FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - A Kentucky native will lead the state’s Council on Postsecondary Education for the first time.
The council announced Thursday that Aaron Thompson will be its fourth president. Thompson is currently the council’s vice president and chief academic officer. He will begin his new role on Nov. 1.
Thompson is also the first African-American to hold the position in the council’s 21-year history.
Thompson says he is from Clay County, Kentucky, and is the son of an illiterate coal miner and a mother who had only an 8th grade education. He said he was a first-generation high school and college graduate.
Former council president Robert King is retiring after having the job for 10 years. The council will negotiate Thompson’s final contract at its next scheduled meeting on Nov. 15-16.
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