Dr. Gary Warford named Academic Completion Coordinator

A long-time coach, educator, leader and proud veteran is bringing his experience to Morehead State to increase student recruitment and retention.

MSU's Office of Retention & Academic Advising recently hired Dr. Gary Warford as an academic completion coordinator, a newly created position focused on student success, particularly for online students and adult learners.

"This role helps to ensure that MSU is optimizing the support we provide to our students by helping them navigate successful degree completion that is tailored to their aspirations, values, and needs," said Michelle Barber (Class of 2005, 2010), director of academic advising and retention. "The college experience for an adult and online learners may look different than that of a traditional college student, and our goal is to ensure we are attentive to these nuances."

Warford is a veteran of the U.S. Navy and the Kentucky Air National Guard who has served in various roles as an educator and higher education administrator. He was head women's soccer coach at the University of Pikeville from 2010 to 2021, before taking a position as the academic director of the Carl D. Perkins Job Corps Center in Prestonsburg.

Beginning in August 2022, he served in several roles at Southwest Virginia Community College, initially getting hired as their head men's and women's soccer coach before later transitioning to assistant director of athletics. He finished his tenure as director of athletics from September 2024 to October 2025 before taking on his current role at MSU.

Warford earned a Doctor of Education (Ed.D.) in Educational Leadership and Administration in 2020 from Northcentral University, where he conducted doctoral research on the barriers for adult and minority learners. He says his entire career has centered on helping students progress academically and personally. His knowledge, combined with his own firsthand experience as an adult online learner and his various roles in the military and higher education, has prepared him for the responsibilities of this new role.

"As I reviewed the role, I immediately saw how closely it aligned with my background in academic completion, advising, student support, and strategic retention work," Warford said. "My experiences supervising academic programs, teaching, designing retention frameworks, and working directly with adults online and international students made this position a natural fit with the direction MSU is taking."

Warford said this role will provide proactive, personalized support, enabling online and adult learners to stay engaged and complete their degrees. The academic completion coordinator will also:

• Provide consistent, proactive outreach
• Remove barriers early
• Offer personalized academic planning
• Strengthen communication across MSU departments
• Build a sense of belonging for students who may never visit campus

Warford said he has goals to increase retention and persistence from semester to semester and year to year. He also wants to provide outreach to all MSU online and adult learners, establish clear degree completion pathways, and maintain effective communication on campus while identifying financial, academic, and personal barriers early for students before they impact their progress.

In this new role, Warford is looking forward to making a positive impact for Morehead State and its mission.

"From the phone interview to the on-campus interview and my time speaking with faculty and staff, and students, Morehead State simply felt like the perfect fit for me. The mission, the people, and the authentic commitment to serving students all resonated with who I am as an educator and leader," he said. "This role aligns with my passion for helping adult and online learners succeed, and MSU's approach to access and student support matches the work I've spent my entire career doing. It's the kind of environment where I feel I can genuinely make a difference."

For additional information about Academic Advising, email aare@moreheadstate.edu or call 606-783-2084.

To learn about how to earn your degree online at Morehead State, visit MSU Online at www.moreheadstate.edu/online.