EKU EAST REGION FOCUSES ON LEADERSHIP IN APPALACHIA
The 48,000-square-foot campus is home to several organizations dedicated to bettering the region, such as Leadership East Kentucky (LEK), which has been located at the Manchester Campus since mid-2014. The campus also regularly hosts meetings for Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), having welcomed their second SOAR board meeting in March 2017.
LEK is devoted to regional leadership training and development, growing leaders who will in turn improve their communities. Each year LEK, which is headed by EKU East Regional Director Terry Gray, recruits its leadership class from throughout East Kentucky and from diverse work areas such as business and industry, education, government, non-profits, healthcare and economic development.
“The 2017 LEK class allowed me increase my knowledge, expertise and experience in order to contribute to the growth of my community,” said attendee Janet Jackson, director of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act for the Bell-Whitley Community Action Agency.
“My objectives for participating in LEK were to increase my network of individuals who have the same vision for their communities, while increasing my knowledge of what has been successful in surrounding Eastern Kentucky counties that are similar to mine,” she said. “LEK exceeded my expectation and I have not only increased my network with viable leaders, I have enriched my life with a new group of friends.”
The group’s 19th year of programming began in the summer of 2017. Every month, the group’s participants take part in interactive, community-focused sessions or receive on-site skills training in topics such as community development, collaboration, working in teams, asset-based planning, and visioning.
This program plays a vital role in developing educated leaders who are poised to shape the future of eastern Kentucky. As a host site for Appalachian development initiatives, EKU Manchester provides an excellent venue for both small meetings and large conferences.
In early 2017, the campus hosted the regular board meeting for SOAR. Both the EKU Manchester and the EKU Corbin Campuses are designated SOAR Regional Workspaces. In that capacity, both sites can accommodate SOAR’s need for meeting space that allows stakeholders throughout Appalachia to work alongside SOAR leaders, community members and business and industry owners.
In all, EKU’s East Region campuses go beyond just preparing students to make a difference in their communities – they are actively involved in improving job creation, regional opportunities, innovation, identity and quality of life.
Learn more at regionalcampuses.eku.edu/eku-east-region
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Published on July 09, 2018