Dr. Juanita Bayless
Dr. Juanita C. Bayless was born August 24, 1939 in Bartholomew County to Allen and Melva VanEst Barr. Juanita earned a bachelor’s degree in special education and elementary education at Indiana University before pursuing a master’s degree in educational psychology at Butler University and a doctoral degree in educational psychology at the University of Northern Illinois. She was then an educator for almost half a century, beginning in 1961 as a junior high special education teacher. Through the years, she worked in numerous public schools and universities and even provided instruction and training for air traffic controllers. She then came to the WKU–Glasgow campus in 1990, where she served as the associate dean of the Division of Extended Learning and Outreach and director of the WKU–Glasgow campus until retiring in 2010.
In 2009, she received the Spirit of WKU Award, which recognizes an individual who represents enthusiasm for WKU, loyalty to the institution and principles of the WKU experience and its motto “The Spirit Makes the Master.” She was very involved in the Glasgow community as president of the Glasgow Rotary Club, founding director of Safe Spot, former director of the Bunch Center, and a member of the Glasgow/Barren County Chamber of Commerce, the Glasgow B&PW, Glasgow-Barren County Lead Forward, Leadership Kentucky (Class of 2000), Bunche Community Center Advisory Board, and Barren County Community Education. She was also a Paul Harris Fellow, a Kentucky Colonel, and was awarded the Glasgow/Barren County Chamber of Commerce’s “Outstanding Citizen of the Year Award” in 2001 and the “Athena Award” in 2005. Juanita was married to Mr. John P. Bayless until her passing in 2010. She and John had two children.
To honor her time on the Hill, friends and family established the Dr. Juanita C. Bayless Scholarship Fund upon her retirement. The fund assists second-semester freshmen, sophomore, junior, and senior students who are pursuing their academic careers at WKU-Glasgow. Through this fund, Juanita’s legacy in education and beyond lives on in perpetuity.