new home.

Thanks, Clayton, for that report.

>> Owensboro is home to 3 colleges and Kentucky Wesleyan University or college.

There's a new leadership at Kentucky West London this morning.

I sat down with the universities of the college's new president at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and museum to learn about his vision for the campus and community.

And he is a familiar face.

Doctor, James Cousins, it's a pleasure to sit down with you here at the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame and museum.

>> Pleasure to be with you.

Thanks for having me.

Well, first of all, I should say congratulations to you because of as July 1st, you became the 36th president of Kentucky Wesleyan College.

So congratulation to so much that very exciting.

But that just because you're newly minted in this role doesn't mean that you have a short history are no history with Kentucky Wesleyan right now.

>> Provost here for 3 years prior to that, it was from a came from Western Michigan University was a history professor.

And then I was in the dean's office there, been in town for for going on 4 years now.

Love Owensboro, Love the schools.

The mission is so unique.

It's it's a special place.

>> Yeah.

Tell us about the school.

Some people across the state may not know what the mission of Kentucky Wesleyan isn't.

It is tied to the United Methodist Church.

How does that give rise to a new student experience and academic offerings, even.

>> We offer you several things that are really truly unique.

And one is that kind of that faith based background and are our Methodist heritage that we lean into and that paired with our athletic accomplishments, what we do in the classroom presents a really unique opportunity for students to start that face undergirds and supports the mission of the institution.

You see that.

Throughout campus with our students.

It's bolstered, of course, by campus ministries that has a really strong presence on campus.

But, you know, a lot of indefinable ways the ways that students coming to campus, how they carry themselves, they you know, they're they're they're brought in with certain assumptions.

So they're they're going to build their character and how they're going to comport themselves both on campus and the community.

And those are really special unique value Again, mixed with these other qualities of of stronger, you know, really larger institutions and were were we'll place, I think, in the community and and higher education to make a real >> due to real bring real benefit to not just Owensboro and Daviess County but to the region.

>> Right.

>> And it is interesting because, you know, you are 40 minutes east of Evansville, 2 hours north of Nashville, 2 hours west of Louisville, 4 hours east of St. Louis.

Right.

And I think what is so special is that your student to faculty ratio is 13 to one and not too many higher.

Ed institutions can boast that low student professor were faculty and it's important.

Remember, these are full-time faculty terminal degreed faculty.

So.

>> You know, the number of craft, we don't have graduate program.

So this is these are all full time.

Faculty are freshman sophomore seniors and juniors and seniors will interact with and engage with experts in their discipline.

Scholars ball educators who've been in practice for for decades.

And there's enormous value in that experience or, you know that it's a the freshman level to come in and engage with someone there.

Clinical practitioners are, you know, someone who's been in the field for 30 years is phenomenal.

And that's so unique.

Yeah, yeah.

>> As you mentioned, you were provost and you were vice president of academic since 2021.

You're probably still doing that job as well.

Right?

And I understand that really you have helped to boost student retention and online education.

Talk about why that was so important to have those as goals.

And what do you see as president that will change or we are gone too?

>> Well, I think we're going to magnify both honestly, but both are just so important not just Kentucky West on.

I think the state of higher education do in general are our retention is a you know, that's the end result really well-functioning institution.

Everything from admissions to alumni engagement.

Everything is working.

Everything is really sink up appropriately.

So your student support services.

For fact, we're getting that the supports they need to there athletics and extracurricular co-curricular activities are working in and harmonizing right way.

So very proud of what the that not that I accomplished with the institution accomplished during that time.

And, you know, again, every every part of campus really needs to be joined in that common effort online education serves a re.

That's a that's a real niche in the community.

Are college going rate in Owensboro is about half what it is the larger metropolitan areas in Kentucky.

So, you know, are on the it's degree completion is our focus.

This is these are folks with some college credit but no college degree and we we're very competitively priced in the market.

But we will bring that special value and students can complete courses online or they can come to our campus, but they'll still get that same level that 13 to one that those small class sizes, the emphasis on values that they would get on campus and and so are online population is growing but small, but always be small because we need to maintain those those connections.

So we are we do.

We will bring this to the scale of in gigantic institutions of higher education because that's that's not really our point of emphasis.

Our strength is in our size.

>> Typical enrollment numbers.

Yeah.

What are for online?

Yes or 4 overall student.

So we're around 800 and that's a kind of sweet spot for us.

Honestly, we can KET things small and you know, we have.

>> Dorms on campus can can fit about 500 and and we're well resourced in a number of areas that are of of high need and high importance.

We do exceptionally well in and programs that are kind of common and some that are on comments such as so counting.

We we're phenomenal and the phenomenal counting team in program.

It's hard to encounter a McCown in the western part of the state that doesn't have a background or or knowledge of or a graduate of Kentucky.

West College.

So and then all the way to Z.

We have to algae down which we have some just exceptional Zavala just on campus.

And that's that's a point of pride in point of emphasis for a lot of the students that are coming in to be as you all a teenager that's a self-selected group.

And it's a it's an intense It's a competitive field.

Very proud.

Very proud of what we accomplished there.

But throughout our programs were very adaptable to what Owensboro needs and what the needs of our region are and you know that with the business, the business community relies on us.

But the so I say the scientific community as well.

And you'd be hard pressed to go into either to still are E or okay and not find people with connections.

Again, alumni graduates are people that that, you know, that interact with our our scholars are researchers here.

They don't have to connect you, Wesley in college connection and it's a phenomenal thing.

>> Yeah.

Before I bid you adieu, well, I should along David Hawk or who passed away recently, the class of 1959, of course, he was a trustee emeritus and a lifelong Kentucky Wesleyan supporter.

And I know that you also mourned his passing and our thoughts are with the community.

As you grieve his passing.

It is a special man >> the love and honor him and his passing, you know, affect us deeply.

>> Yeah, thank you.

Well, and I know you'll continue the legacy for which he worked to maintain.

Well and and make him very proud of what thank you.

Doctor Cousins is going to rise or to sit with you.

My pleasure.

If I have a great academic