Preview
Creation Date
5-8-1997
Description
WKU Creed Monument dedicated.
The Western Creed:
Western Kentucky University is a community dedicated to learning, where ideas are offered, examined and discussed.
As a member of this community, I have both a personal and shared responsibility to participate actively in university life by:
Practicing personal and academic integrity;
Seeking unity by respecting the dignity of all persons;
Celebrating and embracing diversity;
Encouraging freedom of expression;
Acting in accordance with basic principles of citizenship;
Preserving and appreciating the natural beauty of the campus;
Enriching all aspects of life through the educational process; and by
Embracing the ideals expressed on the university seal: "Life More Life" and "The Spirit Makes the Master," by pursuing personal growth and a life of excellence.
In the Fall of 1993, President Thomas C. Meredith appointed a committee of faculty, staff, and students to develop a statement of values - a creed - for Western Kentucky University. Dean Howard Bailey, Mr. Joseph Boggs, Ms. Kathy Kanz, Ms. Patricia Lockett, Dr. John Long, Dr. Jim Wayne Miller (Poet Laureate for the Commonwealth of Kentucky), Dr. David W. Parrott, and Ms. Holland Saltzman worked for several months to create a rough draft of the creed statement. The primary resources used by the committee were: Western Kentucky University, by Dr. Lowell Harrison; pertinent literature by leading scholars on higher education; and the feelings and memories of the committee members. A rough draft was presented to a number of student focus groups and refined to its final form.
The creed is intended to capture the traditions, history, and uniqueness of the university in a cohesive statement while simultaneously describing the core set of values that are the focus of the educational experience at Western Kentucky University. The creed emphasizes individual responsibility; takes into account personal and group rights, responsibilities, and freedoms; and closes with the goals and aspirations articulated by Western's first president, Dr. Henry Hardin Cherry. These values are woven into the tapestry of everyday life in the university community.
The components of the creed are significant and intentional. The content of the creed represents the traditions, history, and values of the university. The seal of the university is included to reemphasize the last stanza of the creed and to represent the recent past. The new Western logo represents the newest of traditions at the university. Together these three components symbolize the cohesion of history, tradition, values and customs at Western Kentucky University.
The creed monument is dedicated to Western Kentucky University students, faculty and staff - past, present and future.
[Western Creed Monument Dedication Program, 5/8/1997]
Keywords
Western Kentucky University