Centre wins "Battle of the Bumpers" for fifth-straight year

RELEASED: March 20, 2008

DANVILLE, KY—For the fifth-straight year, students, alumni and friends of Centre College lead Kentucky in 2007 in "putting their pride on their (license) plates."

Each year the Commonwealth's nonprofit independent colleges and universities extend their friendly rivalries to the highways as campuses compete to see whose supporters can generate the most money for student scholarships through sales of campus-branded "Independent Higher Education" Kentucky specialty license plates. The competition, overseen by the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities (AIKCU), returns $10 from the sale of each plate to the named campus's general scholarship fund.

This is the first time since the program's inception, however, that institutions that constitute AIKCU have been able to design their own distinct Kentucky license plates.

"We're thrilled that our campuses have gotten a chance to make these plates their own," said Gary S. Cox, AIKCU president. "We're looking forward to increasing sales and further raising the visibility of our institutions by putting more of these on the road, and most importantly, raising more money for student scholarships."

The first independent college and university plates hit Kentucky highways in 2002. AIKCU worked with the General Assembly to establish the "Independent Higher Education" Kentucky license plate series during the 2000 General Assembly. However, under the statutes and regulations that existed at the time, all AIKCU-member colleges and universities had to share a common plate background and color scheme, with individual campuses differentiated only by their logo stickers and individual taglines.

In the summer of 2007, the common design surpassed its state-mandated five-year life cycle. Combined with advances in license plate printing technology and cooperation between AIKCU and the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Kentucky's independent colleges and universities finally got the long-desired opportunity to make their plates distinctive.

"We're grateful to the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and the staff there for making this possible," Cox said. "The new plates look terrific and are a visible reminder of the great diversity we have in the independent sector."

The new plates for all 20 colleges and universities and the association are on sale through all Kentucky County Clerks offices for renewals and new issues. Plates cost $44 upon initial issue, including the $10 for student scholarships (because these new plates replace the previous version, all Independent Higher Education plates will be $44 during the first year). Renewal is $31 in subsequent years. Current plate holders interested in renewing early should check with their local County Clerk about renewal policies.

"The support shown for Centre is inspiring," says Shawn Lyons '81, associate vice president for development and alumni affairs. "Whether that support is measured by the number of alumni buying license plates, the percentage making contributions to the College or their assistance in recruiting outstanding students, Centre alumni can be counted on to do amazing things."

The 2008 license plate competition began on January 1, and friends of Centre have plenty of time to purchase or renew plates for the 2008 "Battle of the Bumpers."

For more information about the program, visit The Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges & Universities site.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.