University of Louisville students serving our country at Fort Knox are our country’s pride, and UofL has upgraded remote classroom space on the U.S. Army post to match the top-notch facilities available on the Belknap and Health Sciences Center campuses.
“We cannot say we really value the students at Fort Knox and not give them the best,” said UofL President Neeli Bendapudi as she officially opened the new space with a ribbon-cutting Sept. 19. She was accompanied by Major General John R. Evans, Jr., Commanding General, U.S. Army Cadet Command and Fort Knox, other Fort Knox administrators, and administrators from the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD).
One person on hand who had been with the Fort Knox campus through five moves around the base was Mark Casey, UofL program coordinator. Casey is retiring after 39 years.
Bendapudi joked that the ribbon-cutting was really a surprise retirement party for Casey, but then got serious about the significance of the new facility.
“This is really about the team,” Bendapudi said, adding that allowing UofL to serve those who are in service to our country is “a gift that you are bestowing on us.”
The new space is on the second floor of the Army Education Center at Fort Knox and brings UofL into the forefront of schools represented there. The latest technology installed there includes:
- Wireless internet with guest access
- Eight wired MAC computers for student use
- Sixteen Surface Pro laptops for classroom application and student use
- A large screen display wired to hardware to support classroom presentations from students and faculty, and
- A solstice hub to support up to 200-plus simultaneous log-ins by students/faculty for collaboration and presentations in the classroom.
The Fort Knox campus is for military personnel and their families, as well as community members.
It promotes all UofL programs (on campus and online) but focuses on three: the bachelor of science in organizational leadership and learning; the master of science in human resource and organization development; and the master of arts in higher education administration. It will be under the direction of Jeffrey Sun, professor and interim associate dean for innovation and strategic partnerships.
Since its founding in the early 1970s, the Fort Knox Center has awarded more than 600 degrees to soldiers, their family members and civilians. The center also serves as the National Testing Center for Fort Knox, where more than 200 tests are offered from high-stakes certification to college-level equivalency exams.
Check out the unveiling ceremony:
