EcoEKY: Green News from Eastern Kentucky

EKU's First Stewardship Forum Scheduled for Oct. 7 in Somerset

September 29, 2008

Eastern Kentucky University will host a forum in Somerset on Oct. 7 to assess community needs from the region and how the University’s newly created Office of Regional Stewardship can develop programs to help meet those needs.

The forum, from 6 to 8 p.m. at Somerset Community College in the Community Room, is free and open to the public. Regional leaders and community members from local counties, including Pulaski, Laurel, Wayne and McCreary, will have the opportunity to express what they consider to be concerns in the areas of education, environment, health, government and economics, including workforce development.

“We are looking forward to the participation of our service region community members in the Community Needs Assessment Forums that we are conducting,” said Bob Shadur, director of Regional Stewardship at EKU. “Our regional stewardship initiative is community driven, and input on the needs of each distinct community within our service region is the most important information that we can access before we work with communities to determine what types of programs and projects will be most successful in helping communities meet their needs.”

Additional forums have been scheduled in Stanford, Hazard, Irvine and Pineville.

The purpose of Eastern Kentucky University’s Office of Regional Stewardship is to assist the people located within EKU’s 22-county service region by:

• helping communities identify their needs in the areas of economic (including workforce) development, education, the environment, government, and health;

• helping communities identify the resources they have to meet their needs in each of those five areas;

• identifying EKU resources that can help communities meet their needs in each of the five areas; and

• “marrying” community and EKU resources in the design and implementation of programs and projects that will address communities’ needs in the five areas.

Those wishing to attend should RSVP to karrie.adkins@eku.edu or 859-622-6168.