Tagged: WKU

Kentucky manufacturers will benefit from a new partnership between universities, professionals, and state and federal partners. 

The Advantage Kentucky Alliance was announced Friday at WKU's Center for Research and Development. 

The aim is to move Kentucky from traditional manufacturing to advanced manufacturing.  WKU President Gary Ransdell said it's important for universities to be involved in the economies they help create and sustain.

"Universities first and foremost have to be about economic development.  The time has long since passed when our primary mission was to just educate students,"said Dr. Ransdell. "As I've said for many years, educating students is a means to a much more important end and that more important end is driving Kentucky's economy and improving the quality of like for people within the reach of our universities."

The Kentucky Association of Manufacturers and local chambers of commerce will help connect manufacturers to alliance members who can address their needs, such as finding new revenue streams, developing new products and services, and learning new processes to become more efficient.

The WKU Herald reports that WKU Provost Gordon Emslie is a candidate for the same position at the University of Alabama.

Emslie previously worked at the University of Alabama-Hunstville. Emslie took the WKU Provost position July 1, 2010.

The Herald report says Emslie refused to comment about his candidacy, but WKU President Gary Ransdell told the paper Emslie informed him of his interest in the Alabama job last week.

WKU’s director of basketball operations has resigned to pursue coaching opportunities. Jake Morton came to WKU in 2011 as an assistant coach, but was moved to the director of basketball operations job this past season.

Morton was an assistant coach at the University of Miami before he came to WKU. In February, WKU received word from the NCAA that Morton could be sanctioned for alleged violations that took place during his time at Miami.

The NCAA investigation of the Miami Hurricanes' athletic department from 2007 to 2009 involves a former booster who was later convicted of running a Ponzi scheme. The NCAA has accused Morton of accepting $6,000 from the booster, and providing transportation for the AAU coach of a top high school prospect Miami was recruiting at the time.