Ronald and Patty Griffith Scholarship Endowment established

The Morehead State University Foundation has announced the establishment of the Ronald and Patty Griffith Scholarship Endowment. This endowment will provide scholarships to incoming students at Morehead State University, with preference given to Pike County residents.  

The Griffiths have always been supporters of higher education, with Ronald “Ron” Griffith (65) dedicating his career to the field. To Ron, his time at MSU helped shape his entire future. He credits the late Dr. C. Nelson Grote, MSU president emeritus, and several other faculty mentors for his successful career. As a student, Ron studied industrial arts and served as the president of the Industrial Arts Club. He went on to complete both a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Arts at MSU, known at the time as Morehead State College.

Following graduation, Ron began working in Helena, Arkansas, where he helped found the first community college in the area and served there as the director of vocational education. Later, he took a position at Florida Junior College in Jacksonville, Florida, and later at Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Michigan, where he worked for 32 years. At Schoolcraft College, he maintained his MSU connection with Dr. Grote, working together there for several years before Grote returned to MSU to become its 11th president. Ron retired in 2003 as the assistant vice president of instruction.

Patty also attended Morehead State and dedicated her life to education, serving as an instructor for the Early Childhood Education Center at Schoolcraft College, where she helped train preschool teachers. She focused much of her attention on raising the couple’s two daughters and being a grandmother to three grandsons.  

In retirement, the Griffiths have enjoyed volunteer work at their local church and food pantry in Bardstown. Ron also serves as a member of the MSU Foundation’s Board of Trustees.  

To honor the establishment of their endowment, the library in the newly renovated Adron Doran University Center has been named the Ron and Patty Griffith Alumni Library. The couple hopes that their scholarship can help students from Eastern Kentucky for years to come.  

“It was difficult enough to get out of Eastern Kentucky and go to college in the 1960s and it is still a challenge for students today. I have a soft spot for Eastern Kentucky, and especially for Morehead,” Ron said. “So many students in Eastern Kentucky struggle and many of them think college is way out of their reach. That is why we created this endowment to help make college possible for future students.”

This scholarship endowment was established as part of the Soar to New Heights Scholarship Campaign. For more information on this scholarship, or to establish one, contact MSU’s Office of Alumni Relations and Development at 606-783-2033, email giving@moreheadstate.edu or visit alumni.moreheadstate.edu/give.

To read more stories like this, please read Statement magazine at msustatement.com.