Academy Reflects Vision of Progress: Institute Named for C.M. Gatton

By Joy Campbell, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

Aug. 24–BOWLING GREEN — Before C.M. “Bill” Gatton decided to give $4 million to Western Kentucky University, he did his homework.

He knew the United States was turning out fewer engineers and needed to catch up, and he knew fewer students were choosing to study math, science and technology.

Thirteen states have established math and science academies with state support, and Gatton’s staff called every one. He got the answer he was looking for: Directors said the schools were making a difference in the standard of living for their states.

Gatton, whose roots are in Muhlenberg and McLean counties, was on the stage with state officials and WKU staff members for the dedication Thursday afternoon of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics & Science in Kentucky.

“I hope the academy continues to help students meet their goals and helps improve the lives of Kentuckians with the living standards,” Gatton said just after the unveiling of the sign etched in the building.

Four high school students from the Owensboro region are among 120 in the inaugural class of juniors and seniors who receive free tuition to attend the residential school.

The students will spend their junior and senior years living in the retrofitted Schneider Hall and take a rigorous schedule of courses taught by Western teachers. When they finish, they will graduate with a high school diploma and at least 60 hours of college credit.

“In the past, the best and the brightest have fled Kentucky to go to the coast to attend Ivy League schools, with most never to return,” WKU President Gary Ransdell said after the dedication. “This changes that unfortunate history.”

The academic experience allows students to combine their last years of high school with freshman and sophomore years of college.

“They will be the scientists who make the inventions and do the analyses of complex issues in the future,” Ransdell said.

The dedication allowed Western officials to thank a long list of state, business and civic leaders for supporting the project.

For Julia Roberts, professor in the Center for Gifted Studies, seeing students moved into the academy represented “a dream of 10 years becoming a reality.”

Laura Owens, Kentucky Education Cabinet secretary, commended Western for stepping up “when the nation suffered a deficit” and acknowledged supporters who know that Kentucky “has to do things out of the box” to succeed.

Gifted students need to be able to excel and reach proficiency at their own pace, she said.

Roberts and Ransdell gave House Speaker Jody Richards credit for shepherding the bill providing ongoing state support through the General Assembly.

The state supplied funding and bonding capacity for the academy, and Western will receive a $2.8 million recurring allocation for student scholarships and operations.

Gatton is in the UK Alumni Hall of Fame, but his sister graduated from Western. He said she may have even lived in Schneider Hall when it was a women’s dormitory.

The Bristol, Tenn., businessman, has provided major funding for several other education projects in Kentucky and Tennessee, including a $14 million gift to the University of Kentucky in 1995 as an endowment for its College of Business and Economics that also was named in his honor.

Two years ago, he gave $1.3 million to help Sacramento Elementary School in McLean County stay open. Gatton graduated from that building when it was a high school.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Messenger-Inquirer, Owensboro, Ky.

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