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By
Dan Adkins
UK
President Lee T. Todd Jr., at right, tosses a shovelful
of sand marking the groundbreaking for the Morgan
County Regional Technology Center. Also shown are
Morehead State University President Ron Eaglin, left
of Todd, Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards and
state New Economy Commissioner Bill Brundage.
The $4.4 million,
45,000-square-foot building will provide facilities for business
teleconferencing, access to a broad range of information via the Internet and
training for teachers in the use of technology.
UK
President Lee T. Todd talks with Morgan County High
School students.
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Oct. 25, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) --
University of Kentucky
President Lee T. Todd Jr. joined Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards in a
groundbreaking today for the Morgan County Regional Technology Center, a facility designed to open new economic opportunities for
an 11-county region of Eastern
Kentucky.
The $4.4 million,
45,000-square-foot building will provide facilities for business
teleconferencing, access to a broad range of information via the Internet and
training for teachers in the use of technology.
The
center will be built next to Morehead
State University’s satellite campus in West Liberty,
where students currently take a number of accredited
courses.
The
groundbreaking ceremony was attended by more than
100 school children from Morgan, Menifee, Elliott
and Wolfe counties.
"You
should lift your vision 15 to 20 degrees higher than
it already is. You can go farther than you think you
can," Todd told the school children.
Todd noted UK will operate the center, which will house a branch
office of Eastern Kentucky University’s Innovation Enterprise Center. That office is part of the Kentucky Office of the New
Economy’s effort to stimulate entrepreneurial activity across the state.
UK also will offer information technology and help desk
support for the center, along with workshops and other activities for
high-school teachers and students in the region. The university also will
develop a “visualization center” in the facility to promote the teaching of
math and science courses in a technology-enriched environment.
Todd
said UK’s Cooperative
Extension Service currently is exploring ways
it can use the center to distribute a broad range
of business, health, agricultural and other research
materials to Eastern Kentuckians.
Richards
said the project resulted from the vision, determination,
cooperation and leadership displayed by many local
government and community leaders, including Morgan
County Judge-Executive Sid Stewart, and area state
representatives John Will Stacy and Rocky Adkins.
"These
two buildings (the Technology Center and the Morehead
State satellite campus) sitting on a hill are a beacon,
and symbolize wonderful opportunities for (Eastern
Kentucky's) young people," Richards said.
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