By Joan C. McKinney, news and publications coordinator
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – Campbellsville University has employed Dr. Keith Spears, director of special programs with the West Virginia Department of Education and the Arts, as the new vice president for regional and professional education, according to an announcement from Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of the university.
Spears, who begins work April 13, will have the oversight of CU’s expanding off-campus centers and will assist in the development of new professional programs in conjunction with the other vice presidents, deans and faculty.
CU has off-campus offerings at the Louisville Campus, and in Elizabethtown, Somerset and the new Hodgenville site.
“We are very pleased to announce that Dr. H. Keith Spears has been named vice president for regional and professional education at Campbellsville University,” Carter said.
“Dr. Spears brings to this position a wealth of academic and professional experience and excellent qualifications to this new position.His professional achievements during his tenure at Marshall University are exemplary and reflect a commitment to excellence in all areas of his career.
“He is a committed Christian and will provide strong leadership to our plans to significantly expand our off-campus sites, help enhance our growth in Louisville, and lead our new sites in Hodgenville and Ft. Knox.Dr. Spears is a great addition to the Campbellsville University senior leadership team.”
“I am humbled, yet very pleased to be part of the Campbellsville University challengein expanding its regional service and professional programs,” Spears said.
“A firm foundation has been established bytheacademic collegesand theoff-campus staff.Itwill beexciting to build uponthis quality andcultivatenew programs andlocations with President Carter’s visionfor a university with a greater footprint, one that encompasses the entire region.”
“It is a pleasure to have an individual with the dedication, experience and professionalism of Keith Spears join the family of Campbellsville University,” Dr. Frank Cheatham, vice president for academics, said.
“He will provide a needed energy to move our off-site campuses to the next level. I look forward to working closely with Keith in his new role at CU.”
Spears’ office will be located at the Louisville Campus at 2300 Greene Way, Louisville. His phone number will be (502) 753-0264, ext. 228.
Spears has worked at the state capitol in Charleston, W. Va., since 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 has also been 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 have been 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 and his wife, Rita Kay Spears, adult student advisor at Marshall University, have two children: Eric Keith Spears, professor and director for international programs at Mercer University; Jason M. Spears, attorney and regional director for Air-Evac Medical Transport.
He is a deacon at Locust Grove Baptist Church, Route 75, Huntington.
Campbellsville University is a private, comprehensive institution located in South Central Kentucky. Founded in 1906, Campbellsville University is affiliated with the Kentucky Baptist Convention and has an enrollment of 2,601 students who represent 93 Kentucky counties, 27 states and 31 foreign nations. Listed in U.S.News & World Report’s 2009 “America’s Best Colleges,” CU is ranked 22nd in “Best Baccalaureate Colleges” in the South for the second consecutive year. CU has been ranked 16 consecutive years with U.S.News & World Report. The university has also been named to America’s Best Christian Colleges®. Campbellsville University is located 82 miles southwest of Lexington, Ky., and 80 miles southeast of Louisville, Ky. Dr. Michael V. Carter is in his tenth year as president.