In an interview with Business Lexington editor Tom Martin, Doug Whitlock, recently appointed to succeed Joanne Glaser as president of Eastern Kentucky University, discussed his unique perspective as a lifelong resident of Richmond and the university's role in bringing economic promise and prosperity to a student body drawn largely from eastern Kentucky. You can hear the entire interview by clicking on the related PodCast below.
Richmond and EKU have figured very prominently in your life. How does that inform you in your new role?
Whitlock:† Well you know Kentuckians in general are known for having a sense of place and I've just always considered myself to be extraordinarily blessed.† There may not be another university president in America who is serving at the institution in the hometown where he grew up, at the institution where he holds two degrees and now I have that opportunity to serve in this capacity.† I was a first generation college student and I am very much a product of Eastern and I have always been very proud of that.† And the opportunity now to serve in this capacity to help preserve the qualities that make Eastern special is just an honor of the highest order.† Eastern is in many respects very different from the institution that I enrolled in as a freshman.
How has Eastern changed?
Whitlock:† Well you know it is much larger.† It was Eastern Kentucky State College then, its Eastern Kentucky University now.† It was about 5,000 students then and we have about 15,700 student enrolled this semester.† We had at that particular time 75 to 80% of all of our graduates were graduating with teaching certificates and certified to teach in Kentucky's public schools.† And while we remain the states number one producer of classroom teachers and school administrators.† That percentage now is down to where it runs to about 25 - 30% per year.† We didn't even have nursing then, we didn't have a criminal justice then, while we had business programs we had nothing like the College of Business and Technology that we have in place now.† So size, scope, program, complexity, technology, all those things make it a very different place.
What are the most pressing issues for higher education in Kentucky?
Whitlock:† Maintaining access and affordably is significant.† Everybody knows that tuitions, and this isn't just true in Kentucky, that tuition increases at public college and universities have far outstripped the rate of inflation.† Part of that is due to the expense of keeping a place current but also a significant piece of it has been that state support of public institutions in Kentucky and across the country has not kept pace with inflation so the institutions have turned to the only place that they can and that's to generate additional dollars in tuitions.†
That's one of the reasons that I am encouraged with the funding recommendations that the Council of Post Secondary Education under Brad Cowgill's leadership has put forth to the governor and has also shared with legislative leadership, because in 1997 higher education reform was enacted and five very important goals set forth.† And one of those, the goal of doubling the number of people in Kentucky's population with a baccalaureate degree by the year 2020, is the one that is really getting lifted up now. That includes the very attractive feature of no tuition increase at the community and technical college system.† A 6% tuition increase at the comprehensives and 9% increase at the research institutions and while that still, the 6 and the 9, exceed inflation it's considerably less than the double digit percentage increases that has been the norm in recent years and I think there's a recognition that 100% funding is not going to be likely in this coming session of the General Assembly.
What are EKU's roles in workforce development and the attraction of industries that rely on talent in high tech fields?
Whitlock: Eastern and all the institutions in the state are being encouraged to first increase degree productivity but specifically within that to concentrate as best as we can on the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathemat-ics).† In fact one of the features of the funding recommendation is to encourage and reward degree productivity in general but to really reward the productivity in the STEM areas.† We're in the process of getting an extremely powerful resource to help us in that area and in the STEM Discipline.† We have Phase 1 of a remarkable science facility under construction right now that's essentially a $60 million project.† Phase II funding, which we are going to seek in the upcoming legislative session, is another $41,600,000. So you are talking about a more than 300,000 square foot, $100 million facility that's going to be dedicated to teaching people in the hard sciences and mathematics at Eastern and that's going to be a wonderful new tool for us.† In fact it's going to revolutionize the way science is taught on our campus by going to what they call the studio laboratory approach where the classroom, where the lecture, and the presentation, the instruction is done and then the laboratory experience also happens right in the same room, right at the same time or right on the heels of the explanation by the faculty member which is going to be a lot more effective form of instruction than having the two separated as they currently are on most campuses with which I am familiar.
What should Kentucky and it's communities be doing to encourage graduates of our institutions of higher learning to remain in the state?
Whitlock: Well, you put your finger on a real critical point here.† We can increase the number of people that are getting degrees but unless the communities and the society at large do those things that are necessary to provide employment opportunities then we're liable to have that outmigration that you talk about.† Interestingly, current data shows that Kentucky is benefiting from the fact that better than 70% of students who come to us from out of state and get a degree in one of our public institutions are staying in Kentucky.† But now we've got to keep in mind that Central Kentucky, where we sit, northern Kentucky and Louisville are different than a lot of the rest of the state.†This falls into something else that's very important right now for comprehensives, well for all institutions but particularly comprehensives: this whole concept of regional stewardship where you work with local government leaders, local Chambers of Commerce, local Industrial Development Boards and Authorities so that strategically as we increase the number of people with the earned baccalaureate degree or the associate degree then at the same time we try to bring employment opportunities into those areas. It's not rocket science to figure out that if people are overqualified for the job opportunities in their communities that they're going to go somewhere else and none of us want that to happen.† And certainly a big factor in this is going to be the state Economic Development Cabinet. I've been very encouraged by what it looks like will be a very fine cooperative working arrangement between the Higher Education Community and the Economic Development Cabinet.
All these years that you've been associated with EKU, you've been there in Richmond, this must be very fulfilling for you personally to be in this role now.
Whitlock:† Oh, beyond my ability to express in words.† I truly love Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, Madison County and the Commonwealth of Kentucky and to have an opportunity to payback and make a contribution to a place that has done so much for me is really gratifying and professionally fulfilling.