Union College President Ed de Rosset and daughter after the recent AIKCU Board Meeting.
Each week we will try to post a photo that captures something of interest to the AIKCU community. If you have something you’d like to share, please email photos to Mason Dyer at AIKCU.
It was a great night for baseball and for private colleges in Kentucky when the Lexington Legends, the single A affiliate of the Houston Astros, hosted Private College Appreciation Night during their April 29th game at Applebee’s Park. The event was the brainchild of Legends Promotion Coordinator Monica Johnson, a 2004 Lindsey Wilson College graduate.
Monica explains the impetus behind the night:
“The reason we decided to honor private colleges at the ballpark is rooted in the fact that I graduated from Lindsey Wilson College. I did a lot of work in the admissions office and I know how much harder it is to sell a private school to a prospective student when you’re competing with UK, U of L and other larger state universities. My experience at a private college is one that I will always hold dear to my heart. I feel like the personal, individual attention you get at private colleges supersedes that of a larger school…. The Lexington Legends wanted to offer the opportunity to the Kentucky private colleges to be seen and gain the recognition they deserve. I’m thankful for all those colleges who attended this year and am already looking forward to making the event even better next year.”
The Legends event gave AIKCU campuses a chance to raise awareness and celebrate their alumni, students, and staff. Asbury College promoted the event to its Central Kentucky alumni as well as to its student body and staff. More than 150 members of the Asbury family were in attendance at the game. Union College used the event as a staff development activity for members of the admissions, human resources, student affairs, and other departments. Alice Lloyd College had about 50 students, staff, and alumni who traveled to Lexington all the way from Pippa Passes – including the entire ALC baseball team, many of whom arrived in uniform fresh off of an afternoon game at Berea College. Georgetown College, Lindsey Wilson College, Midway College, University of the Cumberlands, and AIKCU also participated in the evening’s activities.
Each participating campus was provided a table in the concourse to set up promotional displays and greet prospective students, friends, and alumni before the game. There was a pre-game mascot parade, and each participant selected a representative to throw out a ceremonial first pitch. Throughout the evening there were on-field contests between innings – a three-legged race, dizzy bat competition, and frozen t-shirt race, among others – that pitted the campuses against each other. Campuses accumulated points during the competitions that were tracked on the scoreboard and a trophy was presented to the night’s winning campus. Alice Lloyd College took home the overall title.
Here’s AIKCU staffer Mason Dyer’s son Eli throwing out AIKCU’s first pitch. See more photos here (a big thanks to Alice Lloyd and the Legends for providing most of the photos).
