Published: June 09, 2009 08:30 am      

EKU dedicates new Manchester campus

Terry Gray hears it nearly every day, yet never tires of it.

“This is the best thing that has ever happened to Clay County,” folks tell the director of Eastern Kentucky University’s Manchester Regional Campus.

The buzz is all about EKU’s new state-of-the-art Manchester facility, the Stivers Building, which was dedicated in formal ceremonies conducted Monday.

Speakers at the event included 25th District State Sen. Robert Stivers, an early and persistent supporter of the project for whom the facility is named; EKU President Doug Whitlock; and Dr. Charles Hickox, dean of Continuing Education and Outreach at EKU. Gov. Steve Beshear was scheduled to speak, but a family emergency precluded his visit; Chief of Staff Adam Edelen spoke on his behalf.

Stivers told a large crowd of townspeople and EKU representatives that the campus is the culmination of a long-time dream, one he shared with many others in the community and area.

“I always thought about Martin Luther King’s ‘I Have A Dream’ speech,” Stivers said. “Today I can stand before you and say, with the completion and opening of this building, that dream has come true.”

Summer classes are already under way at the $12.5 million, 48,636-square-foot facility. Since 1992, EKU’s Manchester campus had been housed in a local shopping center after the University had been offering classes at various local facilities. Nearly 9,000 students have been enrolled at the Manchester campus over the past 17 years.

“I don’t think I could be more proud to be associated with EKU and the new facility,” said Gray, who has served as director since 2003. “I think we have become a true beacon of inspiration for our entire county and region. We have many individuals who never plan on taking classes but tell me every day how many lives the facility will change. I constantly hear people tell me how proud they are to have EKU here.”

The new campus, located on US 421 a half-mile north of the Manchester interchange of the Hal Rogers Parkway, will offer “state-of-the-art classrooms,” Gray said. Each classroom will contain ceiling-mounted projectors linked to eight-foot screens along with other multimedia equipment. “Literally, everything you need to instruct is at the push of a button.”

In addition to numerous traditional lecture classrooms, the three-floor facility includes five interactive television (ITV) classrooms, 17 offices, a bookstore and a 5,200-square-foot meeting/multi-purpose space.

The addition of science laboratories enables courses not previously available. The facility also includes a 28-seat computer lab and a 26-seat resource commons.

Stivers called the new campus “our county’s crown jewel. We’ve made great progress in recent years but this, above anything else, is a life-changing event for our county.”

Whitlock noted that fall registration for the Manchester Campus is up 31 percent from a year ago. A record number of more than 100 classes are scheduled at the Manchester campus this fall.

Whitlock said the University’s ultimate goal is to help create more jobs locally “so young men and women who grow up here and study with us don’t have to leave the area to have opportunities.”

Many non-EKU students will also be utilizing the facility. Through a partnership with the Clay County Board of Education, local adult and community and workforce education programs also will take place at the campus.

“This will allow us to work with and help an even broader range of students,” Gray said.