The Kentucky Community and Technical College System Board of Regents Chair P.G. Peeples, Sr. has announced that Jay K. Box, Ed.D. has been named the preferred candidate in the search for the next KCTCS president.
Box is the current KCTCS chancellor, a position he has held since July 1, 2009. As chancellor, he provides systemwide leadership for academic affairs, economic development, workforce training, and research and policy analysis.
The KCTCS Board of Regents determined the preferred candidate with a unanimous vote during a special board meeting held Nov. 11, 2014 at the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce in Frankfort. The 19-member presidential search committee, co-chaired by Board Chair Peeples and former KCTCS Board of Regents member and secretary of the Education and Workforce Development Cabinet, Thomas O. Zawacki, began reviewing candidate materials in August 2014.
“After an extensive national search we are pleased to have identified a candidate who matches the presidential profile developed in collaboration with our search consultant, search committee, board, faculty, staff and student representatives,” said Peeples. “Dr. Box has played a key role in shaping the learning opportunities KCTCS provides and he has demonstrated strong leadership and dedication to our students, faculty and staff.”
Box was in Maysville last week during the interview and selection process for a new president of Maysville Community and Technical College. The committee named Dr. Steven Vacik, current president of Colby Community College in Colby, Kan. to the position effective Jan. 1, 2015.
A KCTCS forum will be held at the system office in Versailles at 11 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 18. KCTCS college presidents, faculty, staff and students are invited to attend and will have an opportunity to hear from Box and ask questions on his vision for KCTCS. Participants will be asked to complete an online survey to submit feedback to the board.
The KCTCS Board of Regents will hold a special board meeting at 10 a.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19 to review feedback on the preferred candidate and to approve the final contract for the next KCTCS president.
The new president of KCTCS will begin service effective Jan. 16, 2015, following the retirement of KCTCS founding president Dr. Michael B. McCall.
While serving as chancellor, Dr. Box chaired the statewide committee that developed the Kentucky Transfer Action Plan. In 2011, he led an initiative to evaluate and revise the KCTCS dual credit program. The initiative culminated in a statewide dual credit agreement between KCTCS, the Kentucky Department of Education, and the Office of Career and Technical Education.
Currently, he serves as the state lead for the Accelerating Opportunity Kentucky initiative, a partnership between KCTCS, Kentucky Adult Education, and the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet.
Box continues to lead the development of KCTCS Online—Learn on Demand and serves on numerous state and national advisory councils including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s National Advisory Group on Financial Aid, the American Association of Community College’s Sustainability Education and Economic Development Task Force, the Southern Regional Education Board’s Commission on Career and Technical Education and the Aspen Institute’s Innovation in Higher Education Working Group.
Box served as the president of Hazard Community and Technical College from 2002 – 2007, followed by being named as KCTCS vice president with the primary responsibility of providing leadership to administrative systems, network operations, distance learning technologies and visualized learning and innovation. Prior to coming to KCTCS he served as a vice president at McLennan Community College in Waco, Texas.
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