Kentucky Wesleyan College will celebrate Homecoming 2022 on campus and throughout the Owensboro community the weekend of Sept. 29-Oct. 2. The weekend’s events will be held in conjunction with the College’s Fall Family Weekend and surround the Panthers’ home football game versus Hillsdale on Saturday, Oct. 1, at 6 p.m.
New events for this year include:
- A Taste of the Arts on Thursday, Sept. 29, which will feature free live performances by KWC choir, theatre and band, as well as delicious “tastes of Owensboro” and an art show
- The Pillars Lecture Series on Saturday, Oct. 1, which will include three Ted Talk-style lectures hosted by Provost Dr. James Cousins
Signature events for the weekend include:
- The 2nd Annual Panther Pride 5k, presented by Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline, on Oct. 1, which will offer a unique behind-the-scenes tour of Kentucky Wesleyan’s beautiful campus and a picturesque finish line in Steele Stadium
- The 2nd Annual Back Together Bash, presented by Wesleyan Medical Practice, on the front lawn on Oct. 1, which will feature four musical performances, food trucks, games and more
- The 2022 Alumni Hall of Fame and Awards Celebration, presented by Independence Bank, on Sept. 30, which will honor the 2022 Alumni Award recipients with the induction of Dr. Randy Capps ’57 (posthumously) and Dr. Julie Gurwell ’89 into the Alumni Hall of Fame
Other events include the Golden Jubilee 50th Reunion celebrations for the Class of 1972, the Silver Jubilee 25th Reunion celebrations for the Class of 1997, a Homecoming Worship Service, numerous home athletic events and much more.
“We couldn’t be more excited to welcome our alumni back home to campus this year for Homecoming 2022,” said Summer (Crick) Aldridge ’14, director of alumni relations. “We hope members of the community will join us on campus to enjoy the events and will welcome our alumni back to town when they spot them throughout the city that weekend.”
2022 Alumni Award Winners
Outstanding Alumnus – Jeff White ’72
Alumni Achievement Award – Antoine Poythress ’91
Outstanding Young Graduate Award – Wesley Whistle ’12
Roy Pickerill ’75 Alumni Service Award – David Ashburn ’87
Gus E. Paris Distinguished Service Award – Dr. Paula Dehn
Honorary Alumna – Anna Dixon-Skidmore
The Kentucky Wesleyan College Alumni Hall of Fame perpetuates the memory of those who have brought honor and distinction to the name and reputation of Kentucky Wesleyan College. The Class of 2022 features two uniquely successful individuals who have gained distinction in their careers and made a significant impact on the lives of others.
Kentucky Wesleyan College Alumni Hall of Fame Class of 2022
Dr. Randall Capps ’57 (posthumously)
Dr. Julie Gurwell ’89
Dr. Randall Capps ’57 made a career of teaching, mentoring and leading, and his start can be traced back to investments made in him by KWC professors including Jane Forgy, Ray Waggoner, Doug Sasser and Corinne Cowgell.
His career took him to Canada, Malaysia and France. He mentored executives at IBM and Coca-Cola and consulted for Fortune 100 companies including General Electric and Pepsi. Capps also mentored six college presidents, including KWC President Emeritus Barton D. Darrell ’84.
Dr. Capps began his career in education as an instructor in Western Kentucky University’s English Department in 1962. He became the university’s first Communications Department head in 1968. The department grew its program offerings and faculty count from eight to 50 by the time he left that role in 1994.
A 1982 experience working with General Motors executives helped him realize that higher education has much to offer the business world, and he founded Leadership Strategies, a consulting firm that helped organizations of all kinds improve their performance. Leadership Strategies’ clients ranged from institutions of higher learning including medical schools, and corporations such as Whirlpool, General Electric, Pepsi and Toyota. It eventually grew into the Kentucky Leadership Center.
Dr. Capps published nine books on leadership and communication, and his honors included KWC Honorary Doctor of Humanities, KWC Outstanding Alumnus, Sigma Nu Hall of Honor, WKU Outstanding MBA teacher (twice) and Outstanding Global Advocate by the Chamber of Commerce of Warren County.
“Strategic, visionary, leader, sensei, and consummate gentleman are just a few descriptors I would bestow on Dr. Capps, for without his encouragement and wisdom on the importance of pursuing a higher education degree at WKU, I would not have ultimately enjoyed such an awesome and successful career.” – Lydia Dorman ’82 (senior vice president of human resources for Coca-Cola’s business unit in Japan until 2017 and member of KWC Board of Trustees)
“I knew Randy Capps and his late wife (Joan (Gray) Capps ’60) for about 60 years. Although we weren’t at KWC at the same time, his reputation and fingerprints were everywhere. He served as a role model for many. When I arrived at WKU as president, I wasn’t surprised to learn that Randy and his excellent faculty team had made our Communications Department nationally competitive. True to form, his humble leadership style made us better.” – Dr. Thomas Meredith ’63 (WKU President from 1988-1997)
Dr. Capps continued to invest in students daily, as his Wesleyan professors did for him, until his passing in February 2022. Their success and contributions to the workplace made it worthwhile to him. “It’s been particularly rewarding to work with these students who are highly motivated to achieve”, he said. “It’s been my pleasure.”
Dr. Julie A. Gurwell ’89, PA-C, Ph.D., is a professor of neurology at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Gurwell earned a Ph.D. in anatomy and neurobiology in 1994 and studied the role of opioids in astrocyte development in vitro. She completed a postdoctoral fellowship in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1994-1996. Subsequently, she received a master’s degree in physician assistant studies from the University of Kentucky in 2003 and is certified by the National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants.
Dr. Gurwell has practiced in the Department of Neurology at the University of Kentucky since 2003, and her primary clinical interest focuses on treatment of movement disorders. She specializes in programming deep brain stimulators to treat Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor and dystonia. Her research concentrates on a translational research project evaluating potential restorative therapies in Parkinson’s disease. She is the first physician assistant to be appointed as a faculty member at the University of Kentucky College of Medicine. As director of advanced practice providers in the Neurology Department, she is committed to training and mentoring physician assistants and nurse practitioners and has developed a physician assistant neurology residency program.
She was assistant professor of physician assistant studies in the University of Kentucky College of Health Science from 2004-2008. She is a member of the American Academy of Neurology, International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society, and American Academy of Physician Assistants. She serves on the editorial board for Neurology Today and was the 2019 Alumni Achievement Award Winner at Kentucky Wesleyan College.