PADUCAH, KY (July 26, 2016) - Ashley Wright, vice president of institutional advancement at West Kentucky Community and Technical College, has accepted a position with St. Mary School System's Office of Advancement. Her last day at the college will be August 5.“Mrs. Wright has done a superb job as the Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at WKCTC," said interim president Dr. Charles V. Chrestman. "During her tenure, she was involved in several extremely important projects and activities that helped advance the College as well as the Paducah Junior College Foundation, Inc. She has been a great ambassador for the College and the PJC Foundation, and her gifts and talents will be missed.”
A Berea College and Washington University graduate, Wright has been with WKCTC since 2013 when she joined the college to establish advancement goals and identify fundraising priorities. She has also served as executive director of the PJC Foundation, which is the foundation of WKCTC.
PJC Foundation Chairman John Williams said Wright was a perfect fit for the college and “will be greatly missed.” “We wish you the very, very best,” he told Wright during her last PJC board meeting July 21, “and hope you know you are always welcomed here.”
During Wright’s tenure, the college successfully completed a $2.5 million capital campaign to finish its three-building Paducah School of Art and Design campus, saw growth in the annual Scholarship Auction, established a Student Emergency Fund and successfully secured funding for the Community Scholarship Program, which has been a model for the state.
Wright said the wonderful three years she had at the college made leaving a difficult decision. “It has been a privilege to work for a nationally recognized institution that is such a driving force in education, the arts and workforce development,” she said. “It has been a profound personal and professional experience and I look forward to working closely with WKCTC in my new role at St. Mary School System.”
Chrestman said the college will begin the hiring process for the advancement position by September 9.