Support from Columbia-Adair County Key to Lindsey Wilson University's Success, President Luckey Says

'Adair County and Columbia, Kentucky, are also Lindsey Wilson's greatest assets.'

by Duane Bonifer

COLUMBIA, Ky. (12/17/2025) — Strong local support has been key in propelling Lindsey Wilson University's extraordinary success throughout this century.

That was one of the messages Lindsey Wilson President William T. Luckey Jr. delivered Tuesday, Dec. 16, to members of the Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce.

"Sometimes people will stop me and they will oftentimes say, 'You know, Bill, I think Lindsey Wilson is Adair County's greatest asset,'" Luckey told Chamber members at their monthly meeting, held at the university's Roberta D. Cranmer Dining & Conference Center. "And while I certainly appreciate that, I think the reverse is also true -- that Adair County and Columbia, Kentucky, are also Lindsey Wilson's greatest assets."

Those assets have played a big part in helping the university achieve several of its recent milestones, most recently when Lindsey Wilson College became Lindsey Wilson University on July 1.

Earlier this month, Lindsey Wilson graduated its largest winter class when it awarded 974 diplomas. Combined with spring commencement, Lindsey Wilson awarded a record 1,864 degrees in the 2025 calendar year.

"This is certainly a very challenging time for higher education with a demographic cliff approaching and the value of higher education being questioned openly," said Luckey, who has been Lindsey Wilson's eighth president since 1998. "I understand that a college degree can be expensive. In fact, the only thing I know that's more expensive is not having a degree at all."

'A remarkable transformation'

Lindsey Wilson enrolled 3,298 students this school year, which includes students from 44 states and 49 countries. According to a 2021-22 study, that translates into at least a $91 million annual impact on the Columbia-Adair County economy, but, as Luckey noted, that data is nearly four years old. Since the study was conducted, Lindsey Wilson's enrollment has grown by 610 students, and its budget has expanded by $10 million.

"We have experienced a remarkable transformation over the last two decades," said Luckey, who is the longest serving college or university president in Kentucky.

But even more impressive than the university's growth is the quality of the education its students receive.

"What's far more subtle, and in fact much more important, are the dramatic changes in the quality of our faculty and staff, and how that is transforming the student experience and the quality of our graduates," said Luckey.

Academic, student successes

Recent academic successes Luckey cited included the university's teacher-education program being reaffirmed without any recommendations; all nursing majors who graduated from LWU's award-winning program in 2024 passed the National Council Licensure Examination, the nationwide examination for the licensing of nurses in the United States; students in the School of Business and Communication recently won a national marketing competition; and the LWU School of Professional Counseling, which received a $2.1 million federal grant to address mental health needs in West Virginia and the Appalachian region of Kentucky, is a national leader in counselor education.

On a micro level, Luckey pointed to more than a dozen area residents who recently graduated from Lindsey Wilson, then earned advanced degrees in health sciences professions. Many returned to the area to serve as doctors, dentists, chiropractors and pharmacists.

While Luckey said that "today we find a very different Lindsey Wilson" from the one he first encountered in 1983, one thing that has remained consistent for more than four decades is the school's focus on students.

"It was a magical place, and a place committed to the success of its students," Luckey said about his first year at the school. "I fell in love with Lindsey from the very first moment I arrived on campus, and that love and admiration have only grown exponentially."

Equally important is the local support the university has received over the years.

"It's the greatness and the authenticity of the people who live here," said Luckey. "There's something special, some secret sauce that just makes you fall in love with this community."

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