Alba flew with three other volunteers-two of whom are graduates of Spalding’s nursing program. They are Emily Hawkins ‘08 and Rebekah Davis ‘10. The team of four was to fly into the Dominican Republic before being assigned to projects in Port-au-Prince or elsewhere. The trip was arranged by Edge Outreach of Louisville.

Funding for Alba’s trip is a combination of her own money and donations. Red Hot Roasters in the Egan Leadership Center at Spalding University donated 25 percent of its proceeds from Feb. 1-5 to Alba’s mission. All money raised will be used for travel expenses, vaccines and other medical supplies.

“For me it is important that I go because I have the skills and education to provide help to other in a way that I don’t normally get to,” Alba says. “I’m struck by the need for humanity and caring. I believe all human beings are connected in one way or another, and if one being can help alleviate the pain of another, to not do so would be such a waste of a gift.”

Alba will return from the trip on Feb. 14.

We have previously explained the importance of Pell to AIKCU students. Historically, about 40 percent of undergraduates across the sector are Pell-eligible. More than 92,000 Kentucky students received over $271 million in Pell grants in 2008-09. This week’s graph illustrates the importance of Pell to students in all sectors of Kentucky postsecondary education - including private nonprofit, public (2 and 4-year), and for-profit institutions.

Appalachian Education Initiative names Kathi Shrider director
Collaborative project to bring together postsecondary and K-12 schools to facilitate Senate Bill 1 implementation in Appalachia

FRANKFORT, Ky. - Kathi Shrider has been named Project Director for the Appalachian Education Initiative, a collaborative effort to bring together postsecondary and K-12 educators to implement Kentucky’s 2009 Senate Bill 1 education reforms in Appalachian Kentucky counties. The program is funded by a grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC).

“Kathi is uniquely suited to lead this effort to partner with Appalachian school districts implement Senate Bill 1,” said Gary S. Cox, president of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU), which is serving as grant manager for the collaborative project. “As the daughter of an Appalachian coal miner, a nonprofit administrator and an educator at both public and private colleges and universities in the region, Kathi has proven her dedication to living, working, volunteering, and serving in Appalachia. Kathi’s background is emblematic of the public-private collaboration we hope to achieve in this grant.”

Shrider is a CPA, holds an MBA, and has an extensive background in nonprofit management, accounting, corporate training, and teaching at the college level. She is currently an adjunct professor at Berea College, where she has taught courses in accounting, mathematics, business computer applications, and nonprofit leadership and management.

The Appalachian Education Initiative is the first project to grow out of a unique collaboration between Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State University, AIKCU, and a number of eastern Kentucky nonprofits and service agencies. The collaborative was formed in 2009 under the leadership of Eastern Kentucky President Doug Whitlock, Morehead State President Wayne Andrews, and AIKCU’s Cox.

“This region has more issues that need to be addressed than any one of us can solve, given our limited resources,” said Whitlock. “But working together, we have the ability to make a big difference for the people of Appalachia.”

The group held a series of meetings that included major stakeholders from across Morehead and Eastern’s combined 44 county service area - including area community and technical college presidents, independent college presidents, and nonprofits like the Center for Rural Development – to identify how their combined efforts could most benefit the people and communities of Eastern Kentucky. The collaborative unites 15 postsecondary institutions: two regional public universities, eight independent colleges and universities, and five community and technical colleges.

The unique public-private collaborative ultimately decided to focus on three broad areas: education, economic development, and health care.

“The Appalachian Education Initiative is the first step in our effort to work together to impact the broader region,” said Morehead State President Wayne Andrews. “Developing strong partnerships between public and private postsecondary institutions and local school districts to improve school curricula and meet the goals of Senate Bill 1 will have long term benefits for the students and communities of eastern Kentucky.”

Shrider will maintain an office on the campus of Berea College. She may be reached at (859) 353-1705.

Additional information is available by contacting Dr. Andrews at (606) 783-2022, Dr. Cox at (502) 695-5007 or Dr. Whitlock at (859) 622-2101.

Student volunteers will be available each Wednesday in February (3, 10, 17 and 24) from 3-5:30 p.m. on the first floor of Transylvania’s Cowgill Center for Business, Economics and Education on Third Street. This is a popular program and taxpayers will be served on a first-come, first-served basis.

Transylvania accounting students, who have completed an income tax preparation training program, will work under the supervision of accounting professors to aid taxpayers.

Individuals interested in this free service should bring with them all of the necessary information including: their W2s, 1099s (interest income), state and federal tax returns from last year, the IRS forms received in the mail and the birthdates and social security numbers for any dependents.

Transylvania has offered this free program to the Lexington community for more than 20 years.

For more information, contact the public relations office at (859) 233-8120 or Dan Fulks, professor of accounting, at (859) 233-8184.

Nine of the interns are working directly for legislators and one is spending the semester working for the Kentucky Historical Society. If you venture to the Capitol you are likely to see them taking notes during committee meetings, reading through bills, working on projects, or doing anything else that their legislators ask of them.

The 2010 AIKCU Frankfort Semester Legislative Interns are, left to right:

• Nathan Cox, a Campbellsville University junior majoring in political science, who is interning with the House of Representatives minority (Republican) caucus.
• Jared Radford, a Lindsey Wilson College senior majoring in history, who is interning with Rep. Jody Richards.
• Morgan Reck, a Lindsey Wilson College senior majoring in history, who is interning with the Kentucky Historical Society.
• Chelsea Clark, a Georgetown College junior majoring in political science, who is interning with Sen. Kathy Stein.
• Jessica Beard, a Transylvania University junior majoring in political science, who is interning with Rep. Leslie Combs.
• Nicole Paulley, a St. Catharine College senior majoring in criminal justice, who is interning with Rep. Linda Belcher.
• Tanalisa Hatton, a St. Catharine College junior majoring in liberal arts, who is interning with the Kentucky Senate Democratic Leadership office.
• Phillip Mitchell, a Campbellsville University junior majoring in political science, interning with Rep. Jim Wayne.
• Leann Straley, a Campbellsville University sophomore majoring in political science, who is interning with the Kentucky House of Representatives minority (Republican) caucus.
• Laura Perry, an Asbury College senior majoring in communications, who is interning with Sen. Tom Buford.

In addition to their full-time jobs working for legislators the students take two upper division seminar courses while in Frankfort.

This is the 11th year for the AIKCU Frankfort Semester Internship Program. In even years, students work directly for members of the General Assembly. In odd years, interns serve in a variety of state government agencies. The AIKCU intern program is directed by Richard Wilson, a former Courier-Journal reporter and bureau chief and member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame.

Speaker Greg Stumbo along with other legislators, local officials and Midway College administrators were on hand to make the announcement at Johnson Central High School in Paintsville.

Midway College Board of Trustees Chairman James J. O’Brien, Chairman and CEO of Ashland, Inc., made the announcement to a large audience who gathered to celebrate the news. “This decade is the most transformational in the institution’s history and we are committed to continuing this upward spiral of progress in the advancement of education,” said O’Brien.

Midway College President Dr. William B. Drake, Jr. explained why Midway chose to open its first professional school 130 miles from its home campus.

“Some will ask why Midway College? Why Paintsville? And why now? The answers to those questions are simple. First, it fits our College’s mission and fits into the growth of our health curriculum. Second, this community is supportive of this type of project. They understand the value of education. And it is an incredibly attractive place to work, live and earn your professional degree. We say, why not Paintsville. And why now? Because there is a need for pharmacists all across the nation. Based on industry information there are approximately five applications for each opening at pharmacy schools in the U.S.”

The Midway College School of Pharmacy will be located temporarily on the Mayo Campus of Big Sandy Regional and Technical Center in Paintsville. The College will establish a permanent campus in the future once a suitable location has been identified.

Other details of the project include:

• Midway College School of Pharmacy will offer a fully accredited Doctor of Pharmacy (Pharm.D.) degree. The Pharm.D. is the single entry professional degree in the United States to become a pharmacist.
• The School will enroll up to 80 students per year; 320 students maximum when fully operational.
• The School will employee approximately 100 full and part-time faculty and staff members; many of the faculty will be recruited from outside of Kentucky due to the specialized nature of the pharmacy curriculum.
• January 2011 the school will begin accepting students for August 2011.
• The School’s faculty salaries will be in the 75th percentile of pharmaceutical faculty salaries in the United States.
• Average annual tuition per student is $31,000
• Dr. Lanny Foss has been hired as the founding dean of the Midway College School of Pharmacy. Dr. Foss has over 30 years of experience and has been working with Midway College since May 2009 on this initiative.

Fifth District U.S. Representative Hal Rogers expressed his support at the announcement.

“What an historic day for Southern and Eastern Kentucky,” said Representative Rogers. “This project will bring a hundred good paying jobs to the region during a time of high unemployment rates. It also builds educational resources at home to continue the mission of providing quality opportunities so our best and brightest students don’t have to leave Kentucky for professional degrees and careers.”

For more on the Midway College School of Pharmacy in Paintsville, see:

Official Midway College release

Announcement coverage in the Lexington Herald-Leader

Paintsville’s pharmacy school follows a familiar path (Herald-Leader)

During last Thursday’s (1/21) House Budget Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education meeting, the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education presented its budget request and commented on the Governor’s budget proposal. During the question and answer session with legislators, public university presidents representing both the regional universities and the state’s research institutions commented on the negative impact the bleak budget situation has had on campus morale. The presidents said continuing salary freezes (or worse, layoffs) could result in these institutions losing faculty members to private institutions, where faculty could presumably secure higher pay. No doubt, the public presidents were referencing private institutions nationally — particularly research and large undergraduate institutions.

AIKCU understands the public sector presidents’ plea for funding increases that allow them to adequately fund and retain their faculty. We are also sympathetic with their faculty and staff who have seen their salaries frozen (like many of our own members’ faculty/staff). However, it is important to avoid confusion and to clarify the reality of faculty compensation in Kentucky. So this week’s graph takes a look at average faculty salaries in Kentucky by sector and faculty rank.

As you can see, the average AIKCU salaries at all faculty ranks are significantly lower than their counterparts at both the regional and research public institutions. Of course these are all averages, and AIKCU faculty certainly enjoy other benefits. However, it is clear that when the public presidents cite the possible loss of faculty to private institutions based on salary differences they are not really talking about competition from AIKCU members.

DANVILLE, Ky -  Centre College sits atop the newly released Forbes magazine list of the Best Colleges in the South. Joining Centre in the top 20 are Berea College (19th) and Transylvania University (20th).

The Forbes article begins:

“There’s a good chance you’ve never heard of the best college in the South. But in the heart of Kentucky, there’s a school that outperforms Ivies, boasts some of the most fiercely loyal alumni in the world, and guarantees graduation within four years - or it will pay for an additional year of tuition-free study.”

In addition to praising the Centre Commitment - which guarantees timely graduation, an internship, study abroad, and a passport if any incoming first-year student does not have one - Forbes lauds Centre for its low student-faculty ratio (currently 11:1) and the success of its alumni.

This is the the first time Forbes has released lists of best colleges based on U.S. Census Bureau regions. In 2009 Forbes rated Centre No. 14 among all private U.S. colleges and universities and included Centre among its “Best College Buys.” This is the first time Berea and Transylvania have been recognized by Forbes.

Forbes worked with the Center for College Affordability and Productivity to develop its rankings, which are designed to “emphasize the quality of students a school graduates, as opposed to the quality of students it admits.”

AIKCU is very proud to see its members so we well-represented on a list that includes heavyweight national institutions like the U.S. Naval Academy, Washington and Lee University, Vanderbilt University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

See the full list of the Best Colleges in the South at Forbes.com

Bob Johnston

(Frankfort, KY) - AIKCU Vice President for Business Services and Chief Operating Officer Bob Johnston has been named vice chair of the national nonprofit Coalition for College Cost Savings (CCCS).

The Coalition for Cost Savings is a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to helping private colleges and universities improve processes and reduce and contain costs through collaboration. Its membership is composed of 22 state independent college associations. The combined membership represents 582 colleges and universities and more than 1.1 million students.

“Bob has been instrumental in developing partnerships that provide crucial savings opportunities for our members. Those in turn make it possible for the campuses to pass the savings on to students,” said AIKCU President Gary S. Cox. “There’s no doubt his experience and leadership in this arena will be beneficial to the Coalition’s national efforts.”

Prior to his work at AIKCU, Johnston had a successful career in Kentucky state government. During his tenure in sate government he served as the Public Service Commission’s first Director of Consumer Services and before that as the Energy Cabinet’s Director of Energy Conservation.

To learn more about the Coalition for College Cost Savings http://www.thecoalition.us/.