Estimated read time: 1-2 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. (AP) — Northern Kentucky University officials are hoping to improve upon the school's reputation as a hidden gem with an image upgrade.
University President Geoff Mearns participated in an initiative in the fall to change the image of the school when he and other leaders traveled to 25 high schools around the state. Now, he's taking that forward with another branding campaign the university is calling "Light the Way."
Mearns told an audience of about 400 students, staff and supporters this month that they can be involved by helping others see what's special about NKU, which will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2018, The Kentucky Enquirer (http://cin.ci/1IxjotA) reported.
"When we embarked on the (recent tour), I thought we were selling our programs," Mearns said. "But I learned that we were igniting sparks of curiosity and ambition, sparks that can be ignited into flames that will light the way to a brighter future."
Already, the tour is yielding results: more than 600 students from those 25 high schools have applied to NKU, up from 400 this time last year.
Officials said the school is also working on other initiatives that should help boost its reputation, including a health innovation center, trans-disciplinary education and better student recruitment and retention.
Construction on the health innovation center is supposed to begin later this year and open in 2017. The school is also retaining more students and it awarded the most degrees in its history last year with 2,919.
"It's been a busy year. It's been a productive year. And we all should be proud of what we've achieved so far," Vice President and Provost Sue Ott Rowlands said.
___
Information from: The Kentucky Enquirer, http://www.nky.com
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
