Western Kentucky State College

Western Kentucky University

Motto	The Spirit makes the Master Life more life
Type	Public
Established	1906
Endowment	$125.5 million (combined foundations, 2016)
President	Gary A. Ransdell
Academic staff	771 full-time (Fall 2011)
Administrative staff	2,211 full and part time (Fall 2011)
Students	21,048 (Fall 2011)
Undergraduates	19,640 (Fall 2012)
Postgraduates	3,066 (Fall 2011)
Location	Bowling Green, Kentucky, U.S. 36°59′10″N 86°27′20″W / 36.98611°N 86.45556°W / 36.98611; -86.45556Coordinates: 36°59′10″N 86°27′20″W / 36.98611°N 86.45556°W / 36.98611; -86.45556
Campus	200 acres (.81 km²)
Colors	Red and White
Nickname	Hilltoppers and Lady Toppers
Mascot	Big Red
Affiliations	Conference USA
Website	www.wku.edu

Western Kentucky University is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a quarter-century earlier. In the fall 2011 semester, enrollment was approximately 21,000.

The subject of heavy construction since the late 1990s, the main campus sits atop a hill with a commanding view of the Barren River valley. The campus flows from the top of College Heights, also known as The Hill, down its north, south and west faces. WKU also operates a satellite campus in Bowling Green (WKU South Campus Academic Wing) and regional campuses in Glasgow, Elizabethtown-Fort Knox and Owensboro.

The roots of Western Kentucky University go back to 1876 with the founding by A. W. Mell of the privately owned Glasgow Normal School and Business College in Glasgow, Kentucky. This moved to Bowling Green in 1884 and became the Southern Normal School and Business College. In 1890, Potter College was opened as a private women's college by Pleasant J. Potter. In 1906, Henry Harden Cherry sold the Southern Normal School and became president of the Western Kentucky State Normal School, which had just been created by an act of the Kentucky General Assembly. Southern's student body and its building became the new school, with classes beginning on January 22, 1907. In 1909 Potter College closed and Western bought the buildings and property of the school. In 1911, Western relocated to its present site on the property that had been Potter College.

In 1922, the school was authorized by the state to grant four-year degrees and was renamed "Western Kentucky State Normal School and Teachers College". The first four-year degrees were awarded in 1924. In 1927, the school merged with Ogden College, which occupied an adjacent campus. The name changed again in 1930 to "Western Kentucky State Teachers College". The school was authorized to offer the Master of Arts degree in 1931. Another name change took place in 1948, when the school became simply "Western Kentucky State College".