The Kentucky Community & Technical College System Board of Regents has selected Dr. Ryan Quarles as the System's fourth President. A native son and former community college student, Dr. Quarles currently serves as Kentucky Commissioner of Agriculture. First elected in 2016 to the statewide office, he leads the commonwealth's second largest constitutional executive branch agency. From 2011 to 2016, Quarles served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. As a college student, he was appointed by then Governor Fletcher as the student representative to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the state's higher education coordinating agency. In that role, he was immersed in the key issues of campuses and the state-level operations of higher education. Earlier work experience includes serving as associate general counsel at Georgetown College and in private practice. Quarles holds seven college degrees, including a doctorate in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University, a master's degree in higher education from Harvard University, and a juris doctorate from the University of Kentucky College of Law. Read more.