7th Annual
Alumni College
June 4-7, 2009Have you ever had the urge to return to Western Kentucky University?
Not just the quick drive through campus, but have you wanted to return to your old dormitory, walk WKU’s Hill, take a class or two - live like a college student again?
Here’s your chance. What is Alumni College?The 7th annual Alumni College is an annual lifelong learning program for alumni and friends of WKU. The program gives participants the opportunity to stay on campus while taking fun, educational classes. This year’s program includes two full days of classes and activities on campus and in the Bowling Green community. Alumni College students will enjoy the great traditions of the past, plus the recent changes that continue to make WKU’s campus one of the most beautiful colleges in the country.
Who is invited?All alumni, friends, and family of WKU are invited to join in the fun of Alumni College. Haven’t seen your college friends in several years? Call them up and plan your Alumni College adventure together!
WANT TO KNOW MORE? READ ON!Cost: $180 per person Cost includes:• Three nights lodging in Bates Runner Hall
• All meals beginning Thursday evening through Sunday morning
• Bed and bath linens (sheets, blanket, towels, and washcloths)
• Transportation to all off campus excursions
• Tickets to all off campus excursions
What you should bring:Remember what your dorm room was like during college…
You will be excited to know they’ve come a long way since your day on the Hill. However some things never change. Please remember to pack the following:
• Soap
• Shampoo
• Pillow
• Hairdryer
• Alarm clock
• Early morning coffee pot (if you need one before 7:00 a.m.)
Program Itinerary:
THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 2009 2:00 – 5:30 p.m. Check In
4:30 p.m. A View of the Hill
Historian Jonathan Jeffrey will trace the steps back to 1906 where Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry first planted his seed for a university. Sit back and enjoy the ride to the top of WKU’s Hill. Once at the top, we’ll be on foot, so plan accordingly.
Or
4:30 p.m. The Hunt for Big Red
On Your Mark – Get Set – GO!!! Big Red is sneaky and he’s hiding from you in various spots across campus. Your job is to find him and find him first! You will conduct your own campus tour by searching for our loveable mascot. So, you’ve been to Alumni College before and think you have this one figured out? No, No! This hunt has a sneaky twist! Go by foot, by car, by plane – your choice, but the first person to the finish line wins the prize – dinner!
6:00 p.m. It’s Time for…The Family Feud!
Dinner will be first on the agenda, followed by our own version of the long running game show, Family Feud. Just like in life, you can’t pick your family members. We’ll pick them for you!
FRIDAY, JUNE 5, 20097:30 – 9:00 a.m. Breakfast Is Served!
WKU has become “a leading American university with international reach.” Now, where do we go from here? Enjoy a hearty meal while you learn about the future of WKU. No one knows it better than our special guest, President Gary Ransdell.
9:15 – 11:15 a.m. Experiments in Mathematics?
"Experiments are for science class. In math, you sit and listen to the teacher up at the blackboard." Not on your life! For students to really learn something, it has to matter to them and possibly even be fun. Can math be fun? Absolutely! In this class lead by Dr. Bruce Kessler, Assistant Dean of Ogden College, you will learn how to count, how to measure impossible distances with a tape measure, how to win an easy bet at a party, and generally how to impress people you know with your mathematical prowess. You will learn what trigonometry has to do with music and darts, and what imaginary numbers have to do with the real world. This isn't your father's math class -- you had better be ready to get up and move.
The Economic Crisis: How Did We Get Here?
There has been much fear over the last year as the financial crisis has built to a boil. At this point, the road to economic recovery appears long and winding. How did we get here and what is our future? Is retirement still possible despite such economic difficulties? Drew Byers, WKU graduate and Financial Consultant with Investment Planners, Inc. will discuss how we manage in today’s economy.
Doing Good in the Neighborhood
There’s no doubting it. WKU is one good looking campus! Over the past decade, the university has undertaken several projects to maintain and enhance the scenic beauty of the campus. Today, you’ll add to the beautification by planting a flower bed on campus. We won’t send you out without guidance! WKU's landscape architect and Garden Crew will assist you in adding your own beauty mark to campus.
11:45 – 1:15 p.m.Dribble It – Pass It – We Want a Basket!
Ken McDonald was no stranger to Hilltopper Basketball. After spending numerous seasons as an assistant at some of the finest programs in the nation, including five years on the Hill from 1998-03, McDonald returned to WKU as the Head Coach of the Hilltopper Basketball Team in April 2008. Now with a year under his belt, Coach McDonald will talk hoops over lunch and discuss his plans for the future of WKU Basketball.
2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Kentuckians Just Wanna Have Fun!
For almost 70 years, the Kentucky Library and Museum has been collecting artifacts and information on how Kentuckians amuse themselves. Games, toys, sheet music, postcards, and greeting cards tell us much about our sense of humor. Come learn from Library Special Collection Professor Sue Lynn McDaniel about what WKU has for the serious scholar, the casual researcher and the hobbyist to enjoy.
Baker Arboretum: Sanctuary of Nature and Art
Prior to 1992, Jerry Baker’s home on Morgantown Road was simply that – a nice home on three acres. Mr. Baker, a successful businessman, decided to combine his lifelong passion for nature and build a sculpture garden surrounding his home. Now, over 14 acres, the Baker home and gardens provides a vast expanse of lush green grass; a wide variety of beautiful trees, flowers, and plants; and carefully placed artwork, featuring the art collection of Kentucky native Joe Downing. Alumni College will tour Baker Arboretum and experience one of Bowling Green’s hidden treasures.
Go Red. Live Green.
WKU’s first President, Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry said it best. “It is the duty of every American to plant more, produce more, save more, and give more.” Many years later, we’re catching on, and today, a wave of green is flowing over campus! Recognizing the impact on the environment and its social and economic consequences, WKU is striving to become more sustainable. Hear from Christian Ryan-Downing, Sustainability Coordinator, on how campus is “greening Big Red”.
5:00 – 8:00 p.m.Let’s Go to the Hop
The Gallery Hop, that is. Bowling Green is the home of many fantastic art galleries, and they’ll all be open for your enjoyment this evening. Enjoy heavy hors d'oeuvres at stop #1, WKU’s Kentucky Museum. Then the bus will depart for downtown Bowling Green where you can visit galleries at your leisure. Dessert will be served in Fountain Square Park for you to enjoy when the craving start calling.
SATURDAY, JUNE 6, 2009
7:30 – 8:30 a.m. Eat Like the Cool Kids Do
And that’s at Downing University Center’s Fresh Food Co. Enjoy a light fare for breakfast or all the food you can eat!
9:00 – 11:00 a.m. Will You Be My Facebook Friend?
Online Social Networking is not just for college students. Those over 30 make up the fastest growing demographic on Facebook with a 276% growth in 35-54 year old users over the last six months! Emily Trabue, Marketing Assistant in Alumni Relations, and Jeff Baynham, Manager of Advancement Services, will start you off with your own WKU Email for Life address and then introduce you to the new world wide revolution at your fingertips. Set up accounts on Big Red Space and Facebook and learn how to post videos on You Tube. Want to locate your first college roommate or even a friend in grade school? It's all just a click away!
What a Way to Make a Living
This Alumni College weekend might be all about fun, but during this session, you'll be working "9 to 5"! Come join us as we learn a dance routine from the latest Broadway sensation, 9 to 5, produced by the one and only Dolly Parton (sort of ). No dance experience needed and a partner isn’t required. Dolly promises to teach very easy steps and deliver LOTS of fun!!!!
What Makes You Tick?
Are you a “fly be the seat of your pants” person or do you live life by a strict calendar? The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and other personality tests offer insight into how you relate to others, how you like to process information, and how you make decisions. Kat Tinsley, Alumni College student and retired Psychology instructor, will test your personality and let you know why opposites really do attract!
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m Meet Michael Rosenbaum
Originally from Newburgh, Indiana, this 1995 WKU graduate plays ice hockey and guitar. His favorite band is Chicago. He’s a writer, and has declared himself a goofball (we’ll let you decide). He also came to the Hill with a dream of a big Hollywood career. But who comes to Kentucky and becomes a star?
Meet Michael Rosenbaum.
You may know him best as the bald villain, Lex Luther, on the hit TV show Smallville, a show where he also spent time in the director’s chair. Or maybe you know him best from his roles in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, Urban Legend, Poolhall Junkies, or Sweet November. Alumni College is proud to welcome Michael Rosenbaum back to WKU. Will he return for the series finale of Smallville? Ask him yourself! He’ll gladly answer your questions – off the record!
2:00 – 5:00 p.m.Take Me Out to the Ballgame
Welcome to Bowling Green: The new home of minor league baseball! The Bowling Green Hot Rods begin play this season as the Class A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays. The team will play in the South Atlantic League with 70 home dates hosted at a new, state-of-the-art ballpark at 8th Avenue and Kentucky Street. This new ballpark is a major feature of the redevelopment efforts along the gateway to WKU. The Hot Rods are on the road, so Alumni College is taking over! We’ll go behind the scenes and tour the new facility. We won’t provide the uniforms, but be ready to join the ranks of minor leaguers as we take batting practice ourselves. “It’s ONE-TWO-THREE strikes you’re out at the old ballgame!”
Courageous Kids
“When you make a difference in a child’s life, you make a difference in your own.” Come and experience a medical camping facility unparalleled in this part of the country. The Center for Courageous Kids is a brand new state of the art facility created specifically for the most seriously ill child and their family members. The Alumni College Campers have a unique opportunity to experience this camp first hand and see exactly what the children are so excited about. The Center will welcome cancer campers this day, so you have the chance to gently peek inside the preparations for these brave youngsters. While on camp, you will not only tour the facility, but bowl a game in the bowling alley, have a camp snack in the dining hall and theater, and groom a horse or two in the stables! Bring your favorite sneakers, smiles and camp songs, and experience the magic. You’ve never seen a camp quite like this one!
Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese
The early 1990s weren’t encouraging years for young American farmers. Kenny Mattingly was worried about whether he and his family could continue to make a living on their 200-acre farm in Barren County. After a farm trip to Europe, he returned with a different notion. He was impressed with the way small family farms in Western Europe were finding ways to add value to their products. In 1998, he and his family started using some of their milk to produce Gouda cheese using Old World, handmade techniques. Today, Kenny’s Farmhouse Cheese produced 70,000 pounds of cheese and is sold across the country. Alumni College will visit the Mattingly farm see the cheese process for ourselves. Be prepared…The Cheese Shop will be open for business!
6:30 p.m. It’s All About the Spirit!
Alumni College will spend the final evening cherishing the one thing we have in common – The WKU Spirit. We’ll dine atop College Heights Hill and enjoy student performances that will make you proud to call yourself a Hilltopper.
SUNDAY, JUNE 7, 20097:30 – 11:00 a.m. CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST AND CHECK-OUT