Office of the Provost awarded $1.5 million Department of Energy grant

MURRAY, Ky. – Murray State University’s Office of the Provost was recently awarded a $1.5 million grant by the Department of Energy (DOE) from May 1, 2024 to Sept. 30, 2028 to support the efficient and effective work consistent with the environmental cleanup and beneficial reuse of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site.

The project goal is to develop information that the DOE’s Portsmouth/Paducah Project Office (PPPO), its contractors and the public can use in decision-making for the environmental cleanup, beneficial reuse and public outreach at the Paducah site.

“The Murray State University/Department of Energy grant allows collaborative work with industry, community, K-12 and postsecondary education for connected study involving reuse of the land at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion site,” said Murray State Associate Provost Dr. Renee Fister. “We are grateful to learn more from the community, build partnerships for successful training and outreach, perform research and scholarship projects involving high school and college students and work to make a difference in workforce initiatives in this important area of our Commonwealth.”

The project will focus on site repurposing, STEM activities in local high schools and public outreach as well as scholarship and creative activities for faculty and students.

“This grant will enable Murray State University to continue to serve the Jackson Purchase region, particularly Paducah-McCracken County, by providing public outreach, site repurposing assistance and educational programs regarding the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Site,” said Murray State Executive Director of Government and Institutional Relations Jordan Smith. “It's particularly appealing that we will be collaborating with our top-tier high schools in the region on the educational program piece of this grant. We are very grateful that the Department of Energy has afforded us this opportunity to continue collaboration efforts and work within our community.”

Site repurposing feeds into the end-state configuration for the site, and is expected to expedite real property transfer for future repurposing of the site, resulting in reducing the PPPO-managed footprint at Paducah. The Paducah site has been an important economic driver in western Kentucky for many decades, impacting the region’s socio-economic profile. As the Paducah site undergoes environmental remediation and decontamination and decommissioning, it is expected that the Paducah site will further impact the region’s socio-economic profile, as well as growth opportunities. The extent to which decision-makers can minimize transitional stress and maximize the economic prospects for the area hinges greatly upon the cleanup and transfer of the Paducah site and site assets for other economic use.

The project will also utilize the Paducah site as a learning opportunity to promote careers in STEM disciplines to local high school students. After the hiring of the project director in Summer 2024, the work to connect with locals will ensue. Public outreach faculty/staff members at Murray State will assist with focus of STEM activities and interactions with local high school teachers and administrators.

The project’s final focus will be on public outreach, including an update to “Community Visions for the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant Site,” a report finalized in September 2011 by the Kentucky Research Consortium for Energy and Environment. The process implemented in the study provided insights into a range of perspectives and community preferences related to the future use of the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant site and surrounding DOE-owned properties. This step will involve several public meetings, workshops and training sessions. The updated report is expected to be available by March 31, 2026.

“We are very grateful to the Department of Energy for this grant, which will provide impactful opportunities on multiple levels such as student research and scholarship, as well as a deepening of our community and regional partnerships,” Murray State President Dr. Bob Jackson said. “Murray State University’s work in these areas is vitally important. We look forward to this collaboration in the months and years to come to assist Paducah and McCracken County, as well as the Jackson Purchase region.”