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Dr. Jay Morgan begins his tenure as MSU's 14th president

Morehead State University

On July 1, 2017, Morehead State University welcomed it’s 14th president Dr. Jay Morgan.

While Dr. Morgan may be a new presence on the campus of Morehead State University, his prior experience in numerous facets of higher education makes him a familiar face around Kentucky.

Dr. Morgan is known both around the Capitol and on many of Kentucky campuses through his work with the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, as well as his time in far western Kentucky.

Dr. Morgan comes to Morehead State from Frankfort, Kentucky where he was Vice President for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, a council overseeing higher education in the Commonwealth.

Prior to coming to Frankfort, Dr. Morgan served eighteen years at Murray State University as provost and vice president for academic affairs, associate provost, graduate coordinator, leadership program coordinator, and as a faculty member. He obtained his B.S. and M.S. Degrees from Murray State University, and his Ph.D. from Oklahoma State in Agriculture Education and management, and has significant coursework in educational administration. He is also a former high school teacher and coach.

As Dr. Morgan begins his presidential tenure at MSU, he has immediately shown an interest in building strong recruitment programs to increase enrollment, one of which includes a “30 Day Push” from now until August 15th to strengthen recruitment for this fall semester. He has also begun to add to the recruitment staff, as well as prioritize support to scholarship programs.

Moving forward, he has already set in motion plans to move MSU into a competitive stance with the new higher education performance funding model which begins this year.

During his first week and half at MSU, he has been meeting with on- and off- campus constituencies and has been very visible around town and campus, and future weeks include several trips across the service region and the Commonwealth.

“You can already see his emphasis on enhancing recruitment, his knowledge of moving Morehead State towards the new state performance funding formula, and most importantly, his emphasis on students” says Shannon Harr, staff regent to the MSU board of regents.

In Dr. Morgan’s earliest days, he has emphasized “our people are important”, whether it is students, faculty, staff, or supporters, and says “we are going to harness the power of the people on our campus and in our region to drive the mission of MSU. MSU is the place to be for students from east Kentucky and surrounding areas, as we provide a great education, in a safe small town environment, and at an affordable price.”

(story provided by MSU Alumni Association)

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