Former Gov. Paul E. Patton appointed Pikeville College president

PIKEVILLE, Ky. – The Board of Trustees at Pikeville College has announced the appointment of former Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton as the 18th president of the college.

During his eight years as governor, Patton was a national leader, particularly in higher education policy. 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.

A member of the college’s board of trustees for nearly 30 years, 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, Patton has been a leading supporter, describing it as a “true Kentucky effort and a true Kentucky success.” Both Patton 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 campus.

Patton was the first Kentucky governor in nearly 200 years to serve two successive terms (1995-2003). Known as the “higher education governor,” he proposed and championed the successful passage of Kentucky’s Higher Education Reform Act in 1997, an effort which has been recognized as a model of progressive higher education policy. He also made substantial improvements in Kentucky’s pre-school and adult education programs, as well as successfully maintaining the momentum and funding for the Kentucky Education Reform Act. In February 2009, Patton was named chairman of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Patton was born in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, the son of a teacher and school cafeteria worker who instilled in him the value of education, honest living and hard work. A 1959 graduate of the University of Kentucky with a degree in mechanical engineering, he spent 20 years building a successful coal business before turning to public service. He has served as chairman of the National Governors Association, the Southern Governors Association, and state’s co-chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission, as well as Kentucky’s Deputy State Transportation Secretary, leader of the State Democratic Party and three terms as Pike County judge/executive.

In 1991, Patton became Kentucky’s Lt. Governor and made history by also serving as Secretary of the Economic Development Cabinet.

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. Recently named one of the top 20 medical school’s in the nation in rural medicine by U.S. News and World Report, the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine was established in 1997 to provide men and women with an osteopathic medical education that emphasizes primary care, encourages research, promotes lifelong scholarly activity and produces graduates who are committed to serving the health care needs of communities in Eastern Kentucky and other Appalachian regions.