Center for Public Service
Armington 427
publicservice@upike.edu
(606) 218-4493

Truth • Justice • Duty

Professor Dr. Tyler Syck discussing What is Wrong with Politics at a Constitution Day event

The University of Pikeville Center for Public Service is dedicated to serving Appalachia by creating a new generation of leaders steeped in the values of the American political tradition – liberty, equality, pluralism, the rule of law – and by utilizing scholarship to address the problems that confront our home.

“Oasis of Excellence”

– American Council of Trustees and Alumni

Since its foundation in 1889, the University of Pikeville has been dedicated to serving the place we call home through its religious mission, through the formation of a vibrant workforce and through the preservation of Eastern Kentucky’s unique cultural heritage. The Center for Public Service builds upon this mission by revitalizing Appalachia’s often neglected tradition of self-government. 

More than anything else, Appalachia needs leaders. People who step up and start businesses and who help promote Appalachian culture and advocate for the region in politics and the media. Yet, leadership goes well beyond addressing economic and political struggles. True leadership inspires, promotes and uplifts those who are being led. True leadership provides meaning and purpose to those who may be missing such necessary personal foundations. 

In short, we need individuals who stand up with pride and purpose to boldly show the world the very best of the Appalachian spirit. To prove that this region possesses a culture worthy of preservation and respect. Nothing could be more important to Appalachia’s future than cultivating and platforming leaders in every industry and vocation in the region. 

This is exactly what the University of Pikeville’s Center for Public Service is all about. We want to build a new generation of leaders who can uplift the region we call home. We also want to ensure that the University can serve as a leader in addressing the unique challenges that confront Appalachia. For as Christ said, hours before his death:

“Whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave to all.”

This is the spirit we embody – training students to lead through service and leading by example in our commitment to Appalachia’s renewal.

  • Constitution Day
    • The Center for Public Service hosts an annual Constitution Day event. This event invites students from high schools across Central Appalachia and educates them in the principles of self-government. Students participate in a series of group activities and attend a public lecture.
  • School Outreach
    • The Center for Public Service sends representatives to visit schools located in Central Appalachia. During these visits, the professors and UPIKE students discuss and instruct the students about the values of the American political tradition and how to be more engaged in their own community.
  • Public Service Book Club
    • The Center for Public Service hosts a biannual book club where participants learn about the values necessary for democratic citizenship. The fall 2025 book is Darkwater by W.E.B DuBois.
  • Political Science Minor
    • The University of Pikeville’s political science minor is designed to ensure that students from diverse academic backgrounds can cultivate the skills of thoughtful citizenship and principled leadership. By making the study of politics accessible across disciplines, the Center affirms that civic leadership is a calling open to anyone willing to serve their community with wisdom and integrity.
  • Political and Civic Engagement Certificate
  • Allegheny Civic Fellowship
    • The Allegheny Civic Fellowship is a selective, three-week summer seminar for rising high school students interested in leadership and civic engagement. Co-founded by Yale undergraduates and hosted by UPIKE’s Center for Public Service, the Fellowship strengthens students’ academic writing and critical thinking skills through close readings of foundational texts and discussions of democracy, justice and American ideals. Students engage with traditions that shaped American democracy through small-group seminars, interactive debates, writing labs and guest speakers.
  • Civic Educators Fellowship
    • The Civic Educators Fellowship brings together fifty social studies teachers annually for intensive seminars designed to strengthen civics education across Central Appalachia. Funded by the United States Department of Education, the Fellowship equips educators with tools and resources to reinvigorate civic learning through deep engagement with America’s founding documents—including the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Mayflower Compact—while exploring timeless themes like liberty, equality and constitutionalism.

If you are interested in any of our initiatives within the program or partnering on a new initiative, please email publicservice@upike.edu.

Theresa Dawhare
Education

Brittany Goetting
Social Science

Gregory Green
Business

Marissa Greer
Vice President of Academic Affairs

Cody Jarman
Humanities

Rob Musick
Student Services

Jessica Slade
Science

Jeffery Tyler Syck
Director

Jeffery Tyler Syck, Ph.D.

Director
(606) 218-4493

Jeffery Tyler Syck is an Assistant Professor of Political Science and the founding director of the Center for Public Service at the University of Pikeville.

A scholar of American political thought, Professor Syck’s broader research focuses on the moral and civic foundations of American democracy with particular attention to the classical republican tradition and the Jacksonian era. He is the author and editor of the forthcoming book A Republic of Virtue: The Political Essays of John Quincy Adams. In addition, he has authored over fifty articles, essays, reviews and opinion editorials that have appeared in a variety of well regarded public facing venues, including Law & Liberty, Persuasion, Pietas, The Dispatch and the Kentucky Lantern. Professor Syck also serves as a contributing editor at Providence: A Journal of Christianity & American Foreign Policy. In 2024, the Ciceronian Society honored his research on Daniel Patrick Moynihan with the William G. Batchelder III award for the study of place, and he has held fellowships with the Jack Miller Center, Liberty Fund and the University of Virginia’s Karsh Institute for Democracy.

Professor Syck received a PhD and MA in government from the University of Virginia. He is a native of Pike County Kentucky.