Dr. Barbara Veazey, President and CEO
West Kentucky Community & Technical College

The excitement that comes with a new beginning is present on campus as we start another academic year at WKCTC. The year 2008 also marks the Five Year Anniversary of our consolidated college. We have celebrated this entire year with several events, including the West Kentucky Vocational School Alumni celebration in June. Our final grand event is scheduled for December 2nd so please mark your calendar. We have marked many milestones over the years, but as Cabinet Secretary, Helen Mountjoy, stated in her address at the Emerging Technology groundbreaking ceremony, “Paducah honors its history, but has its eye to the future. “ I think that statement accurately reflects this college.

We have our eye to the future as we develop our goals for this year. The college will open the Emerging Technology Center in January of 2010. When the doors open, our college will have the programs and faculty in place to teach the latest in advanced manufacturing skills needed in the workplace. Our Information Technology program will offer capstone classes in the new facility and the needs of business and industry will be at the center of every program we offer.

The Paducah School of Art has proudly opened for the fall semester at 409 Broadway. Classes are being offered in 2 and 3 dimensional design, drawing, painting, ceramics, photography and printmaking. We are proud to have hired two outstanding faculty members in painting and ceramics to complement our current program. Plans will continue to grow and build the program and ultimately occupy space at the Kitchens, Inc. building located in the Lowertown district.

A new addition in the student services area will be the opening of the Transfer Advising Center. Our goal is to make it as smooth a process as possible for our students to transfer to a four-year university of choice. We plan to have counselors available specific to transfer and to actually provide counseling from area universities on our campus.

We are pleased to be the college of choice for students on campus or at one of our extended campus sites, and on behalf of all the faculty and staff “welcome and have a great fall semester at West Kentucky Community & Technical College.”