Kentucky State University has completed the third phase of the reaffirmation process for the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools. The on-site visit concluded on April 2, 2009, with very positive results for the university.
The Quality Enhancement Plan, Academics With Attitude: Building the Foundations for Student Success, was found acceptable without any recommendations. Of the 70 other requirements and standards, The University was found to be in compliance in 69. Only one area requires further work and clarification. This recommendation will be addressed as soon as possible.
The next stage involves further reviews at the Commission, which will culminate in a final decision in December 2009. A formal letter, conveying the final outcome, will be sent to the University in January 2010. The process is not over until that time.
Thirteen KSU students from the Whitney Young School participated in the Kentucky Honors Roundtable, held February 20-21, at Murray State University. The Honors Roundtable brings students from honors programs around the state together for camaraderie and education. Junior Amanda Bates in her paper, "Love: The Good, The Bad, and The Whatever," used the typology of love in Plato's Phaedrus to evaluate the kinds of love found in the classic works Romeo and Juliet, King Lear, and Pride and Prejudice. Four sophomores, Haddijatou Bayo, Anastasia Hill, Denae Shelton, and Tia Williams and one freshman, James Drury, gave a panel presentation on "Ernest Gaines' A Lesson Before Dying: Affirming Life in the Face of Death." As part of the National Endowment for the Arts "Big Read" initiative in the fall 2008, Whitney Young School Honors students participated in a wide range of presentations and discussion groups investigating the novel, A Lesson Before Dying, by Ernest Gaines. In this panel students explored the novel, its themes and characters, from a variety of perspectives, ultimately arriving at a consideration of the human condition and its dual potential for barbarism and nobility. Sophomores Konyinsola Adefuye and Bronwyn Burk formed a panel on "Beowulf, Grendel, and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight: Considerations of Heroes and Monsters," where they considered the possibility that heroes are not always heroic and that monsters are not altogether monstrous. Sophomore Sara St. John gave a paper on "Hobbes vs. Locke: Who Has the Right?" She argued that Locke's ideas on natural rights are more practical, more humane, and better for the human race. Freshmen Ashley Davis, Christian Johnson, and Bianca Phillips gave a panel on "Martin Luther King: Virtue in Conflict with Society," exploring connections between the ancient ideas of Socrates and Aristotle about virtue and modern events and conflicts associated
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