WKU president urges state funding for research, Gatton Academy, Mesonet and a $350M student housing P3

Timothy Caboni, president of Western Kentucky University, told the House Budget Review Subcommittee on postsecondary education that WKU has reached record student-success milestones and is seeking state budget changes and capital authorizations to sustain research, academic programs and student housing.

Caboni told the panel WKU posted its highest-ever graduation rate (59.1%), awarded 4,688 degrees in 2024–25 and raised first-to-second-year retention to 79.4%. He said the university’s FY26 budget is structurally balanced "without the use of one-time cash reserves," and that recent research expenditures are at their highest level since data collection began in 2010.

Caboni said the postsecondary budget request includes a 4.5% increase in base appropriations for each public university in each year of the biennium and asked for a larger performance funding pool, outlining a requested $30 million increase in year one and $515 million in year two. "The model must evolve if it truly is going to support, encourage, and reward student success," he said.

He credited the passage of Senate Bill 77 with creating a pathway for WKU to offer its first PhD program in data sciences beginning in 2027 and said expanding doctoral offerings would help WKU compete for federal and private research funding.

On financial pressures, Caboni said tuition waivers are effectively unfunded mandates and that WKU spent nearly $4.7 million on mandated tuition waivers in fiscal year 2025 — an increase of about 40% since fiscal year 2021. He thanked Representative Tipton for sponsoring House Bill 497, which Caboni said would require FAFSA completion and make the tuition waiver last-dollar to maximize federal grant funds.

Caboni also requested additional targeted funding: an extra $2 million in each year of the biennium for the Gatton Academy of Mathematics and Science (bringing total annual funding for the program to $7.4 million, per Caboni’s presentation), continued support to complete Kentucky Mesonet coverage (86 stations) and 8.9% of proposed asset preservation funding for higher education — $30.9 million per year — to address deferred campus maintenance.

On capital planning, Caboni outlined "Elevate WKU," a public–private partnership with Gilbane and the College Housing Foundation to modernize student housing. He described a Phase 1 authorization in the current year for $350 million (reauthorized at $350 million in the first year of the biennium) and a Phase 2 authorization of $200 million in the second year. Caboni said Phase 1 will replace two older residence halls with a roughly 1,000-bed complex that will include dining and living–learning communities and open in 2028; he said Board of Regents approval and financial close are expected in May.

Representative Tipton pressed Caboni about the prior Student Life Foundation model and whether the university recouped funds. Caboni said the foundation — created about 25 years ago and previously responsible for rate-setting and facility management — had oversight and procurement deficiencies that limited the university’s ability to access construction projects. He defended the P3 model as delivering national experience, predictable long-term debt and a rate structure that will not increase prices for students, saying the pro forma assumes about a 3% increase over time compared with the 4–5% assumption used by the foundation.

The presentation closed with members thanking Caboni; no votes or formal committee actions were taken. Caboni said renderings will be shown at the WKU Board of Regents meeting and affirmed the university’s focus on increasing living–learning participation to support retention.

Next steps: the committee scheduled a future meeting; the budget and capital requests Caboni described will continue through the biennial budget process and require further committee consideration and any necessary authorizations.