Morehead State University President Wayne D. Andrews led a delegation of nearly three dozen MSU faculty and staff to the “SOAR – Shaping Our Appalachian Region” Summit held Monday, Dec. 9, at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville.
The one-day event was the result of a bi-partisan effort led by Gov. Steve Beshear and U.S. Congressman Harold “Hal” Rogers to discuss the future of Eastern Kentucky.
An estimated 1,000 people attended and discussed job creation and retention, diversifying the regional economy, education, tourism, infrastructure, healthcare and other topics.
Dr. Andrews and Jonathan Gay, director of the Innovation and Commercialization Center, represented Morehead State on the planning committee.
Andrew Abbott, Hazard senior and MSU student government president, took part in the “Youth Leading the Way” panel. MSU alumnus Jim Booth, of Inez, president of Booth Energy, moderated a group on “Entrepreneurship and Innovation.”
Dr. Andrews was joined by other regional institutional presidents and educational leaders as part of the “Lifelong Learning” panel. A great deal of emphasis was placed on partnerships and collaboration in providing access to higher education throughout the area.
“The summit is not the end,” said Rogers. “It’s the beginning hopefully of a long-term solution to the problems of Eastern Kentucky. It will take a long time. There are no silver bullets here. It’s going to take long-term thinking and working together and planning and coming together.”
President Andrews echoed these sentiments in his remarks later that evening. “This was a great day,” said Dr. Andrews. “We got to hear many great ideas on how to help the region. This was a significant first step. We must now work together to make east Kentucky better for this generation – and for future generations.”
