Morehead State University continues with campus revitalization projects

MOREHEAD, Ky. (FOX 56) — Morehead State University (MSU) is undergoing several construction projects on its campus.

The changes to the school are part of a multi-year plan to propel the university into the future.

MSU President Dr. Jay Morgan said these projects will help make “a generation leap with our facilities that students can enjoy for years to come.”

These projects began in 2022 when the school was awarded funding for a new science and engineering building and then, not long after, funding for a new dorm building.

The university is also working on redesigning multiple other buildings on campus, a total investment of well over $200 million.

The funding administrators are using this as a rare opportunity to improve life on campus and propel the school into the future.

“The buzz is excitement,” said Kim Oatman, chief facilities officer at MSU. “I talked to students about the student action. We get students involved with the design of these things. So, they’ve been involved. They’re excited. As I’ve said, you know, a lot of our facilities, the average age of our classrooms, buildings on campus, 65 years old. So, there’s challenges with that. We’ve actually done great with what we have, but now we’re able to not jump to a better level.”

A few of the projects are already in the construction phase, while others are in the design phase.

The school hopes to have the bulk of the work on all the construction done by the start of the 2026-2027 school year.

It’s about a 10-minute walk from Morehead’s City Hall to MSU’s campus. It’s an even shorter walk from Main Street to campus.

This allows the school to have a close relationship with the city, but the proximity can make it hard for the university to expand.

As the school undergoes all the projects, there is only so much space available, and the university has to build new buildings.

In addition to buying some land around campus, the school is tearing down several old buildings and replacing them with new ones.

Oatman said it’s been all about construction management—people who are a part of the process every step of the way who will be able to make sure everything stays on course.

“We’re creating new green spaces and different places where we’re realigning different roadway streets, and of course, building new facilities,” Oatman detailed. “We’ve been really, really involved with the city of Morehead, and actually the Rowan County Fiscal Court has been involved in a lot of these projects.”

During MSU’s spring break last week, construction crews worked on rerouting a major electrical line that runs through campus as it would fall right under one of the build sites, and they didn’t want to shut down power while students were on campus to build.