Morehead State welcomes Kentucky historian and Professor Emeritus Dr. John Kleber for McBrayer Presidential Lecture Series

As part of its America 250 celebration and Constitution Week observance, Morehead State University will welcome noted Kentucky historian and former dean Dr. John Kleber for a special presentation on the Commonwealth's role in the nation's story.

The McBrayer Presidential Lecture Series welcomes Kleber at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Sept. 16, in Ballroom A on the third floor of the Adron Doran University Center. The event is free and open to the public.

A professor emeritus of history and retired dean of the Caudill College of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences at Morehead State, Kleber is one of the Commonwealth's most respected historians, as well as an acclaimed author, scholar, and editor of six books.

He earned a bachelor's degree from Bellarmine University and a master's degree and Ph.D. in history at the University of Kentucky, where he studied under renowned historian and Kentucky's Historian Laureate for Life, the late Dr. Thomas D. Clark.

After Kleber came to MSU as a history professor in 1968 at the age of 27, Clark reached out to him. He asked if he would edit what would become The Kentucky Encyclopedia for the state's bicentennial in 1992, leading to three years of research and travel across the state.

"While researching The Kentucky Encyclopedia, I became somewhat of a Kentucky historian," Kleber said. "The best part of that work was just traveling to these small communities, sitting down with people...I really came to appreciate Kentucky much more through that project."

In addition to being interim dean of the Caudill College, Kleber is particularly proud of his 15 years as director of MSU's academic honors program.

"I changed that program from two years to a four-year program," he said. "What the honors program is today is what I was able to envision and implement, and that is very important to me."

After retiring from MSU in 1996, Kleber began what he called the "second act of my life," spending two decades at the University of Louisville's McConnell Center for Political Leadership (now simply known as the McConnell Center). He recently retired from the nonpartisan Center as a senior fellow. During that time, he edited The Encyclopedia of Louisville and continued to enjoy teaching and connecting with promising students.

"My job was to take those 40 McConnell scholars and teach them about Kentucky," Kleber said. "I loved absolutely every minute of it."

His upcoming lecture at MSU will examine Kentucky's four constitutions as part of America 250 and the University's annual Constitution Week. He will also discuss the three branches of government, Kentucky's numerous counties, and explain why the state’s 135-year-old document remains unchanged.

Kleber said Kentucky has been a surprisingly consequential state in the story of America, serving as the first frontier west of the Appalachian Mountains, the first state created in the Western country and an important state during the Civil War, citing President Abraham Lincoln's quote when he said, "It's important to have God on my side, but I must have Kentucky."

As for Morehead State’s own history and development, Kleber believes that since its founding by Frank and Phebe Button in 1887, the "Light to the Mountains" has continued to shape the story and progress of the Commonwealth.

"When I look at Morehead (State) and its history and its presence today, I use the word 'stabilizing,'" he said. "It means 'firmly established,' and that's what the Buttons did. They firmly established this institution. And as we are stabilizing, we are also steady in purpose...therefore, our influence is lasting and enduring, not just in Appalachia, but everywhere."

To learn more about upcoming America 250, Constitution Week and other MSU events, visit https://www.moreheadstate.edu/about-msu/america-250.