Category Archives: People

Western Kentucky University (WKU) senior Katie Gamble from Hopkinsville, has been selected as the recipient of the WKU Library Student Assistant Scholarship.  Gamble is a senior who will graduate in May 2016 with a B.S. in Communication Disorders, completing her degree in only three years.Pictured: Doug Wiles, Gamble, and Dean of WKU Libraries Connie Foster.

According to her supervisor Doug Wiles, Gamble has worked as a Stacks Management student for two-and-a-half years.  “During that time, I have noted Katie’s motivation to be exceptional in every endeavor: academic, work-related, and personal,” said Wiles. “Katie has been a leader in several projects, including a significant transition for Stacks Management to staff  the Helm Information Desk.”

Gamble has performed at a superior level academically, maintaining a 4.0 grade point average while working in WKU Libraries and volunteering in the Kelly Autism Program. In addition, Katie was the first student employee to serve on the WKU Campus Library Advisory Council.

“I take pride in telling people that I am a WKU Libraries Student Assistant and am very thankful for the opportunity to work here,” said Gamble. “I can genuinely say that being a student assistant has strengthened my time management skills and has made me more independent.”

Katie was recognized at a reception on Wednesday, December 9 in Cravens Library. The scholarship is sponsored through funding from the Friends of WKU Libraries. For more information on the Friends program, go to wku.edu/library and click on “Support Us.”

Professor Haiwang Yuan of WKU Libraries was recognized last month at his alma mater Nankai University in Tianjin, China for his contributions to the academic development of the College of Foreign Languages (CFL). On October 22, the College of Foreign Language held a Book Donation and Guest Professorship Ceremony for Yuan with Dean of the Foreign Language College Yan Guodong presiding, along with several professors and graduate students from the English Department at the University. Dean Yan Guodong presented the Guest Professorship Letter of Appointment to Yuan and received the books donated by Yuan to the CFL.

“It was an honor to be recognized by one of most prestigious universities in China,” said Yuan. “I am thrilled that I was invited back to the place where I first taught English 30 years ago.”

Yuan thanked his alma mater and gave a presentation on English writing and answered questions. Yuan was a 1977 undergraduate of the College of Foreign Languages Department of Nankai University. Upon his graduation, he taught at the department until 1988. He attended Indiana University and received his Master degrees of History and of Library and Information Science in 1990 and 1995. Professor Yuan has published several monographs and translated works, as well as dozens of research articles. The monographs include The Magic Lotus Lantern and Other Tales from the Han Chinese, Princess Peacock: Tales of Other Peoples of China, Tibetan Folktales, and This is China: The First 5,000 Years.