Bailey remembered for student-first legacy at WKU

BOWLING GREEN, Ky. (WNKY) — Western Kentucky University is remembering longtime administrator and alumnus Howard Bailey after his death earlier this week, with colleagues reflecting on the role he played in helping generations of students navigate college life.

Bailey was a two-time WKU graduate who later served as dean of students and vice president of student affairs. He also served on the president’s cabinet, where he regularly brought student concerns to university leadership.

Putting students first

WKU spokesperson Jace Lux said Bailey understood how much a college education could change a person’s life and worked to make sure students had a fair chance to earn a degree.

“But more importantly, I think he realized the power of higher education to change lives. And he wanted to make sure that any student who wanted to have the WKU experience and who wanted to earn a college degree was able to do so,” Lux said. “And so I think, you know, I think there are a lot of different dynamics to his legacy, but he first and foremost was willing to go to bat for any student, and to make sure that he did whatever he could do to get obstacles out of the way.”

Lux said Bailey was approachable and accessible to students from different backgrounds and circumstances. Rather than treating every problem the same way, he took time to understand what each student needed and worked with them individually.

Bailey was not a first-generation college student, but he was the first in his family to attend a predominantly white college. Lux said that experience helped shape the way Bailey related to students and the challenges they faced.

Finding a way forward

That mindset helped shape the culture Bailey brought to his work at WKU.

Lux said Bailey believed the first answer to a student’s problem should not automatically be no.

“And so I think what Howard really helped to instill here as a student first. And the first answer should not be, no, it should be. Let’s figure this out together,” Lux said.

Sometimes that meant talking with a professor. Other times it meant helping a student sort through financial concerns or another obstacle that could keep them from moving forward.

Someone colleagues could call

Bailey became a resource for university employees, too.

Before taking on his current role as WKU spokesperson, Lux served as director of admissions and director of the university’s forensics team. He said there were times in both positions when a student needed help beyond what he could provide on his own. Bailey was someone he knew he could turn to.

“I knew I could call him and I knew he’d say, all right, what do we need to do? All right, tell me the situation. Let’s figure out a solution,” Lux said. “And so, I have several of those that I’ve thought back on over the last 24 hours since I learned of his passing.”

Lux said Bailey was also quick to offer advice to colleagues or point them toward someone else on campus who could help.

“You know, he would show us the ropes as someone who had been here for as long as he had and was always willing to pick up the phone and take a phone call when, when I might need a little bit of advice,” Lux said.

His influence remains

For many people now working at WKU, Bailey was more than a former administrator.

Lux said some knew him first as students and later as colleagues. Others viewed him as a mentor, an advocate or a trailblazer.

That is one reason, Lux said, Bailey’s influence will continue to be felt across campus.

“I think that’s reflected in the fact that there are so many individuals working on campus now who, maybe, were mentored by him and had a personal relationship with him,” Lux said. “And so that’s reflected every day and the work that those individuals do and ultimately in their interactions with students.”

Bailey was inducted into WKU’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2021. Lux said the honor reflected the impact Bailey made through both his professional work and his connection to the university.