Campus News

The University of Pikeville Academic and Cultural Enrichment (ACE) program has created an initiative to provide leadership training opportunities to ACE participants.

The LEADS program exemplifies Leadership, Engagement, Achievement, Development and Service and exposes students to leadership-based experiences that help them succeed in their life and future careers.

These experiences enable students to become leaders in their institution and communities, as well as instill a sense of belonging and build valuable interview skills, character and self-esteem.

Academic Coordinator for the ACE Program Shena Shepherd says LEADS is vitally important in having an at-risk student population succeed.

“The LEADS program has had a wonderful impact on our students and has given them the chance to become involved on campus as well as in the community,” said Shepherd. “As a result, students are more prepared to enter the workforce and become future leaders.”

Together, Giving Tuesday is no ordinary Tuesday; it’s a movement.

Giving Tuesday began in 2012 as a way to give back and do good on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving. Today, it has grown into a global initiative that celebrates acts of generosity.

In 2019, UPIKE launched its first Giving Tuesday Challenge. The UPIKE community was challenged to give online to support a college, athletic team or club/organization of their choosing. The area with the most money raised at the end of Giving Tuesday received an additional $1,500 donation. The winner of the inaugural challenge was the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine’s Alumni Association.

In total, $12,534 was raised to support the future entrepreneurs, physicians, teachers and leaders of Central Appalachia and beyond. Thank you to everyone who donated on Giving Tuesday.

The Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine (KYCOM) continues its commitment to UPIKE’s student-athletes by providing free pre-participation physicals to players from a multitude of sports.

Nearly 200 UPIKE student-athletes took advantage of this service in the 2019-2020 academic year.

Not only is this practice beneficial for the student-athletes who need the required medical clearance to participate, but this is also a great learning experience for UPIKE’s osteopathic medical students, giving them the opportunity to get clinical experience and practice their skills.

“By providing sports physicals for UPIKE student-athletes, our KYCOM students get additional valuable hands-on experience working with real patients,” said Dana C. Shaffer, D.O., FACOFP, dist., FAOGME, dean of KYCOM. “It also brings undergraduate students into the medical school to interact with our students, faculty and family medicine residents.”

UPIKE’s athletic department is appreciative of the service and Head Athletic Trainer Emily Atkinson looks forward to continuing a partnership with KYCOM, well into the future.

“The partnership that we have developed with KYCOM is one of a kind,” said Atkinson. “I believe that since we have the resources on campus to provide top-notch healthcare for our athletes while providing another learning experience for our KYCOM students, is a win for both groups.”

The University of Pikeville Cheerleading program has set the standard in forming a new tradition of winning championships. UPIKE Cheer won its fourth Mid-South Conference Championship (2013, 2014, 2016, 2020) and won third place in the nation at the UCA National Championship in 2020.

UPIKE Cheer Coach Jeannie Stone is committed to building a strong, supportive and competitive cheer program at the university that will make the community of Pikeville proud and highlight the commitment of its student-athletes.

“This team worked hard from the very beginning, set high goals for themselves individually, and as a team, and pushed one another to improve daily,” said Stone. “Their attitude, along with exceptional persistence to never give up just because skills became difficult, allowed them to exceed even their expectations.”

The University of Pikeville and the Pikeville Area Family YMCA agreed to work in partnership to launch its men’s and women’s swimming programs as its 23 rd and 24 th intercollegiate sports offered at the university.

UPIKE swim teams will utilize the new community pool to serve as the program’s primary facility. The amenities include a six-lane, 25-yard indoor pool that is part of a 16,000 square foot expansion of the YMCA.

UPIKE welcomed its first-ever Head Swimming Coach Casey Wendall, who also serves as the aquatics director for the YMCA.

UPIKE Athletic Director Kelly Wells is thrilled to be adding men’s and women’s swimming as a part of UPIKE athletics.

“We are really excited to be bringing Casey aboard with UPIKE,” Wells said. “She shares an incredible vision for our new program, brings plenty of coaching experience across multiple levels of collegiate athletics, and possesses an incredible drive for bettering the lives of her student-athletes.”