Kelly M. Burch Institute for Transformative Practices in Higher Education grand opening to be held April 23

Inspired by the knowledge that it is incredibly difficult to bring about wide-spread change at organizations as large and intricate as a university, a new initiative at WKU has been designed to help take ideas from initiation to implementation.

The Kelly M. Burch Institute for Transformative Practices in Higher Education will be unveiled on Monday, April 23. The grand opening of the Institute will be held from 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. at the Institute’s location at 501 Regents Ave. on WKU’s main campus.

Already serving the WKU community, the Kelly M. Burch Institute for Transformative Practices in Higher Education has a focus on examining policies and practices that impact student success and associated performance metrics such as retention, persistence, progression and graduation.  

“We operate with a research-lab mentality,” said Dr. Daniel Super, who serves as Director of the Institute and Co-Director of the WKU Center for Literacy.

Created to act like a small business incubator for issues that affect higher education, the Institute will use an evidence-based approach to examine what works well and what does not, will reimagine policies and practices in cross-disciplinary and outcomes-focused ways, and will develop strategies and programs that are scalable from incubation to integration.

“For many years I had the pleasure of serving our university in an administrative capacity,” said Dr. Barbara Burch, Provost Emerita. “For the past eight years since returning to faculty, I have been both surprised and frustrated with the many times that I encounter faculty and staff who have impressive ideas on how to make a greater difference in the lives of our students and the quality of our university, but too often they simply do not know how to begin to make it happen.”    

“The Institute is the place where you can bring your idea, and together we can explore ways to take it to fruition,” said Dr. Super.  

“It can be that sometimes we get worn down by red tape or any number of perceived barriers between where we are and getting a great idea in place,” said Dr. Pamela Petty, Senior Advisor for the Burch Institute. “We want the Institute to be a place where we ask ‘why not’ when confronted with an idea that has never been done before.”

The Institute will capitalize on the expertise that exists across the University and mobilize small groups of multi-disciplinary investigators to explore complex issues separate from ongoing programs and traditional roles. Results will be used to make evidence-based decisions that will ensure students are given every opportunity to succeed and graduate.

“A most important priority for our university is for our students to be retained, graduate and be successful in pursuing their career and life options,” said Dr. Burch. “We greatly appreciate the support of the President. the Provost and the Board of Regents in enabling the creation of this Institute.”
 
“We will judge ourselves by positive impact on students – that will be our metric,” said Dr. Super. “Our culture, our mission and our vision are all to help better serve students. That’s what we’re here to do.”

One project is already under way, and Dr. Super is optimistic that this new initiative will bring attention to resources for students that are available but are not effectively utilized.

In addition to connecting with WKU faculty and staff, the Institute will work with students in the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program. The location for this partnership couldn’t be better.

“It’s no happenstance that we are literally next door,” said Dr. Super. “The Institute provides doctoral students the opportunity for real-world application of their coursework and assistance with internship and dissertation obligations. It’s a symbiotic relationship that will enhance the experience of all involved.”

“We believe that our focus on turning the University into its own research laboratory will provide innumerable opportunities for students in the doctoral program to do meaningful and powerful research projects that benefit WKU and other universities,” said Dr. Petty. “We see the Institute in partnership with the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program as being a way to recruit professionals into a leadership program specifically geared for higher education with a  focus on student success.”  

The Institute, made possible through a gift of property from Drs. Barbara and Ken Burch and their family, is named in memory of their late daughter, Kelly M. Burch, who was both a WKU graduate and member of the faculty for eight years.

“Our family wanted to do something meaningful to honor the memory of our daughter Kelly,” said Dr. Burch. “She cared deeply about her students.”  

For more information, please contact Dr. Daniel Super at (270) 745-3510.

Posted on: April 20, 2018