FOOTBALL ON B6
JEWELRY ON THE MOVE B1
Helton snags first win as head coach against FIU
Nomadic jewelry salesman makes a stop at WKU
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 2019
WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY
VOLUME 95, ISSUE 03
Meet WKU’s new physical therapy chair BY ABBEY NUTTER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
KEILEN FRAZIER • HERALD
Lambda Chi Alpha’s volleyball scoreboard was among few things left in the wake of the destruction of its fraternity house on Sept. 4, 2019.
GREEK AND DESTROY Greek construction continues on campus
BY ABBEY NUTTER HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
Students who walked along Chestnut Street Wednesday morning would have noticed a pile of rubble in the place where the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity chapter house once stood. The members of Lambda Chi Alpha began planning the construction of a new chapter house on Chestnut Street in 2011, according to fraternity president Nathan Seged. Fundraising began in 2015, with plans to have the new chapter house built by 2020 currently underway. The old chapter house was a familiar sight, serving the fraternity since its beginnings at WKU in 1965. First constructed on Chestnut Street in 1909, Seged said the house was in bad shape when the decision was made to tear it down and rebuild. “Here at Lambda Chi Alpha, we’re
trying to be the most competitive fraternity in every aspect,” Seged said. “We felt that the one thing holding us back was the house.” Seged explained the house was hindering recruitment of new members
With fundraising efforts beginning in 2015 and earning nearly $1 million, the new chapter house will be valued at an estimate of nearly $1.2 million, Seged said. Seged, a senior, recalled talk of a new
”I know that having a good environment for your organization is a crucial part of being on campus these days.”
Sigma Phi Epsilon Chapter President CLAY LILLA
due to many other fraternities having nicer houses, making competition difficult. He also said the “revampment” of the house was a project to be undertaken not just for the active members of the chapter but for alumni.
chapter house dating back to his days as a freshman. This year, Seged said he’s seen a lot more excitement surrounding the new house. SEE GREEK LIFE • PAGE A2
Beth Norris, the newly appointed chair of the department of physical therapy at WKU, had a long history in the physical therapy practice before transitioning to teaching and making her way to the Hill. Norris earned an undergraduate degree in chemistry from Austin Peay State University and from there completed her degree in physical therapy at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in Memphis. While practicing physical therapy, Norris pursued a master’s degree in exercise physiology at Springfield College in Massachusetts and continued to practice. Norris completed a doctorate in health sciences while living in New Jersey. At the same time as she was managing an outpatient department and completing the doctorate, Norris was also teaching physical therapy in New York. This is when she discovered her love for teaching. “Physical therapy is a teaching profession,” Norris said. “We teach our patients, we teach their family continuously.” Norris said she’s always been interested in answering questions, which led her to pursue her doctorate, and completing that program required her to teach classes. After finishing her doctorate, Norris moved to Texas to teach full time at Texas Woman’s University as an assistant professor in TWU’s school of physical therapy. Norris then returned to Tennessee, where she worked as a regional manager for outpatient physical therapy clinics throughout the state. Norris received an announcement WKU was starting a physical therapy program while working in Tennessee and inquired about the two faculty positions that opened. After the interview process, she shifted from full-time clinical management practice and joined the physical therapy department at WKU as an associate professor in 2013. From 2017 to 2018, Norris completed a yearlong fellowship in education leadership. At the start of summer 2018, the chair of the physical therapy program resigned, which left the position SEE BETH NORRIS • PAGE A2
Computer-less students to be given opportunity for free desktop BY BRODY REXING HERALD.NEWS@WKU.EDU
A revival of WKU’s “Earn-A-Computer” program is slated for the cur-
rent Fall 2019 semester. The revitalization plan was brought up during a Student Government Association meeting last Tuesday by Director of Academic and Student Affairs Abbey Norvell.
Norvell frames “Earn-A-Computer” as a group effort among numerous outlets on campus, including SGA, information and technology and the department of surplus, among others.
This program is unique: it will allow WKU students a chance to work for a desktop computer in a program entirely by and for Hilltoppers. SEE COMPUTER • PAGE A2