Lexington, Ky. - As a study gets underway to determine the feasibility of bringing the University of Pikeville into the state's postsecondary education system, the president of one institution long a part of Kentucky's higher-education constellation will voice concerns in an appearance before the Lexington Forum.
Morehead State University President Wayne Andrews is guest speaker at the Forum's February breakfast meeting on Thursday morning at UK's Boone Faculty Center.
Dr. Andrews is outspoken in his opposition to the proposal, citing the more than $100-million in taxpayer funds invested in recent years to expand and improve the MSU campus. Morehead State University draws much of its student body from the region of southeastern Kentucky that would be served by the University of Pikeville.
Backers of the proposal to transform the school into a state supported institution of higher learning argue that ready access to higher education is key to lifting Eastern Kentucky out of poverty.
The Commonwealth as a whole has the nation's sixth-highest poverty rate with much of it concentrated in Eastern Kentucky.
Lexington Forum breakfasts, where top leaders and issues experts offer their latest insights, are open to the public. To attend or to become a member, contact Executive Director Dawn Brockman: http://lexingtonforum.org/contact/