July 29, 2016
For Immediate Release
By Joan C. McKinney, coordinating director
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University has named Dr. Keith Spears as the new vice president for communication and assistant to the president, according to an announcement from Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of the university.
“We are very pleased to announce that Dr. H. Keith Spears, who has been our graduate and professional studies vice president, is willing to step up to broader supervision and assuming new duties as the new vice president for communication and my assistant in the President’s Office,” Carter said.
Spears came to Campbellsville University in 2009. He has been located at the Louisville Education Center; his new office will be in the president’s suite on the main campus.
Spears will be handling the general marketing for the university and regional centers including Louisville, Hodgenville, Harrodsburg and Somerset. He also oversees the Offices of Broadcast Services, University Communications and International Education.
“Dr. Spears brings to this position a wealth of academic and professional experience and excellent qualifications. His professional achievements during his tenure at Marshall University are exemplary and reflect a commitment to excellence in all areas of his career,” Carter said.
“He is a committed Christian and will provide strong leadership as CU enters a new era of growth. Dr. Spears has brought entrepreneurial ideas and will bring new initiatives for the Campbellsville University senior leadership team,” Carter said.
Spears worked at the state capitol in Charleston, W.Va., immediately preceding his appointment at Campbellsville University, from 2005 to 2007.
From 1997 to 2007, he was vice president for institutional advancement/communications and marketing and assistant to the president at Marshall University. While there, he co-led a $100 million capital campaign and served as chief consultant for the Warner Brothers movie, “We Are Marshall.”
He was dean/director of adult and extended education at Marshall University from 1991 to 1997 where he developed university distance learning and regional centers.
He was chairman of the Department of Speech at Marshall from 1989 to 1991. He was also employed as general manager of the Instructional Television Series at Marshall from 1985 to 1989 and as assistant professor of the Department of Speech, and also faculty manager for WMUL-FM at Marshall from 1979 to 1985.
Spears has an Ed.D. degree in higher education administration from West Virginia University; a master of arts in communication arts from Marshall University; a master of arts in educational broadcasting from Central Michigan University; and a bachelor of arts degree in biological science from Marshall.
He attended Harvard University’s Institute in Lifelong Education for post-doctorate work and the Strategic Leadership for Executives at Duke University.
Spears has had an extensive list of presentations, television documentaries and newspaper columns produced on a wide multiplicity of educational topics.
Spears owned and operated a communications/public affairs/marketing company for 10 years and also owned and operated amusement parks in West Virginia and Indiana. He has developed and “put on the air” five FM radio stations.
He and his wife, Rita Kay Spears, adult student advisor at Marshall University, have two children: Eric Keith Spears, professor and associate vice president for international programs at Georgia College and State University; and Jason M. Spears, attorney and newly elected family court judge in Cabell County, W.Va.
Spears is a deacon at Locust Grove Baptist Church, Route 75, Huntington, W.Va.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 3,500 students offering over 80 programs of study including 24 master’s degrees, seven postgraduate areas and eight pre-professional programs. The website for complete information is campbellsville.edu.