Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News

Rarely does a weekend go by that Gary and Julie Ransdell don't have company, from prospective students and athletic recruits to faculty and visiting dignitaries.

While the Ransdells' house is their private residence, it also serves as an important part of President Ransdell's job. By holding meetings, functions and fundraisers in his house, Ransdell feels he offers visitors a more valuable Western experience.

"It's different than having a function in an academic building," Ransdell said. "It's more homey. It's more personal. People feel good about coming to the president's home, especially students."

Visitors to the Ransdells' house at 1700 Chestnut St. are usually entertained and fed in the dining room or outside on the Ransdells' lawn. In an effort to give the public areas more Western character, the Ransdells have had murals of Western buildings painted on the dining room walls.

Their kitchen is equipped to cook for large numbers, and Ransdell said that it's used as often by ARAMARK to cater events at the house as it is by him and Julie Ransdell.

When they're not hosting events, the Ransdells cook for themselves. Ransdell prefers grilling out and Julie Ransdell enjoys making desserts.

The president's house takes a lot of wear from its public use, said Ransdell.

The Ransdells have a facilities team that cleans twice a week and a grounds crew that maintains the landscaping. They keep the home clean at all times, because functions are frequently planned on short notice, Ransdell said.

In the budget cuts, the president's house has received a $4,000 cut already and will receive an $8,300 cut permanently. This money will come out of repairs and maintenance fees like groundskeeping.

"We're just going to have to get by with less, like a lot of people on campus," Ransdell said.

As for chores, Julie Ransdell tends the plants, and Ransdell takes care of the koi pond.

"We enjoy working in the yard," Ransdell said.

The Ransdells also clean up after their two labradors, Topper and Spirit, and their son Matthew's dog, Tsavo.

"We don't expect people to pick up after our dogs," Ransdell said. That is an important task considering how often the Ransdell's have company in their yard.

Former President Thomas Meredith kept a full-time housekeeper. Ransdell said that isn't something he and Julie Ransdell wanted.

"This is a very public job, but when we're there by ourselves, we value our privacy," Ransdell said. "So we don't have a staff."

Ransdell uses Sunday afternoons to check e-mails, write reports and organize.

In the winter, he sits at a writing table in his den with a fire in the fireplace and sometimes a ball game on TV. In warmer weather, Ransdell takes his work outside.

"I'll sit in one of our Adirondack chairs and work in the backyard or in the front yard under a tree or by the pond," Ransdell said.

The president's house is a busy place, whether there's an event for 50 in the dining room, or the Ransdells are just catching up on their weekly chores.

Ransdell and the Board of Regents have agreed that he will remain president until 2022. He said that he will live in the president's house during that time. He plans to retire in Bowling Green.

The Ransdells have already purchased property in Olde Stone, a neighborhood in Alvaton. They have a contract to pay Associate Professor Neil Downing's architectural sciences class to design the Ransdell's future home.

"WKU students are designing that house currently," Ransdell said. "It's pretty cool."

Reach Eileen Ryan at news@chherald.com.