Looking out a window, his gaze fixed on the beauty around him, the professor sketched his surroundings – a simple drawing of the mountains etched with the Latin phrase “Prospiciam Ad Montes.” Borrowing from the wisdom of the Psalmist, “Prospiciam Ad Montes,” or “Look to the Mountains,” became the time-honored promise of an institution of higher learning that has served the youth of the mountains for more than a century.

The community is invited to join the University of Pikeville as we gather for Opening Convocation on Thursday, Aug. 30, at 11 a.m. in Booth Auditorium, Record Memorial Building. Professors will don their regalia for the traditional ceremony, welcoming students to campus and celebrating the start of a new academic year.

Civic leader and Pikeville Attorney Daniel P. Stratton, a longtime member of the University of Pikeville’s Board of Trustees, will deliver the convocation keynote address and be presented with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree.

Stratton has been active in the community for more than 30 years while enjoying careers in law, banking and business. He received his Bachelor of Arts degree with distinction from Eastern Kentucky University in 1975, and his Juris Doctorate degree from Chase College of Law in 1978. He also has completed the Graduate School of Banking at the University of Wisconsin.

He began his legal practice as a third generation member of his family’s firm. After practicing law four years, he was named general counsel of the then Citizens Bank of Pikeville, now U.S. Bank. A year later he became one of the youngest CEO’s in Kentucky banking history when he was named acting chief executive officer. What was to be a temporary assignment began a 16-year career during which he led a restructuring of the bank, which increased market share and improved profitability. He also became an advocate for expanding formal banking education to all bank employees and total quality management concepts. He helped establish the Young Bankers Division of the Kentucky Banker’s Association and was its second chairman. He served on the Board of Directors for the Kentucky Banker’s Association and the American Bankers Association Community Bank Council. He was a guest speaker at the 1994 ABA National Convention on the topic of “Employee Motivation.” Stratton was also past president of the Pike County Chamber of Commerce and a director of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce. 

After two bank mergers he returned to the practice of law with Stratton, Hogg & Maddox, P.S.C., where he practices civil litigation, business transactions and estate planning. He is a past president of the Pike County Bar Association and Kentucky Bar Foundation. He is also a past member of the Board of Governors of the Kentucky Bar Association, and a founding director and officer of Lawyer’s Mutual Insurance Company of Kentucky, a leading provider of malpractice insurance for small and medium size law firms in Kentucky.

Locally he has been active in numerous civic and charitable ventures. He has served as a board member for the Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville YMCA, Pikeville Rotary Club and the Pikeville United Methodist Church. He was the first chairman of the Pikeville High School Alumni Foundation, and he has served on numerous committees for the school system. He has served on the University of Pikeville’s Board of Trustees for 22 years and has been an officer and member of the executive committee for 20 years.

Stratton resides in Pikeville with his wife Muriel. They have three grown children, Matt, Adam and Rachel, and two grandchildren, Brian and Emily.