Kentucky State University names interim provost and vice president for academic affairs

Kentucky State University names interim provost and vice president for academic affairs

Posted on June 12, 2018

Kentucky State University President M. Christopher Brown II named an interim provost and vice president for academic affairs today.

Dr. Lucian Yates III, a lifelong educator and native Kentuckian, will soon step into the chief academic officer role at the institution.

“It is with great excitement that we welcome Provost Yates back to the ‘College on the Hill’,” President Brown said of Yates acceptance and homecoming.

“Dr. Yates’ return to Kentucky State University is the crowning achievement in a stellar educational career. His outstanding record of accomplishments in education, on every level, is unmatched. Lucian understands the breadth and scope of our mission as a public, comprehensive historically black land-grant institution given his leadership roles at Prairie View A & M and Tennessee State Universities. Dr. Yates brings the necessary knowledge, skills and dispositions to assist in our implementation of the recent Board-adopted Green Ribbon Commission on Academic Prioritization and Budget Alignment report. Kentucky State [University] must continue to enhance our contributions to the regional and national workforce needs.”

Yates’ career in education has spanned over 40 years and includes PK-12 through graduate education. During his prior tenure at Kentucky State, Yates served as chair of the School of Education from 2004 until 2008. During that time, passage rate on the Praxis test was 100 percent and the number of highly-qualified teacher candidates increased. He was responsible for initiating the master’s program in special education, as well as garnering more than $1.5 million in grants from the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE).

Yates will be coming from Tennessee State University, where he serves as the graduate school dean and professor of curriculum and instruction. Prior to that, he was the dean of education and a professor of educational leadership at Prairie View A&M University in Texas from 2008 until 2016. His resume includes award-winning teacher, assistant principal, principal, assistant superintendent, superintendent and a directorship at KDE.

In his current role as graduate school dean, Yates partnered with Dr. Donna Y. Ford in hosting the Research, Advocacy, Collaboration, and Empowerment Mentoring Conference to help graduate students and junior faculty navigate the academy, assist with publishing and with preparing for tenure and promotion.

“I am elated to be joining Kentucky State University at this exciting time in its history. My new role provides an opportunity to work with talented faculty, staff and students,” Yates said. “I also feel fortunate to work with advancing the vision of President Brown who understands the connection between student support and outcomes to academic success.”

Yates earned a Ph.D. in curriculum, instruction and supervision from Ohio University. He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science and a master’s degree in history and education from Morehead State University.

Yates is scheduled to take the helm July 1.