Dr. George M. Luckey, Jr.

Dr. Luckey taught for more than 40 years as a professor of philosophy at Morehead State University, where he was recipient of the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award. During this tenure, he made 50 professional presentations and was a featured speaker at many international and national conferences, as well as numerous regional and state association meetings.

He led 40 critical thinking workshops for public school teachers and college faculty in more than 20 states. Dr. Luckey died on September 15, 2020. The members of the Honors Program, past and present, will be planting a Blue Spruce tree and placing a memorial plaque in tribute to his memory.

Dr. Luckey was married to Sue Y. Luckey, a former department chair in MSU’s Elmer R. Smith College of Business and Technology and special assistant to MSU President Ronald G. Eaglin. They received their Ph.D. degrees from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale and were awarded honorary Doctor of Public Service degrees from Morehead State University in 2008. In retirement, George and Sue continued their academic interests by writing and editing the College Portfolio for Success, a textbook for freshman seminars.

When asked what he would tell the Honors students entering the program now, Luckey said, “Change is inevitable. Look for opportunities to grow. You’re at least partially creating yourself with each new thought and new decision and new day. While there may be a permanent core in you, called 'soul' or 'self', university education is about adding something to what you already are. After a year or two at MSU, if you can't say 'when I came here I believed X, now I realize there are other ways of looking at it,' then Honors and MSU will have failed you."