RICHMOND, Ky. — It's that time of year all around Kentucky. Thousands of college students, professors and staff are returning to college campuses for a new academic school year.

Eastern Kentucky University is one of the first schools in the Commonwealth to return to campus for the fall semester.

David T. McFaddin is leading the charge as the 14th president of EKU. He was selected as the interim president in December 2019 and then was unanimously appointed president by the Board of Regents in August of 2020. McFaddin is now the third graduate of EKU to become president and said he is excited for the return of students and faculty to EKU's Richmond, Manchester and Corbin campuses.

"We're excited to have the students back here on campus this fall. We kicked off with our 'Big E' welcome, welcoming about 2,600 Freshmen here to here to campus. So for the first time we've been up year, over year in our freshman class in the last six years, so we're seeing strong enrollments in state and in the service region. We're really excited about the opportunities that are ahead as we kind of navigate some of the challenges out of the gate, but looking forward to an exceptional semester for our students," said McFaddin.

Keeping students and staff on EKU's campus safe is a top priority for school officials, especially as concerns about COVID-19 and the delta variant continue to grow.

"We've been working closely with the Council on Postsecondary Education and our fellow public institutions across the state. We've all instituted an indoor mask mandate for the start of the semester, so here on campus at EKU, if you're indoors, we're requiring a mask. We're encouraging, educating and providing opportunities for vaccinations. We're currently doing pop ups every couple of weeks to help students have the opportunity to get those vaccinations. And then, you know, we're talking about good hygiene, making good decisions. If you don't feel well, obviously don't come to campus. We had a really favorable experience last year. We had students here on campus living on campus, going to class. We know that the masks and the way that we manage that, provided us an opportunity to have zero cases of transmission in a classroom or a university structured event. So you know, today we have a better playbook than we had a year ago, but we're taking this very seriously and we know that the solution to this problem for us is making sure that we educate providers with opportunities for vaccinations," explained McFaddin.

Campus officials also added that current students will have many opportunities to enjoy a wide range of activities including live music to fun athletic events.