KENTUCKY — On this week’s ‘In Focus Kentucky’ program, we’re discussing the state of higher education in Kentucky.
Many stakeholders in the conversation that surrounds higher education continue to address governance in postsecondary education in the commonwealth especially between the regional universities and Kentucky Community and Technical College System.
During this segment, Dr. Ryan Quarles weighs in on the topic. He is the fourth president of Kentucky Community and Technical College System, also known as KCTCS, which is headquartered in Versailles, in Woodford County and has 16 colleges with over 70 campuses across the state.
Quarles began his new endeavor leading KCTCS in January 2024 as the first native Kentuckian to lead the system. Before this current position, Quarles was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives in 2010, where he served until his election as Kentucky’s state commissioner of agriculture in 2016. In that role, he led the state’s second largest executive branch agency through 2023, serving two terms.
“Well, I’m about 70 days on the job. And a lot of people may have known me with my previous role as a legislator, or as commissioner of agriculture, and I cherished that chapter of my life. But about 70 days ago, on Jan. 1, I stepped into the presidency of our Kentucky Community and Technical College System. And for those who really know me, well, they know this has been a lifelong dream of mine, as well. And what better way to help out Kentucky than to solve workforce development, get more Kentuckians, through the education pipeline, and also make sure that we are providing opportunities for anybody and everybody and that’s what makes our community college so special is that we are the access point for an untold number of Kentuckians that otherwise may not go to college. And we’re also an economic driver. So I’m still transitioning, and we got the General Assembly going on. But on a personal level, I couldn’t be happier. And we’re starting to build a team at KCTCS. And I’m so excited that I’ve met students that I know whose lives are going to be better because you’re gonna have a great job after spending a couple of years with us,” explained Quarles.
Quarles also discusses why he believes vocational training is one positive way that can impact job outcomes in Kentucky’s higher education system.
“We also need to make sure that the degrees that we are offering or certificates are ones that lead to better job outcomes as well. And what’s really special about our Community Technical College System is that since House Bill 1, which was passed in 1997. KCTCS has a statutorily defined sandbox that we play in. Associate’s degrees and vocational and technical instruction as well. So whether it’s welding, HVAC, becoming an electrician, or we’re the starting point for an untold number of Kentuckians that want to go on to a four-year degree, we will make sure that we provide that valuable transfer experience as well. KCTCS has 44% of all the undergraduates in Kentucky. And so we’re working with a larger higher education system, whether it’s UK, UofL, a Western down the road, our private institutions across Kentucky. We need to make sure that we are collaborators and not competitors,” added Quarles.
You can watch the full ‘In Focus Kentucky’ segment in the player above.
