Acting Mid-Continent University President Ken Winters says he’s now optimistic about the steps the college is taking towards rectifying its recent financial crisis.
Winters, a former state senator and former president of Campbellsville University, was asked to head the Mayfield-based Christian school last week while MCU president Robert Imhoff stepped down from leadership.
MCU has had multiple federal financial aid submissions denied in recent months due to discrepancies. During that time, the school has had to use close to $9 million of its own money to pay for student tuition and other expenses. Winters says the task presented before him was daunting at the start.
“When I looked down that railroad tunnel, for a while, it looked awfully black in there, but I believe I’m seeing some light at the end of that tunnel," said Winters. "And I feel fairly optimistic that we’ll turn the corner here. This is a critical day for us and we’re so excited about having some revenue flowing this way, so we feel really encouraged by what’s going on.”
Winters says the school has received several private donations totaling over a million dollars and that he has made his own donation to the institution in hopes that it will inspire others to join in the effort. He's also appealing to local Baptist association members in a hope to garner further support.
Winters says a new financial aid submission was delivered to the Department of Education earlier this week which, if approved, will help put the school on the road to recovery.
But, he says some internal adjustments to spending levels need to be made including temporary salary cuts and slimming down of the school’s “enormous” advertising budget.
