WKU News

WKU seniors Dallas McKinney and Olivia Cahill have been awarded scholarships by the American Meteorological Society.

McKinney, son of Tim and Tonja McKinney of Mayfield, received the AMS/Glickman Family Scholarship. Cahill, daughter of Pat and Billie Cahill of Dry Ridge, received the AMS/Ken Reeves AccuWeather Scholarship. Both are pursuing bachelor’s degrees in meteorology at WKU.

Twenty-one senior undergraduate scholarships were awarded this year. The scholarships, awarded for the senior year, are designed to encourage outstanding senior undergraduates to continue pursuing careers in the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. The various scholarships are based on merit and are awarded to students who have shown the potential for accomplishment in these fields.

“The Meteorology Program at WKU has a strong reputation for recruiting excellent students such as Olivia and Dallas who continue to add to the list of national scholarships winners,” said Dr. Josh Durkee, WKU University Meteorologist, director of White Squirrel Weather and Associate Professor of Meteorology in WKU’s Department of Geography and Geology. “Student success is the foundation for our program and we are especially excited to see what our students achieve in the coming academic year.”

McKinney was awarded the Kentucky TRIO Programs Susan Adams Leadership Award (April 2019), NOAA Ernest F. Hollings Scholarship (May 2018), and West Kentucky Community & Technical College Unsung Student Hero Award (May 2017). He is interested in weather forecasting. McKinney plans to attend graduate school and looks forward to conducting research in climate change and making weather forecasts more accurate. He aspires to work as a forecaster with the National Weather Service.

The Glickman Family Scholarship is funded by Todd Glickman whose four-decade career in meteorology has included senior positions in the private sector, radio weathercasting, industry-academic relations, and at the AMS. The scholarship will support a deserving student with interest in the private sector, broadcasting or operational meteorology.

Cahill was awarded the L. Michael Trapasso Meteorology Scholarship (rising junior 2018 and rising senior 2019) and participated in the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) Undergraduate Leadership Workshop (June 2019). She is interested in weather forecasting and emergency management. Cahill has plans to attend graduate school to obtain a Ph.D. and has long-term aspirations of becoming a professor of meteorology.

The Ken Reeves AccuWeather Memorial Scholarship honors the late Kenneth W. Reeves and his many contributions as an advocate, mentor and supporter of undergraduate students and their future careers in Atmospheric Sciences. Reeves’ passion for the weather led him to a successful 29-year career at AccuWeather where, as the Vice President of Forecast Operations, he would actively recruit, teach and guide recently graduated Meteorology and Atmospheric Science students as they began their careers.

About AMS: Founded in 1919, the American Meteorological Society is the leading voice in promoting and advancing the atmospheric and related oceanic and hydrologic sciences. Headquartered in Boston, with an office in Washington, D.C., AMS has more than 13,000 members, including researchers, scientists, broadcasters, educators, and other professionals, as well as students and weather enthusiasts.

Contact: Donna Fernandez, (617) 226-3906; or WKU Meteorology, (270) 745-4555