Salisbury Receives Distinguished Alumnus Award

Published on May 9, 2017

At the ACTC Graduation Ceremony on May 5, Frank Salisbury, retired ACTC Director of Development, received the Distinguished Alumnus Award in recognition of his history of service to the college and community.

Frank E. Salisbury, an Ashland native, has had two successful careers in the area. He completed 31 years at Kentucky Power in supervisory and economic development positions and then served 12 Years at ACTC in advancement positions.

He graduated from Boyd County High School and attended Ashland Community College, an ACTC predecessor, from 1965 to 1967. He transferred to the University of Kentucky (UK) for a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration. He later completed economic development and management institute programs from the University of Oklahoma and UK.

At Kentucky Power, Salisbury served in several marketing, human resources and management positions before becoming an Economic Development Specialist in 1996. He was an Economic Development Executive when he retired in 2001.

Salisbury started at the college in January 2002 as the Director of Advancement. During his tenure as ACTC, Salisbury was a member of the Community and Technical College Foundation of Ashland, Inc. board of directors.

He led the first major gift campaign for the college that had just been consolidated as ACTC under the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. The Fulfilling the Promise (FTP) Campaign raised over $5 million, $2 million over the goal. One of the highlights of the campaign was the building of the Guy and Lisa Spriggs Child Development Center.

Salisbury served on multiple local and state agencies, never failing to credit the value of ACC in both his academic and career accomplishments.

He was a president and board member of the Kentucky Industrial Development Council and the Ashland Area YMCA. He was on the Board of Directors of the Boyd-Greenup County United Way and a participant in the Ashland Business Boosters. He served as Vice Chairman on the Board of Directors at Prestonsburg Community College and was a member of the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors.

Also receiving a Distinguished Alumnus Award was Dr. Larry Ferguson. Ferguson, an Ashland native, was the keynote speaker at graduation. He is the Vice President for Resource Development for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. His responsibilities include overseeing advancement, grants, contracts and alumni affairs and serving as the executive director of the KCTCS Foundation.

Ferguson has more than 20 years of workforce training experience in both the private sector and higher education. He has been engaged in workforce development for multiple industry sectors including manufacturing, financial services, information technology, and healthcare. He also has significant experience in economic development at both the local and state levels.

Ferguson graduated from Boyd County High School in 1986 and from Ashland Community College, an ACTC Predecessor, in 1991. At ACC, he earned an associate degree with a focus on communications. He went on to earn a Bachelor of Science degree in organizational leadership and a Master of Science Degree in strategic leadership from Mountain State University. His Doctorate in Educational Leadership is from Trident University.