President's Page

Robert L. King became the third president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in January 2009. Since coming to the post, he has led statewide efforts to work collaboratively with his counterparts in K-12 education, has focused campus attention on student success, and is encouraging significant reform in teacher and principal training. He was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the national organization that serves State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), and serves as its Treasurer. Mr. King is the former Chancellor of the State University of New York, one of the largest comprehensive systems of universities, colleges, and community colleges in the world. More recently, he served as president and CEO of the Arizona Community Foundation, a statewide charitable foundation with a strong focus on education, economic development, and scientific research.

Mr. King is very active in community service and has volunteered and served on numerous boards and organizations. He has served for nine years on the White House Commission on Presidential Scholars; the Education Committee of the U.S. National Commission for the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO); as advisor to the Middle State Commission on Higher Education regarding reauthorization of the Higher Education Act in Congress; the board of directors of the National Soccer Hall of Fame; and the boards of trustees of A.T. Still University, a specialized university dedicated to training professionals for the health care professions, in Kirksville, Missouri, and Mesa, Arizona, and Prescott College located in Prescott, Arizona.

Mr. King received a bachelor of arts degree in 1968 from Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and a Juris Doctor in 1971 from the Vanderbilt University School of Law. He is married to Karen, his wife of 36 years, and they have four grown children and one grandchild.

Email: robert.king@ky.gov