Campus diversity

Local News

July 19, 2007

Local colleges grab interest internationally

By Havanna Hagans The Richmond Register Thu Jul 19, 2007, 10:44 PM EDT

Students look forward to college, where they get to make their own decisions, find themselves and meet types of people from places they have only heard about.

As they enter Madison County, whether they attend Eastern Kentucky University or Berea College, they quickly learn that at these local institutions, students come from everywhere.

“Richmond is 26 miles southeast of Lexington, Kentucky,” according to the University’s Web site. “Interstate Highways I-75 (north south) and I-64 (east west) make the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, 112 miles to the north, and Louisville, 110 miles to the west, within convenient distance by automobile.”

With this accessible location, Eastern is in a position to attract students from various surrounding states.

There were 15,753 students enrolled at Eastern for the fall 2006 semester. Of those, 11,438 students were full time and 4,325 were part-time. Also, 1,035, or 90 percent, were undergraduates and 1,131 were graduate students. Eastern also had a list of 2,410 transfer applications, where 1,441 were accepted and 952 enrolled.

Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana have led with the highest state enrollments for five years.

Kentucky has 13,835 students, of which 2,058 are first-time freshmen. Ohio follows with 1,057 and 272, while Indiana adds 101 and 25.

Madison, Fayette and Whitley counties are the top three leaders for total student enrollment and for first-time freshmen.

Twenty-two percent of Eastern’s students come from Madison County, while 10.5 percent arrive from Fayette and 4.8 are contributed by Whitley.

However, Trigg and Edmonson counties are the only two in the state that do not have any students at Eastern.

Although it is nice for a university or college to have a high enrollment of people from the state where the school was established, it is another to have students interested in the institution from all around the world.

“As we continue our efforts to reach more and more Kentuckians with quality higher education in order to meet the goals of House Bill 1, it is also critical that we prepare all our students to succeed in an increasingly global society and workplace,” said Eastern’s president, Joanne Glasser. “Because they bring such diverse perspectives, EKU’s international students enrich the teaching-learning process tremendously and help build bridges of understanding and goodwill.”

At Eastern, the enrollment level is pretty consistent, said Beth Blanchard, coordinator of international services.

“With 9-11, it dipped down just a little bit, but it stays right about 200,” Blanchard said. “International students bring such a diversity to our campus; different cultures, different foods, different outlooks and in every class that they sit in they bring a different perspective to American students, so it really kind of broadens everyone to have the presence of a international student here.”

Of the 145 international students enrolled in fall 2006, Eastern had 37 students from India, 19 from Nepal and 10 from China, along with at least one from 33 other countries and six unknown.

“We’re just real happy to welcome international students.” Blanchard said. “We have admitted about 90 new ones for the fall. We’re just delighted when they come. They come from 56 different countries, which is just pretty amazing.”

Founded as the “first interracial and coeducational college in the south,” Berea College continues to open its door of education and experience to the people of “Appalachia and beyond.”

Last year, Berea had 1,520 undergraduates representing 40 of the 50 states and Washington, D.C., and 71 foreign countries.

Berea also enrolled 21 transfer students out of the 154 that originally applied and 388 first-time, first-year freshmen, according to school statistics for 2006 to 2007.

Kentucky and the Appalachian region make up 73 percent of the enrollment list, while 7 percent, or 110 students, contribute to the international pool.

Havanna Hagans can be reached at news@richmondregister.com or at 623-1669.

Text Only

Local News

Paradise Cove open through Labor Day Opening day of Paradise Cove Family Aquatic Center coincided with a spike in temperatures Friday which reached 90 degrees. The facility, located in Richmond’s Lake Reba Park, will be open through Sept. 3. Regular hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 1 to 6 p.m. Sunday.
May 26, 2012
Dump of the Day
An old mattress, a car seat and other debris sit Friday afternoon on North Street between Fourth and Fifth Streets where it was first spotted Thursday. The “Dump of the Day” is a recurring series the Richmond Register publishes to highlight illegal trash piles and push local governments to cite perpetrators and get illegal dumps cleaned up. See Sunday’s Richmond Register to read a copy of the city’s ordinance related to trash pickup.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Undefeated academic team brings pride to Madison Middle School
Madison Middle School 6th and 7th grade academic teams have been undefeated for the last two years.
The 8th grade team also has done well, having some students qualify to compete at the state level.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.

May 26, 2012 1 Photo
Man is indicted on additional sex charge involving teen in 1998
A man already accused of sex abuse in November 2011 has been indicted on a charge of first-degree rape involving a child in 1998.
Charles W. Peyton, 63, of East Irvine Street, was indicted Wednesday by a Madison grand jury. He used “forcible compulsion” to have sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl between March 1 and May 1 in 1998, according to the indictment.

May 26, 2012
Woman fends off burglar with knife
A Berea woman used a kitchen knife to fend off an alleged burglar early Wednesday morning, and police say they were able to catch the man in the act.
Officers responded to a call in the 1000 block of Scaffold Cane Road about a man trying to break into a home, according to a release from BPD Public Information Officer Jake Reed.

May 25, 2012 1 Photo
Pets of the Week from the Madison County Animal Shelter
The Madison County Animal Shelter is located at 1386 Richmond Road in Berea. Shelter hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Animals available for adoption can be seen from noon to close Monday through Saturday. The adoption fee for cats and kittens is $10. Puppies and grown dogs may be adopted for $25. Adoptions include a free veterinary exam, a first series of vaccinations, a discount on spaying and neutering, free licensing and de-worming. Call the shelter at 986-9625.

May 25, 2012 2 Photos
A big sister’s reflection on life, love and changes
Yesterday was my Little Sister’s graduation. This one, though, was especially important to me.

May 24, 2012 2 Photos
Veterans will conduct Memorial Day programs
Although Memorial Day weekend may be a time of picnics and barbecue for many, some will be observing the day’s original meaning.

May 24, 2012
EKU Arts Center attendance tops 50,000 mark
The Center for the Arts at Eastern Kentucky University has played host during its inaugural season to more than 50,500 guests from more than 30 states and abroad, according to data released by EKU.

May 24, 2012 3 Photos
More Local News Headlines

Local News

Search Results

Campus diversity

Local colleges grab interest internationally

A recent health ranking listed Madison County as the 20th healthiest county in the state. It measured factors such as exercise, access to health care and smoking. Do you smoke cigarettes?

Site Map