Kentucky Wesleyan College’s Baccalaureate celebration will take place on Friday, May 2, at 7 p.m. at the Jack T. Wells ’77 Activity Center’s Young Auditorium (3300 Frederica Street). Rev. Jamelle…
more: Kentucky Wesleyan College to celebrate Class of 2025 with Baccalaureate May 2
This article originally appeared in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer on Friday, April 25, 2025.
By Scott Hagerman, Messenger-Inquirer
Dr. James P. Cousins was inaugurated as Kentucky Wesleyan College’s 36th president on Friday during a ceremony at Settle Memorial United Methodist Church.
Cousins has served as Kentucky Wesleyan’s president since July 1, 2024. He had previously served as the college’s provost and vice president of academic affairs since 2021.
“I stand before you today humbled, humbled by the trust you’ve placed in me, humbled by the legacy inherited … humbled by the incredible potential of KWC,” Cousins said. “Inaugurations are special because they are touch points in a college’s history. They give us time to come together and reflect on our past as we think about the road ahead.”
Fred Wright, a 1980 graduate of KWC and chairman of the school’s board of trustees, gave the welcoming statement.
“Dr. Cousins, the presence of everyone here today is an expression of our confidence in you,” he said, “and reflects our commitment to support you as you lead us into the next chapter of the life of Kentucky Wesleyan College.”
This article originally appeared in the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer on Wednesday, April 23, 2025.
By Scott Hagerman, Messenger-Inquirer
Dr. James Cousins has been president of Kentucky Wesleyan College since July of last year.
But at 1 p.m. Friday at Settle Memorial United Methodist Church, 201 E. Fourth St., Cousins’ inauguration as KWC’s 36th president will be held.
“Inaugurations are a time for everybody to come together and celebrate the college, kind of in familiar ways and unfamiliar ways,” Cousins said. “We get together and celebrate what we’re doing in a way that’s unique from commencements or baccalaureate ceremonies, or convocations — it’s a different idea, but a lot of the same sort of feelings, emotions. Alumni come together and trustees with faculty and staff and students and celebrate the college. But this is a different way of doing that.
“Historically what inaugurations mean are a new chapter, a turning point, celebrating what was past, what is present, and what’s coming in the future. That might be embodied in a convocation or commencement address, but this is an opportunity to really focus on that specifically.”
Cousins, who had served as KWC’s provost and vice president of academic affairs since 2021 until being named president, said the inauguration will represent the “fulfillment of a dream.”
Kentucky Wesleyan College’s FM radio station, WKWC 90.3, and the Keith and Vickie Sharber Communication Arts Program earned two prestigious awards at the Broadcast Education Association’s (BEA) “Festival of Media Arts,” announced February 11. KWC has competed and brought home awards for five consecutive years.
BEA is the premier international academic media organization, driving insights, excellence in media production and career advancement for educators, students and professionals. BEA is concerned with electronic media programs, placing an emphasis on interactions among the purposes, developments and practices of the industry and imparting this information to future professionals. The winners were selected from a pool of 2,285 entries, representing over 300 colleges and universities.
Communication arts majors Embry Burgess ’25 and Daylin Tolgo ’25 received third place in the Student Comedy or Drama competition. This category competed among examples of radio dramas and radio-theater type productions. Burgess and Tolgo produced a segment they wrote together in KWC’s audio production class within the Communication Arts Program and taught by Instructor and WKWC Manager Derik Hancock in 2024. (more…)
The Kentucky Wesleyan College Alumni Association announced its inaugural class of Forward Under 40, a new alumni recognition program celebrating the accomplishments of alumni who are under 40 years old.
This year’s class featured 24 alumni ranging in age from 29 to 39 with career paths varying from accounting and law to nonprofit leadership and medicine. It includes a variety of Kentucky cities as well as four other states and Washington, D.C. Selection was left entirely up to the College’s 8,000+ alumni base through anonymous voting after an open nomination process.
Kentucky Wesleyan College has been ranked No. 22 among the 2025 Best Regional Colleges South by U.S. News & World Report and is the highest-ranking Kentucky institution in its category.
“This recognition reflects the dedication of our faculty and staff to our students,” said Dr. James Cousins, president of Kentucky Wesleyan.
“We are honored and thrilled that the highly regarded U.S. News & World Report acknowledges our commitment to providing a superior education.” (more…)
Kentucky Wesleyan College is one of eight Kentucky institutions named to Princeton Review’s “2025 Best Colleges: Region by Region.” The other institutions include Bellarmine University, Berea College, Centre College, Kentucky…