Members of the WKU Administrative Council sat down early afternoon on Tuesday, Aug. 18, for a question and answer meeting with members of the Herald editorial board.

Topics during the meeting ranged from sports, housing, parking, construction updates and academics. Here are a few quick hits from that discussion:

Gatton

Students of the Carol Martin Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science moved into Bates-Runner Hall this fall semester due to expansion of Florence Schneider Hall. Housing lost 148 beds because of the move, Howard Bailey, vice president for Student Affairs, said. 

130 more first-year students are living on campus this year in comparison with last year. Over the summer, housing offered qualified upperclassmen a chance to move off-campus. The number of students accepting this offer was low, so alternative housing assignments were given to students.

Bailey said WKU rented 50 beds at the Campus Pointe apartments to house students at the expense of the Housing and Residence Life.

The Honors and International building

The Honors College and International Center will not be fully operational until Sept. 25. However, it is safe to get in and out of the building, said Chief Facilities Officer Bryan Russell. When the semester begins, some classes will be held on the second floor of the building. 

Parking

Students can expect to see a new parking lot at 1840 Russellville Road as the construction project was recently completed. WKU obtained 104 spaces from the final design and will obtain another 52 spaces on an adjacent property to be leased to the university, said Russell. He said the lot will open within a month for use. 

Fees

Students enrolled in classes in the Gordon Ford College of Business can expect to pay a $15 fee per credit hour. Gordon Emslie, provost & vice president for Academic Affairs, said the fee goes towards providing services for students and make faculty selection more competitive. He said the fees are expected to generate $600,000 to address a variety of needs in Gordon Ford. 

“It’s not entirely clear exactly how it’s going to be spent yet, it won’t be spent all at once; it will slowly be addressed,” Emslie said. 

Food

Dining Services will also be seeing some changes in the near future. The Passport Café will open in the Honors College and International Center in September. The café will serve internationally inspired dishes and may have food items available for meal plans.  

Dining Services is also in the process of dedicating an area in the Garrett Conference Center to be used to serve beer and wine, as well as food. The process is ongoing and there is not a set completion date. 

Red Zone will see a menu change this semester, and different hours of operation. Instead of Red Zone staying open until 2 a.m. on some nights, Steak ’n Shake will stay open the later hours. 

Classes

The Ogden College of Science & Engineering and Potter College of Arts & Letters are working together to implement a brewing-based major and minor program. Lexington-based brewing and distilling company Alltech will be providing equipment for the program.

“Alltech is moving along with the brewery that they’ll operate out of the Center for Research and Development and that will be a lab for that curriculum,” Ransdell said.  

Ed. note: A previous version of this story’s headline referred to the Administrative Council as the “Administration Council.” This error has been corrected.