When students return to the Hill this fall, the school will have a new
address.

The Board of Regents approved renaming portions of Big Red Way to
College Heights Boulevard and the Avenue of Champions at their meeting Friday.

The university’s new address, which will be 1906 College Heights
Blvd., was proposed to commemorate Western’s centennial. Western was created in 1906 and College Heights was an address used by Western in the past, said David Lee, chair of the centennial committee and dean of Potter College.

“It seemed to be a nice marriage of tradition and innovation on
campus,” Lee said.

The proposal also included simplifying Western’s mailing system by
assigning postal codes to each department on campus.

Regent Judi Hughes was the only regent to vote against the name
change. Hughes said she was concerned that students wouldn’t like the
new name.

The regents also unanimously approved raising President Gary
Ransdell’s salary by 5 percent for the 2005-06 academic year. Ransdell
was paid $250,008 this academic year.

“The transition Western Kentucky University has experienced and is
going through during President Ransdell’s tenure are making Western a
university of choice,” said Regent Kristen Bale, who headed the
committee that conducted Ransdell annual job evaluation.

Bale said Ransdell received excellent reviews and ranked very high in
leadership and integrity.

The board also approved optional four-year graduation contracts in
which Western will guarantee to students in certain majors that they
will graduate in four years.

“It’s a new policy that you’ll not find at any other university in the
state,” Ransdell said.

Patti Johnson, student regent and Student Government Association
president, said it will be up to advisers, MASTER Plan staff and OAR
staff to promote the contracts.

Pam Johnson, the director of the School of Journalism and
Broadcasting, announced before the regents’ meeting during a press
conference that Western’s journalism country received the ranking as
the top journalism school in the country in the Hearst Journalism
Awards program.

Western’s journalism program is the only program in the state to have
a top national ranking, Ransdell said.

“You bring distinction to Western Kentucky University,” Ransdell said
the journalism students and faculty at the press conference.

In other business:

The regents unanimously approved lowering the 2005-06 tuition rates by 1.8 percent.

An additional $3.5 million was added to the 2004-05 operating budget.

The board approved the purchase of the Southern Kentucky Performing
Arts Center property for $1 million dollars. The money for the
purchase will come from Western’s reserve funds. SKyPAC is seeking to
build its center in the downtown Bowling Green area.