Mt. Sterling deserves extra credit for having the foresight in 2003 to ask for a college campus.

Today, the Clay Community Center has grown to become home to Morehead State University at Mt. Sterling, the fastest growing regional campus of five under the Morehead State umbrella. The Mt. Sterling campus, with 550-600 students enrolled each semester, has the largest enrollment of any of the college's satellite locations.

“Most of our students are considered adult, with the federal definition for adult students being 25 years old and above,” says Janet Kenney, director of Morehead State University at Mt. Sterling. “A smaller but growing sector of our students are younger, and most of them will eventually transition to Morehead State's main campus 35 miles away. A lot of those students take their first semester or first year of college in Mt. Sterling so that they can live at home and save money on dorm room fees and gasoline for commuting.”

Many Degrees, Please

The Clay Community Center campus currently offers six degree programs, including an associate's in nursing, and bachelor's degrees in social work and communications.

“We also oversee a bachelor's degree in business administration that features most of the more advanced classes being offered online, but our campus has some of the basic introductory courses in classroom settings,” Kenney says.

Mt. Sterling offers associate's and bachelor's degrees in university studies and a master's in higher education. Students can also take a number of individual undergraduate courses and graduate distance-learning programs.

Workers Welcome

Morehead State University at Mt. Sterling also provides educational and training opportunities for people already in the workforce, enrolling students from Montgomery County as well Bath, Bourbon, Clark, Menifee, Nicholas and Powell counties.

“Mt. Sterling is a hub for industry, so many people from surrounding areas come here to work and then several of them also enroll in classes at our campus since they're already in town,” Kenney says. “As for our faculty, there are no faculty members permanently assigned in Mt. Sterling. Teachers and professors arrive here from Morehead State's main campus where they are adjunct professors. Many actually live in Lexington, so it's an easy commute to Mt. Sterling.”

More Curriculum Coming

As for the future, Kenney says the campus is planning to eventually offer an industrial engineering curriculum, and is considering a culinary arts program. A computer information systems program has recently been added to the curriculum.

“There's a lot going on around here, and things are only going to keep getting bigger and better," Kenney says.