Turning to higher education news now.

The fall semester gets underway next week at Western Kentucky University.

President Timothy Kabbani gave his faculty and staff convocation today at VanMeter Hall.

He highlighted accomplishments and goals leading into the new academic year.

Dr. Kabbani says enrollment is up slightly in 2024.

He says a long term goal is to become a Carnegie classified high research institution.

They also want to improve freshman retention, which is getting better.

But Kabbani says financial difficulties can be a barrier to graduation.

To the board.

Jennifer The state invests about 17% of our total budget.

The rest is really driven by tuition.

And so what we need to do is everything in our power to moderate those tuition increases, but also create that financial aid infrastructure to help support them.

So we've been really aggressive in the past five years with our hilltop or guarantee that if you have $1 in Pell aid, you essentially can come to you without paying a dollar in tuition.

Carbone says.

They also offer border state scholarships to students in the Nashville metropolitan area, which make up about one third of the freshman class.

The president's address also included announcing this year's winner of The Spirit of WQ Award, presented to a history professor who's taught at the university since 2013.

Teaching history is always challenging is that the challenge is different, right?

But I've also always tried to teach challenging topics so I teach history of genocide, history of HIV, AIDS, and history of Russia.

So these are all topics that are challenging in their own ways.

But I think that's why students often gravitate towards history, because we ask questions that don't have easy answers.

Classes for the HILLTOPPERS at WQ began next Monday, August the 19th.