WKU News

The 2022 Scholarship Celebration was held at the Knicely Conference Center on Thursday, March 31. This is the first time the event has been held since 2019, and more than 450 scholarship donors and their student recipients were able to meet face to face.

The event, which is typically held annually, provides a great opportunity for scholarship donors to learn more about the student or students who benefit from their support, and it allows the recipient to express their gratitude directly to their donor. Longtime supporters of WKU, the Ridley and Hull Wealth Management Group of Stifel was the presenting sponsor of the event.

For the 2021-2022 academic year, WKU provided more than 9,500 students with University scholarships totaling more than $55 million. Of this amount, $6.2 million was made possible from private donors, touching the lives of nearly 2,700 students.

“The private gifts provided by our generous scholarship donors play a critical role in expanding access to the WKU Experience and providing our Hilltoppers with learning opportunities that would otherwise fall outside their reach,” WKU President Timothy C. Caboni said at the event. “Through their tremendous philanthropic support, coupled with our revamped scholarship offerings, a WKU degree is now more accessible and affordable than ever before.”

Last fall, President Caboni announced that the University had raised more than $51.8 million for the WKU Opportunity Fund, surpassing the initial goal of $50 million to support WKU students. He then shared that WKU would immediately begin work to raise an additional $50 million for the Opportunity Fund, bringing the total to $100 million. To date, more than $61.4 million has been raised, including 181 new endowed scholarship funds.

One of the ways the Opportunity Fund has provided support to WKU students is through Emergency Student Assistance after the tornadoes on Dec. 11, 2021. In response to relief efforts, gifts totaling more than $121,000 were made. During the event, a video and in-person speakers shared personal experiences from the perspectives of students who were affected, donors who made gifts and WKU administrators who worked to get that support into the hands of those who needed it.

“WKU students were affected in many different ways, and our community asked, ‘What can I do to help our students,’” shared Dr. Martha J. Sales, Interim Dean of Students, to event attendees. “I worked to connect our students in need with available funding, and I’m happy to share that for every student who said, ‘I have a need,’ we were able to help them in some way.”

Julie Harris Hinson, a scholarship donor, Chair of the WKU Sisterhood and member of the WKU Board of Regents, also spoke to those in attendance about why the University is important to her and why she gives back to WKU.

“Like all of you, I know that helping students is a wonderful way to give back to our University, and I am always so excited to meet my scholarship recipients,” said Hinson. “Supporting our University – for our students – is important. An education is the best gift you can give. Thank you for joining me in giving back.”

Contact: Jessica Carver, (270) 745-2342