LWC Prepares for ‘Tsunami of Students'

Ground is broken on a 6,000-square-foot building for the LWC physical plant operations. From left: LWC President William T. Luckey Jr., Vice President for Administration & Finance Roger Drake, LWC trustee Mark Weaver of Henderson, Ky., Housekeeping Supervisor Charlette Allen, custodian Jon Conover, Director of Physical Plant Mike Newton and Chancellor John B. Begley.

 COLUMBIA, Ky. - A "tsunami of students" is headed to Lindsey Wilson College.

That was the message LWC President William T. Luckey Jr. told more than 300 college supporters at the annual Founders' Day Dinner, held Thursday night in Roberta D. Cranmer Dining and Conference Center.

With the college adding football, marching band, swimming and wrestling over the next couple years, Luckey said a wave of students will descend on Columbia-Adair County.

"We have a student tsunami that is about to hit this campus and is about to hit this community," he said. "I believe it will dramatically change and improve this college."

To serve the additional students, Luckey said Lindsey Wilson will hire additional faculty and staff. For the 2009-10 school year, Lindsey Wilson will add six faculty and nine staff members.

"There will be more mouths to feed; there will be more lives to change; there will be more faculty to teach," Luckey said.

Also on Thursday, Lindsey Wilson held its annual Honors Convocation and broke ground on a new home for the physical plant building.

 "This college is a joyful place to be," Luckey said at the Founders' Day Dinner. "It is spirit-filled, and you can sense it as you walk on this campus."

Although Lindsey Wilson has felt the impact of the worldwide recession, Luckey said Lindsey Wilson continues to thrive.

"I don't believe this college has ever been stronger than it is right here, right now," he said.

Paraphrasing 19th-century Scottish author Henry Drummond, Luckey (below) said that even during challenging economic times, the college must push forward.

"Unless a college undertakes more than it can possibly do, it will never do all that it can do," he said. "While this is clearly a challenging time for Lindsey Wilson College, our history, our heritage as an institution is to find a way to survive and to thrive during difficult times. In fact, what better time to honor those who have dedicated their lives to bringing this great college to where it is today than to celebrate their sacrifices on this Founders' Day?"

Acknowledging the men and women who led the college during its first 106 years, Luckey said that now is the time for the current generation of Lindsey Wilson leaders and friends to leave their mark on the institution.

"Our time is now, to lead this college and to advance its mission," he said. "The immediate success of this college will be directly proportional to the sacrificial giving of the people who know us and love us the best. You can do no greater favor to this college and its students than to match the courage, to match the vision, to match the faith and the commitment of our predecessors."

Earlier in the day, the college broke ground on a 6,000-square-foot physical plant building. Located on Wheeler Street on the southern edge of the A.P. White Campus, most of the building will be constructed by plant's employees. The building will be opened during the 2009-10 school year.

Plant's current building, which it has occupied since 1988, will be the home of the college's marching-band program.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, Luckey said the 41 men and women who comprise the physical plant operations "perform the vital role of serving this mission in the seams."

"Every time I visit another campus, I'm reminded just how blessed we are to have this group of talented craftsmen and dedicated workers," he said.

LWC's plant personnel maintain almost 500,000 square feet of floor space that are scattered over a 200-acre campus.

"Our pledge for this facility is that we'll utilize it to benefit the college to the best of our ability," said Director of Physical Plant Mike Newton.

At Honors Convocation, the college recognized more than two dozen students for their academic accomplishments during the 2008-09 school year.

Drew Sadler - an accounting senior from Glasgow, Ky., and two-term president of the LWC Student Government Association - received the President's Award.

Assistant Professor of History Melinda Senters received the Teacher-of-the-Year Award, the third time she has received the honor since joining the faculty in 2000.