Patton steps in as PC president
Staff Report
Pikeville College’s Board of Trustees has named former Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton as the 18th president of the college.
Patton, a member of the college’s board of trustees for nearly 30 years, is excited about the opportunity.
“I’m truly honored to have the opportunity to lead this college,” Patton told the Medical Leader.
Patton said the college is one of the region’s premier institutions and has been a place close to his heart.
“I grew up in eastern Kentucky, the son of a teacher and school cafeteria worker who instilled in me the values of education, making an honest living and hard work,” Patton said. “Even while I was serving as Governor for the state, I always made time for my commitment to the college and its growth.”
Patton was the state’s first governor in nearly 200 years to serve two consecutive terms from 1995-2003. In 1991, Patton became the state’s Lt. Governor and made history by also serving as Secretary of the Economic Development Cabinet.
“I truly enjoyed working for the people of Kentucky, and I can now enjoy having the opportunity of making Pikeville College the very best institution it can be,” he said.
Patton is a distinguished visiting lecturer in public policy and leadership at the college. Since the medical school’s inception more than a decade ago, he has been a leading supporter, describing it as a “true Kentucky effort and a true Kentucky success.”
“I can’t praise the medical school enough and what it means to the region,” Patton said.
He and former First Lady Judi Patton, a Pikeville College alumna, have established offices at the college, recreating the governor’s office as an historical exhibit available for students, historians and other visitors to the campus.
The college’s new president has also served as chairman of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors Association, and the state’s co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, as well as Kentucky’s Deputy State Transportation Secretary, Postsecondary Education, several national educational selection committees and three terms as Pike County Judge-Executive.
Patton replaces interim President Boyd R. Buser, D.O., Vice President and Dean of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine. Buser served as interim president following the resignation of Dr. Michael Looney.
