Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science 77(1–2)

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, as of July 2016 there were twenty-four public colleges and universities in Kentucky, and a number of other postsecondary educational institutions. This year, twenty-sixteen, marks the 50th anniversary of significant events for higher education in Kentucky. On February 26, 1966 Governor Edward T. Breathitt signed into law Kentucky House Bill 238 that granted university status to Kentucky’s regional universities. Effective July 1, 1966, Eastern Kentucky State College in Richmond became Eastern Kentucky University, Morehead State College in Morehead, Morehead University; Eastern State College in Richmond, Eastern Kentucky University; Western State College in Bowling Green, Western Kentucky University; and Murray State College in Murray, Murray University. Kentucky State College became a university six years later in 1972. In addition to renaming the state colleges and sanctioning the awarding of graduate degrees in academic fields other than education, the bill included other provisions. In particular, it initiated a group of state community colleges. Kentucky House Bill 238 set forth a comprehensive plan for the future of state-supported higher education in Kentucky, including amendments to the structure and function of the Council on Public Higher Education (since 1977, the Council on Postsecondary Education). To improve students’ access to higher education, the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority was also established in 1966. Furthermore—thanks to the leadership of John W. Oswald, the sixth president of the University of Kentucky, in a meaningful fulfillment of the mission of higher education and its role in addressing educational needs in Kentucky—the very first Computer Science Department in Kentucky was initiated in January of 1966. In the beginning a part of the College of Arts and Sciences and now part of the College of Engineering, the Computer Science department of the University of Kentucky continues educating computer scientists, together with similar departments that followed in other Kentucky universities and colleges. The Journal of the Kentucky Academy of Science (JKAS) provides the outlet for reporting on research and education activities in Kentucky. A number of papers in this Volume 77 showcase research work in Kentucky universities, including some of those that were created from regional colleges fifty years ago. The Index at the end of this volume lists all of the papers and notes published during my tenure as the Editor of JKAS. Thanking all the authors, reviewers, Associate Editor, and the Board of the Kentucky Academy of Science, I wish the new Editors many successful years of publishing quality research and supporting higher education in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.