Officials hope more students will study abroad after the Kentucky Institute for International Studies moves to Western.

KIIS will move from Murray State University to Western on July 1, Director Chris Bierwirth said.

KIIS is a group of 21 colleges, mostly in Kentucky, that provides study abroad programs for students from those colleges, he said.

John All said he met some resistance when he tried to organize an Earth Day celebration during his first year at Western.

“People looked at me like I was crazy,” said All, an associate geography and geology professor.

That was six years ago, he said.

But All said Western’s campus has changed since then.

La Tasha Hicks, an incoming freshman from Radcliff, said she has a hard time meeting new people.

But a new roommate matching Web site allowed her to find a new friend and a roommate for next semester.

Housing and Residence Life decided earlier this semester to use a roommate matching service from the company Lifetopia.

Construction workers will be headed into some dorm rooms as students leave them for summer break.

Parts of Keen, Rodes-Harlin, McCormack and Gilbert halls and Pearce-Ford Tower will be renovated this summer, said Brian Kuster, director of Housing and Residence Life.