Rotary Program: 2/25/04

Program Chairperson: Jerry Kanney

Speaker: Lula Bowling, Director of the Prestonsburg Campus of Morehead State University

Lula Bowling has accumulated over 20 years of experience in the development of her skills as an educator, counselor and administrator. She is a member of the Kentucky Crisis Response Team, the Kentucky Counselors Association, and the Advisory Board for MSU’s Prestonsburg Campus. Lula has been a part-time instructor in MSU’s Department of Leadership and Secondary Education since 1995. She received her Masters Degree and Rank I in Counseling as well as her Principalship Certification from MSU after earning her B.S. in Education from Berea College. Lula is now pursuing a Doctorate in Educational Administration from Marshall University. She has been a counselor for Mullins Elementary School and the Commonwealth Educational Opportunities Center as well as the Assistant Director of Upward Bound at Pikeville College and the owner/manager of her own private counseling business. Lula was also a former member of the Pikeville Rotary Club.

Lula began her address with a brief history of Morehead State University. According to her research, Lulas says that Morehead was at one time a dangerous and lawless part of the state as families and politicians fought for control and influence, which resulted in the infamous Rowan County war. This conflict is thought by many to be bloodiest in Kentucky’s history and that the Hatfield-McCoy feud pales in comparison. By the time it was all over, the state militia had to be called in and Rowan County was in danger of being dissolved altogether and divided by two other counties. Civic-minded citizens and religious leaders of the time saved the town and the county from dissolution by bringing in outside missionaries to hold a revival and begin a school. From this effort a teacher’s training institution was created which later became Morehead State University. From those humble beginnings many teachers in Pike and Floyd Counties now have earned Masters Degrees without leaving homes and jobs to live in Lexington, Louisville or Huntington. To assist teachers and counselors in getting their Masters Degrees mandated by state law within ten years of earning their bachelors degree to keep their teacher’s certification, Morehead began to offer classes at extended campuses like Pikeville College and Prestonsburg Community College. In 1991, MSU opened their Prestonsburg Center to offer direct instruction there for teachers from Pike and Floyd Counties and has now grown to an enrollment of nearly 1200 students. The Center offers Masters level degrees in Business Administration, Counseling, Principalship, and Education without competing with other institutions such as Pikeville College. In the next few weeks they will be moving into a brand new facility which is nearly 30,000 square feet of multi-purpose classrooms, offices, conference rooms and state-of-the-art computer labs. Lula ended her presentation with a question / answer session. Thanks, Lula for the very interesting program today! - J. Morgan Chapman