Inauguration ceremony for Pikeville College President Paul E. Patton
February 8, 2010
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Paul E. Patton, former Kentucky governor and a national leader in education policy, will officially be installed as the 18th president of Pikeville College on Tuesday, Feb. 16, on the college campus.
The first Kentucky governor in nearly 200 years to serve two successive terms (1995-2003), Patton, known as the “higher education governor,” proposed and championed the successful passage of Kentucky’s Higher Education Reform Act in 1997.
Patton served as a member of Pikeville College’s Board of Trustees for more than 30 years and as Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy and Leadership at the college. In 2009, he was named chairman of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
“My inaugurations as governor, and now as a college president, are highlights of my life,” said Patton. “It is certainly a fitting capstone of my career. Putting into practice what you’ve advocated is very rewarding.”
The inauguration ceremony will be held in Booth Auditorium, Record Memorial Building, at 2 p.m. The community is cordially invited to attend. The academic processional will be led by a student bagpiper and faculty marshal bearing the college’s mace, as Pikeville’s new president is officially welcomed by the campus family, including students, faculty and staff, alumni and trustees.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers will deliver the inauguration address. Also participating in the program are Pikeville College Presidents Emeriti, Harold H. “Hal” Smith and William H. Owens, University of Louisville President James Ramsey, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd, Gary Cox, president of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities and Karen Nichols, D.O., president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association. Terry Dotson, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, and CPE President Robert King will preside over the investiture and presentation of the president’s medallion.
The celebration will include delegates representing colleges and universities from across the state, higher education organizations and the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities. Special music will be provided by students, alumni and the college’s choir. Live video and audio of the ceremony will also be available in Chrisman Auditorium, Armington Learning Center, level two.
The celebration on Feb. 16 will begin at 8 a.m. with the President’s Prayer Breakfast in Sturgill Board Room, Record Memorial Building, third floor. At 11 a.m., the campus will join the president for a “Blessing at the Flagpole” located near the Administration Building. In case of inclement weather, the blessing will be held inside. Later that evening, there will be a reception and banquet beginning at 6 p.m. at the Mark V, Landmark Inn, Pikeville. The cost is $50 per person with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Pikeville College Alumni Association’s Scholarship Fund. For more information or to RSVP for the banquet, call the Office of Public Affairs at (606) 218-5265.
Pikeville College is an independent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college in the heart of central Appalachia. Founded in 1889 by Presbyterian ministers seeking to provide educational opportunities for mountain youth, the college has played an integral role in the educational, economic and cultural development of its service area for more than a century.
-PC-
PIKEVILLE, Ky. – Paul E. Patton, former Kentucky governor and a national leader in education policy, will officially be installed as the 18th president of Pikeville College on Tuesday, Feb. 16, on the college campus.
The first Kentucky governor in nearly 200 years to serve two successive terms (1995-2003), Patton, known as the “higher education governor,” proposed and championed the successful passage of Kentucky’s Higher Education Reform Act in 1997.
Patton served as a member of Pikeville College’s Board of Trustees for more than 30 years and as Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy and Leadership at the college. In 2009, he was named chairman of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE).
“My inaugurations as governor, and now as a college president, are highlights of my life,” said Patton. “It is certainly a fitting capstone of my career. Putting into practice what you’ve advocated is very rewarding.”
The inauguration ceremony will be held in Booth Auditorium, Record Memorial Building, at 2 p.m. The community is cordially invited to attend. The academic processional will be led by a student bagpiper and faculty marshal bearing the college’s mace, as Pikeville’s new president is officially welcomed by the campus family, including students, faculty and staff, alumni and trustees.
U.S. Rep. Hal Rogers will deliver the inauguration address. Also participating in the program are Pikeville College Presidents Emeriti, Harold H. “Hal” Smith and William H. Owens, University of Louisville President James Ramsey, University of Kentucky President Lee Todd, Gary Cox, president of the Association of Independent Kentucky Colleges and Universities and Karen Nichols, D.O., president-elect of the American Osteopathic Association. Terry Dotson, chairman of the college’s board of trustees, and CPE President Robert King will preside over the investiture and presentation of the president’s medallion.
The celebration will include delegates representing colleges and universities from across the state, higher education organizations and the Association of Presbyterian Colleges and Universities. Special music will be provided by students, alumni and the college’s choir. Live video and audio of the ceremony will also be available in Chrisman Auditorium, Armington Learning Center, level two.
The celebration on Feb. 16 will begin at 8 a.m. with the President’s Prayer Breakfast in Sturgill Board Room, Record Memorial Building, third floor. At 11 a.m., the campus will join the president for a “Blessing at the Flagpole” located near the Administration Building. In case of inclement weather, the blessing will be held inside. Later that evening, there will be a reception and banquet beginning at 6 p.m. at the Mark V, Landmark Inn, Pikeville. The cost is $50 per person with a portion of the proceeds benefitting the Pikeville College Alumni Association’s Scholarship Fund. For more information or to RSVP for the banquet, call the Office of Public Affairs at (606) 218-5265.
Pikeville College is an independent, four-year liberal arts and sciences college in the heart of central Appalachia. Founded in 1889 by Presbyterian ministers seeking to provide educational opportunities for mountain youth, the college has played an integral role in the educational, economic and cultural development of its service area for more than a century.
-PC-
147 Sycamore Street
Pikeville, Kentucky 41501
606.218.5250
1.866.BEARS.00
www.pc.edu