making it possible.

“The Office of Scholar Development, Honors College, and Music Department faculty have given me inspiring knowledge and genuine support, and I am so proud to be a part of this institution that every day proves its motto as ‘A Leading American University with International Reach’,” Fox said.

About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping WKU students in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in the Fulbright Summer Institutes or other similar opportunities.

Contact: Melinda Grimsley-Smith, (270) 745-5043.

2 WKU students earn honorable mentions for 2012 Udall scholarships

WKU students John Clark of Bowling Green and Abby Rudolph of Louisville earned honorable mentions for the 2012 Morris K. Udall scholarship competition.

Established by Congress in 1992, the Udall Foundation provides scholarships for students who have demonstrated commitment to a career related to the environment, tribal public policy, or Native health care. This year the Udall Foundation recognized just 130 university students through this scholarship program. Both Clark and Rudolph plan to pursue careers within the environmental field.

John Clark

Clark, a junior biology major, has always had a passion for the natural world.

“Nature has played a large role in my life through camping in Boy Scouts, bird watching with my mother, fishing with my father and grandfather, and hunting with my uncle and brother,” he said. “My experiences have made me want to conserve the natural world to that others can continue to have these outdoor experiences in the future.”

During his time at WKU, Clark has worked an interpretive park ranger at Mammoth Cave National Park, assisted with several research projects, including bat and ginseng monitoring and worked on a small mammal survey. This summer he will travel to South Africa to conduct a foraging analysis of reintroduced black rhinos.

“I now hope to learn more about the interactions that allow the world to thrive so that our remaining natural areas can be conserved,” he said.

Dr. Mike Stokes, professor of biology, has worked closely with Clark on various research initiatives at the university and serves as his research mentor for the project in South Africa.

“John Clark is a student from a small town in Kentucky who has global potential,” he said.  “John’s undergraduate research project will contribute to our understanding of rhino reintroductions to private lands and, I’m confident, forecasts a significant career in wildlife-related research.”

Clark, the son of Beth and Jim Clark, will be conducting research in South Africa for the rest of the calendar year and will complete his final semester at WKU before attending graduate school.

“I would like to thank my parents, the Honors College, and the Office of Scholar Development,” he said. “I would also like to thank my beautiful fiancée for not killing me when I planned to leave the country for six and a half months.”

Rudolph, a sophomore creative writing and visual arts major, has been involved with environmental activism since she was in the ninth grade.

Abby Rudolph

“I have many passions, but environmentalism has always been central,” she said. “I became aware of mountaintop removal coal mining in middle school, when my youth group partnered with Kentuckians for the Commonwealth (KFTC) to host an ‘I Love Mountains’ concert to raise awareness and to help end the devastating practice.”

Rudolph, the daughter of John Rudolph and the late Sarah Rudolph, has spent much of her time advocating with the KFTC to abolish the practice of mountaintop removal.

While at WKU, Rudolph has worked closely with Christian Ryan-Downing, coordinator of sustainability for the university and advisor of the GreenToppers, an organization in which Rudolph participates.

“Her academic accomplishments speak for her intellectual abilities and creative talents, and make her extraordinary commitments to extracurricular initiatives all the more impressive,” Ryan-Downing said. “As a member of GreenToppers, Students for Campus Sustainability, WKU Americans for an Informed Democracy, and United Students for Fair Trade, Abby has helped WKU achieve Fair Trade University status, has organized ‘real food’ events, has raised awareness about sustainable food issues, and organized students to attend the 2011 Powershift conference.”

“The passionate citizens of KFTC and the First Unitarian Church of Louisville really helped me direct me as an activist,” Rudolph said. “I would also like to thank Wendell Berry for living and writing in such a way as to be a constant reminder of how I want to effect the world.”

About the Office of Scholar Development: The Office of Scholar Development is committed to helping WKU students in all majors and degree programs develop the vision, experience and skills to be independent, engaged scholars. OSD welcomes the opportunity to work with students interested in the Udall Scholarship or other similar opportunities.

Contact: Dr. Audra Jennings, (270) 745-5043.

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Kentucky Recognition Ceremony for Duke TIP Program May 25 at WKU

The Center for Gifted Studies at WKU will host the Kentucky Recognition Ceremony for the Duke Talent Identification Program at 2 p.m. Friday (May 25) at Diddle Arena.

WKU President Gary Ransdell will provide the keynote address for the program, which honors seventh-graders who scored at or above the average for college-bound seniors on one or more sections of the ACT or SAT this year.

In Kentucky, 2,909 students took the above-level assessments after Duke TIP’s Seventh Grade Talent Search identified them as scoring in the 95th percentile on a grade-level achievement test. More than 1,500 qualified to be honored at the Kentucky Recognition Ceremony at WKU.

Nationally, more than 77,000 seventh graders tested, and 25,328 were invited to attend a state recognition event.

About 400 of the seventh-graders who qualified in Kentucky will attend the ceremony to be recognized, as well as introduced to The Center for Gifted Studies’ programs for which they are now eligible. Students and their families will also have the opportunity to tour WKU’s campus.

Among this year’s Kentucky honorees are two of the nation’s 50 William and Dorothy C. Bevan Scholars. John Wang, a student at Louisville’s Kentucky Country Day School, and Emily Liu, a student at Louisville’s Meyzeek Middle School, received the honor for earning a perfect score on one or more sections of the ACT or SAT. They and the rest of the Bevan Scholars were awarded full scholarships to attend Duke TIP’s Center for Summer Studies.

Liu, Wang and 150 other Kentucky students were also invited the Grand Recognition Ceremony on Duke University’s campus in Durham, N.C., celebrating seventh-graders who earned scores equal to or better than 90 percent of college-bound seniors who took the ACT or SAT. A total of 1,995 students from around the nation qualified to attend this event held May 21 at Cameron Indoor Stadium.

Contact: Mandy Simpson, (270) 745-3014.

Newsweek recognizes Gatton Academy as America’s Best High School

The Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky at WKU has been recognized by Newsweek magazine as the nation’s top high school.

America’s Best High Schools 2012, released online Sunday and in the May 28, 2012, print edition of the magazine, recognized 1,000 schools from across the United States. The Gatton Academy was ranked fifth in 2011 list.

Rounding out the top five schools were The School for the Talented and Gifted Magnet (Dallas, Texas), BASIS Scottsdale (Arizona), School of Science and Engineering Magnet (Dallas, Texas), and BASIS Tucson (Arizona).

Newsweek’s methodology for their rankings sought to highlight schools that focus on providing solutions to the challenges of 21st century education and prepare students for both college and life. (To read more about the Newsweek list, visit http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/newsweek-ranks-kentucky-academy-as-america-s-top-high-school.html)

Each school’s score is comprised of six components: four-year, on-time graduation rate (25 percent), college matriculation rate (25 percent), Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) tests per student (25 percent), average SAT/ACT scores (10 percent), average AP or IB scores (10 percent), and AP courses offered (5 percent). (To view the complete list, visit http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2012/05/20/america-s-best-high-schools.html)

Dr. Julia Roberts, executive director of the Gatton Academy, explained that the components of the methodology reflect the high-level learning necessary for successful students in a globally-competitive society.

“The United States has emphasized proficiency or grade-level learning to the exclusion of nurturing the talents of advanced learners,” Dr. Roberts said. “A promising future for our country is closely tied to the development of talent in science, mathematics, languages arts, the social sciences, and the arts. The purpose of the Gatton Academy is to extend learning opportunities for gifted students who live in all parts of Kentucky.”

WKU President Dr. Gary Ransdell underscored the unique experiences available to Gatton Academy students and the role the campus community has in engaging students at the highest level.

“What a great tribute to everyone on our faculty and to the staff of the Gatton Academy,” Dr. Ransdell said. “The key has been the manner in which WKU faculty have involved these students in serious undergraduate research and opened up international experiences for them.”

Over half of Gatton Academy students engaged in study programs abroad during the previous academic year, with opportunities in Italy, the United Kingdom, Costa Rica, China, and Taiwan. Moreover, 91 percent of recent Gatton Academy graduates participated in a research project sponsored by a university faculty mentor.

The program’s strategic partnership with WKU plays an important role in the development of students both in and out of the classroom, according to Gatton Academy director Dr. Tim Gott.

“This recognition would not have been possible without the full partnership we have with Western Kentucky University,” Dr. Gott said. “Having access to top professors and instructors, the university’s research facilities, and the support of the administration provides a pathway for advanced Kentucky students to be on equal footing with others across from the United States.”

Corey Alderdice, assistant director for admissions and public relations, also noted the recognition is something that should be shared with the more than 100 public school districts in the state that have partnered with the Gatton Academy to engage students from 107 Kentucky counties since the program’s inception.

“At the core of its mission, the Gatton Academy acts as an extension of the nearly 200 public high schools is the state of Kentucky,” Alderdice said. “These students excel not only because of the opportunities they have been provided by the Academy but also because of the preparation and experiences they have pursued at the elementary, middle, and early high school level in their home districts.”

The Gatton Academy, which opened in 2007 and is funded by the Kentucky General Assembly, is the commonwealth’s only state-supported residential high school with an emphasis in math and science.  Dr. Roberts added that the announcement is the culmination of over a decade of advocacy to make the program a reality for Kentucky students.

“Fifteen years ago the idea for what has become the Gatton Academy was put forward,” Dr. Roberts said. “Ten years of advocating preceded its opening. Being recognized as the top high school in the country by Newsweek at the conclusion of the Gatton Academy’s fifth year is a dream come true.”

Contact: Corey Alderdice, (270) 705-3632; Dr. Julia Roberts, (270) 745-6480; or Dr. Tim Gott, (270) 745-3605.

View from the Hill – International Student Teaching

Just over a week ago, nearly 40 WKU students were flying home from their student teaching assignments in six different countries.  Here’s an up-close look at one of the students’ amazing experiences in South Korea.

WKU grad John D. Minton Jr. re-elected Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice

WKU graduate John D. Minton Jr. has been unanimously elected to a second term as Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court.

John D. Minton Jr., Chief Justice of the Kentucky Supreme Court, delivers the commencement address for the Gatton Academy in May 2012. The WKU grad has been re-elected to a second term as Chief Justice.

Justices elected Minton on Thursday (May 17) to a four-year term that begins June 27. He was sworn in as Kentucky’s fifth chief justice on June 27, 2008, after being elected to the Supreme Court in 2006.

Minton earned his bachelor’s degree with honors from WKU in 1974 and is a 1970 graduate of WKU’s training school, College High. He is a 1977 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Law.

He recently delivered the address at the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science in Kentucky commencement ceremony at WKU.