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Following a national search, the Council on Postsecondary Education unanimously selected Dr. Aaron Thompson as its fourth president.
Thompson, who presently serves as the Council’s executive vice president and chief academic officer, will transition to his new responsibilities Nov. 1.
He is the first Kentucky native and African-American to hold the position since the Council was formed 21 years ago.
“We have greatly benefited at the state level by Aaron’s strategic leadership and statesmanship over the past decade. Time and time again, we have relied on Aaron as an essential advocate and leader across many fronts, including the critical areas of college opportunity and student success,” said Council Chair Sherrill Zimmerman.
“We are confident that he will be the innovative, dynamic and transformational leader that will benefit Kentucky higher education and our students,” added Zimmerman.
“I am humbled by the honor of being named the fourth president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education. I love Kentucky, and it has been my life’s mission to add to the Commonwealth’s prosperity through education,” said Thompson.
Thompson is passionate about sharing how education was a catalyst for his own success.
“As a native of Clay County, a son of an illiterate coal miner and a mother with only an eighth grade education, I am not only a first-generation college graduate, I am a first- generation high school graduate. Now, I am immensely fortunate to have an opportunity to represent that great opportunity to all citizens of Kentucky,” he said.
“I want to thank the Council, staff and leadership for this show of confidence,” Thompson added.
Thompson came to the Council in 2009 from Eastern Kentucky University (EKU), where he held a variety of academic leadership positions and was a tenured professor in the department of educational leadership and policy studies. In May 2016, he left the Council for more than a year to serve as interim president for Kentucky State University.
As a nationally respected leader, he has served on more than 50 state and national boards and committees. He currently is board chair for the National Council on Community and Education Partnerships and serves on the Quality Assurance Commons for Higher and Postsecondary Education Advisory Board. He also serves on the corporate board for Baptist Health Care and is the chair of the Committee of Governance Effectiveness.
At the state level, Thompson serves on the Kentucky Workforce Innovation Board (KWIB), KWIB Employer Engagement Committee and KWIB Education Attainment and Completion Committee, the Charter Schools Advisory Committee, the Kentucky Humanities Council, the Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board, and the Citizens Action Committee for the Destruction of Chemical Weapons, among others.
Thompson earned a Bachelor of Arts in political science and sociology from Eastern Kentucky University, a master’s degree in sociology and a doctorate in sociology, both from the University of Kentucky.
Thompson will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Robert L. King, who served as president for nearly 10 years.
AGB Search conducted the national search.
Council will negotiate a final contract at its next meeting set Nov. 15-16.
For more information on the search process, and to view Dr. Thompson’s curriculum vitae, visit: http://cpe.ky.gov/aboutus/presidentialsearch.html.
Kentucky’s public and independent colleges and universities conferred a record 70,146 degrees and credentials during the 2016-17 year, up 6.6 percent from the previous year and a 34.8 percent gain from 10 years ago.
“It is exciting to see the quantity of high-quality degrees and certificates conferred by Kentucky colleges and universities in 2016-17. Campuses are working hard to improve student success, and these results are reflective of those efforts,” said Council President Bob King.
The report shows one-year increases for career-oriented certificates and degrees at the associate, bachelor, master and doctoral levels.
The gains help move Kentucky forward as the state builds a more highly educated workforce. The state’s attainment goal is 60 percent of the working-age population with a postsecondary credential or degree by 2030. The percentage in 2015 was 45 percent in Kentucky, compared to a national average of 53 percent.
STEM-H (science, technology, engineering, math and health) credentials increased 7 percent from the previous year. STEM-H credentials accounted for more than a third of all credentials awarded in Kentucky.
Highlights
- Undergraduate credentials at the certificate and associate degree level grew 7.4 percent over last year, from 54,925 to 59,009 awards.
- Short-term certificates (less than one year) are on the rise, up 6 percent from 19,655 to 20,838 awards. Information technology, mechanic and repair technologies, construction trades and business services saw the most growth. Underrepresented minorities earning these certificates grew by 6.1 percent, up from 2,113 to 2,242.
- Total certificates are up 15.7 percent from the prior year to 22,759.
- Associate degrees climbed 1.9 percent, up from 10,665 to 10,867.
- Bachelor’s degrees posted steady growth at 1.7 percent, increasing from 22,799 to 23,189.
- Underrepresented minorities earned 2,920 bachelor’s degrees, an increase of 7.8 percent.
- Graduate certificates and degrees increased from 10,904 to 11,137, a 2.1 percent gain.
Group photo of award winners
The higher education community honored two faculty members and three alumni Tuesday at the 2017 Governor’s Conference on Postsecondary Education Trusteeship conference. The awards ceremony followed remarks by Gov. Matt Bevin.
Council President Bob King said, “This year’s honorees are truly exceptional, and we are delighted to honor them for their many contributions to enrich the lives of our students and campus communities.”
The Acorn award recognizes exceptional teaching and professional achievement. Honorees include:
- Matthew Winslow, Lexington, professor of psychology, Eastern Kentucky University
- Stacy Taylor, Louisville, professor of English and humanities, Jefferson Community and Technical College.
The OAK award honors outstanding graduates for achieving statewide or national recognition in their careers and for exhibiting a lifelong affection for their alma mater and to Kentucky. Recipients include:
- David Beck, Louisville, executive vice president and chief executive officer of Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation
- Michael Mountjoy, Louisville, partner at Mountjoy, Chilton and Medley, LLP, CPAs and Advisors
- Richard Boehne, Newport, president and chief executive officer of E.W. Scripps Co.
Recipients were nominated by their university or college president.
The OAK award was first presented in 1987 and the Acorn award was begun in 1992.
BIOS
Matthew Winslow
Matthew Winslow, of Lexington, is a professor for Eastern Kentucky University’s Department for Psychology. Winslow holds a Bachelor of Arts from Macalester College in Minnesota, a Master of Arts from the University of California-Santa Cruz and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota. In addition to teaching several undergraduate statistics/research methods courses and multiple sections of social psychology, he has taught several seminars and special topics courses, and serves as research mentor to undergraduate and Honor’s Program students. Winslow was named the Psychology Department’s Advisor of the Year, and is currently serving as chair of the faculty senate.
Eastern Kentucky University President Michael Benson nominated Winslow.
Stacy Taylor
Stacy Taylor, of Louisville, is an associate professor and the department head of English at the downtown campus of Jefferson Community and Technical College. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in Literature in English, as well as is working on her doctorate in rhetoric and composition, from the University of Louisville. She teaches several English composition courses, as well as humanities courses, and serves on Jefferson Community and Technical College’s General Education faculty. She serves as the co-chair of the Faculty Council, on several Achieve the Dream committees, the Kentucky Association for Developmental Education Executive Board, and chairs the system-wide curriculum committee for English.
Jefferson Community and Technical College President Ty Handy nominated Taylor.
David Beck
David Beck, of Louisville, holds a Bachelor of Science in agriculture from Murray State University. He currently serves as executive vice president and chief executive officer of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation. Beck is active in both state and national agricultural organizations, including the Future Farmers of America National Convention Host Committee, Kentucky 4-H Foundation, Kentucky Agricultural Council and Kentucky Fair Council. Beck also assists in recruitment and student initiatives for the Hutson School of Agriculture at Murray State University. He was named Outstanding Agriculture Alumnus, as well as Distinguished Alumnus, of the university.
Murray State University President Bob Davies nominated Beck.
Michael Mountjoy
Michael Mountjoy, of Louisville, holds a Bachelor of Accounting from the University of Kentucky. He is the founding member of Mountjoy, Chilton and Medley, LLP, CPAs and Advisors, the largest Kentucky-based accounting firm. Mountjoy serves on numerous professional and community associations, including University of Kentucky fellow, honorary board of trustee member for the University of the Cumberlands, chair of the Gheens Foundation, Inc., and past president of the Kentucky Society of Certified Public Accountants. Mountjoy was named one of CPA Magazine’s “Top 100 Most Influential CPA’s” and Louisville Magazine’s “50 Most Powerful People in Louisville.”
University of the Cumberlands President Larry Cockrum nominated Mountjoy.
Richard Boehne
Richard Boehne, of Newport, holds a Bachelor of Arts in communication from Northern Kentucky University. He is the president and CEO of E.W. Scripps Company, a digital media company located in Cincinnati. Boehne serves as Board of Regents chair and on the Foundation Board of Directors for Northern Kentucky University. He has received the Outstanding Alumnus Award and The Lincoln Award from Northern Kentucky University, and the First Amendment leadership Award from the Radio Television Digital News Foundation for his work on free speech.
Northern Kentucky University Interim President Gerard St. Amand nominated Boehne.
The Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) will sponsor the 2017 Governor’s Conference on Postsecondary Education Trusteeship Sept. 11-12 at the Louisville Marriott East in Louisville. More than 200 campus regents, higher education and policy leaders are expected to attend.
CPE President Bob King will kick off the conference on Monday at 1:30 p.m. with an opening plenary on the state of higher education in Kentucky.
Also featured on the first day will be University of Maryland, Baltimore County President Freeman Hrabowski, named by U.S. News and World Report as one America’s 10 best higher education leaders and as one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2012.
Tuesday’s line-up features:
- Arizona Board of Regents President Eileen Klein will discuss IMPACT ARIZONA, the state’s effort to increase educational attainment.
- Tom Sugar, president of Complete College America, will highlight the alliance’s initiatives to advance game-changing strategies to support college completions goals.
- CPE President Bob King will discuss Kentucky’s new performance funding model and strategic agenda for postsecondary education and outline key initiatives to accelerate degree production, employment and economic growth.
- A legislative panel, moderated by KET’s Renee Shaw, will feature Senate Majority Leader Mike Wilson, Senate Minority Leader Morgan McGarvey and Reps. James Tipton and Derrick Graham.
- Gov. Matt Bevin will deliver the luncheon remarks, followed by the presentation of the 2017 Acorn and OAK awards, which recognize faculty and alumni excellence.
Additionally, breakout sessions on both days will address a range of key topics including higher education governance, legal issues facing colleges and universities, change leadership, campus diversity, affordability and college-workforce alignment.
New to the programming this year are specific tracks for board members appointed in 2017. Attendance at these sessions will fulfill the statutory training and orientation requirements set forth by HB 15 (2016).
The agenda at-a-glance is available at http://cpe.ky.gov/trusteeship/.
Photo: Kentucky Adult Education Council
The Council on Postsecondary Education is pleased to announce that Reecie Stagnolia, vice president for adult education, will speak at a Congressional briefing Thursday, June 1, 10-11:30 a.m. in Washington, D.C.
Stagnolia will talk about Accelerating Opportunity Kentucky (AOKY), an integrated education and training model that provides qualified GED-seeking students with concurrent enrollment in occupational skills programs at a community and technical college. The program is a partnership between Kentucky Adult Education, the Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment/Kentucky Career Centers and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
“Accelerating Opportunity is a game changer since it connects our students to career pathways, builds their job readiness skills and helps boost the skills of Kentucky’s workforce,” said Stagnolia.
In a news release issued by the National Skills Coalition, the briefing will provide new research and state examples to help inform reauthorization of key education and workforce legislation, including the Perkins Career and Technical Education Act, Higher Education Act and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families.
The Council on Postsecondary Education set 2017-18 tuition and mandatory fee ceilings for resident undergraduate students at its meeting Friday at Northern Kentucky University.
The ceilings limit tuition and mandatory fee increases to 3 to 5 percent and include:
- 3 percent for Western Kentucky University
- 4 percent for the University of Kentucky and Northern Kentucky University
- 5 percent for Eastern Kentucky University, Kentucky State University, Morehead State University and Murray State University.
The ceiling for the Kentucky Community and Technical College System was set at $6 per credit hour, a 3.9 percent increase.
A ceiling was not set for the University of Louisville since the university’s board of trustees has already voted not to increase tuition next year.
The new tuition dollars will partially offset inflationary fixed costs, manage growth in employer-paid retirement contributions, and support continuing progress to produce a more highly skilled and productive workforce, create new jobs and grow Kentucky’s economy through higher levels of educational attainment.
“Setting tuition ceilings is not something we take lightly,” said Council President Bob King. “After a very thorough process, we believe these rates strike the right balance between keeping costs affordable for students and their families, while providing adequate funding for our campuses to address fixed and unavoidable budget challenges.”
Even with the additional tuition revenue, campuses will face an $11.5 million shortfall for the 2017-18 year.
The different ceilings for campuses reflect in part the equity adjustments of $2.5 million for Western Kentucky University and $5.1 million for Northern Kentucky University. These funds were provided in the current biennial budget. A condition of the agreement was that both campuses would set lower tuition increases.
Another factor considered in setting the tuition ceilings was the expectation that employer-paid contributions in the Kentucky Employment Retirement System (KERS) will continue to increase at an accelerated rate. Between 2011-12 and 2016-17, the mandated increases in campus contributions grew from $30.2 million to $72 million, or 138 percent.
Only two campuses, the University of Kentucky and the University of Louisville, do not have employees who participate in KERS.
Council staff stressed the importance of considering the net price of going to college as opposed to the published “sticker price.” The net price is the total cost of attendance, including tuition and fees, textbooks, and room and board costs, minus student financial aid from federal, state or local and institutional sources.
In Kentucky, very few students pay the stated sticker price because of liberal amounts of grant and scholarship aid provided by the state and postsecondary institutions. For example, even though annual resident undergraduate tuition and fees at Kentucky comprehensive universities increased by $1,191 between academic years 2011-12 and 2015-16, the average net price that students paid actually decreased by $186 during this period.
The tuition action also allows campuses to submit market competitive tuition and fee rates for graduate, professional and online courses.
Council action on campus tuition and fee proposals is set for the June 16 meeting at Spalding University.
In other action, the Council:
- Extended President Bob King’s contract two years.
- Approved a KCTCS request for six new capital projects funded with a combination of Kentucky Work Ready Skills Initiative funds ($30.5 million), private funds ($5.3 million) and agency restricted funds ($2.9 million).
- Approved three academic programs: Master of Science in Nursing, Family Nurse Practitioner, Morehead State University; Ph.D. in Radiation and Radiological Sciences, University of Kentucky; and Specialist in Gifted and Talented Education, Western Kentucky University.
- Awarded resolutions of appreciation for distinguished service for outgoing members Pam Miller, Glenn Denton and Dan Flanagan.
- Chair Sherrill Zimmerman appointed Donna Moore, Joe Ellis and Ron Beal to the Council’s Executive Committee. Zimmerman and Vice Chair Ben Brandstetter also serve on this committee.
- Zimmerman appointed Lizbetthe Rodriguez to the Committee on Equal Opportunities.
The Council heard the following reports: CPE President, Kentucky Commissioner of Education, Strategic Agenda Metrics Accountability System Overview, Stronger by Degrees: Update on Opportunity, 2017 Legislative Session Summary and Committee on Equal Opportunities. Reports from the campuses were also available.
Additionally, new member Shawn Reynolds of Almo was sworn in at Thursday’s work session. His term expires Dec. 31, 2022.
Meeting materials are available at https://v3.boardbook.org/Public/PublicMeetingMaterials.aspx?ak=1001061&mk=50220579.
The Council on Postsecondary Education elected Sherrill Zimmerman as its new chair and Ben Brandstetter as vice chair Friday.
Zimmerman, of Prospect, chairs both the Council’s Tuition Development Work Group and Committee on Equal Opportunities, and is the past chair of the Strategic Agenda Work Group. She is a retired educator from Jefferson County Public Schools where she served as a teacher, assistant principal and magnet program coordinator.
“It will be an honor and a privilege to serve as chair of the Council on Postsecondary Education,” said Zimmerman. “I look forward to working with our students, campuses, Council members and staff to advance the educational, workforce and economic opportunities for all Kentuckians.”
Brandstetter, of Hebron, joined the Council in September. He is president of Brandstetter Carroll, Inc.
“It is a privilege to serve the Commonwealth in this role. Higher education is one of the most important tools that we have to improve the economy of the state, and I look forward to helping advance this for everyone,” said Brandstetter.
Zimmerman replaces outgoing member Glenn Denton of Paducah, who served two terms on the Council and chaired the Council in 2015 and 2016. Brandstetter replaces Donna Moore of Lexington who remains on the Council.
Zimmerman and Brandstetter will serve in their positions for the next year.
The Council also approved the Tuition Setting Timeline and the Tuition and Mandatory Fee Policy. The timeline calls for the Council to take action on tuition and fee ceilings March 31, followed by action on individual campus tuition and mandatory fee rates at the June 16 meeting.
In other items, the Council:
- Updated the Academic Program Approval Policy, which takes effect July 1.
- Approved a proposed amendment to Kentucky Administrative Regulation 13 KAR 2:110 regarding the approval process for advanced practice doctoral degree programs at the public comprehensive universities.
- Heard the following reports: Student Loan Default and Repayment in Kentucky, Future Skills Report, a proposal from Morehead State University related to tuition, legislative update, Committee on Equal Opportunities and an Executive Committee report. A KDE Report, Council President Report and campus reports were also available.
The Council’s next meeting will be March 30-31 at Northern Kentucky University.