Pikeville College - Office of the President

Our President - Paul E. Patton

Former Kentucky Gov. Paul E. Patton was named the 18th president of Pikeville College in August 2009.

Patton was the first Kentucky governor in nearly 200 years to serve two successive terms (1995-2003). A national leader, particularly in education policy, Patton was 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.

“My belief in the power of education to change lives remains strong,” Patton said after being named president. “Pikeville College is perhaps the most important institution in Eastern Kentucky. This has been my major philanthropic effort for 30 years or more and serving in this role will continue that.”

A member of the Pikeville College’s board of trustees for nearly 30 years, Patton has also served as a Distinguished Visiting Lecturer in Public Policy and Leadership at the college. Since its inception more than a decade ago, Patton has been a leading supporter of the Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine, describing it as a “true Kentucky effort and a true Kentucky success.” Following his second term as governor, both Patton and former First Lady Judi Patton, a Pikeville College alumna, 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 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.