Quarterly Report
TO THE BOARD OF REGENTS KCTCS PRESIDENT DR. RYAN QUARLES MARCH 2024
The information contained herein provides information on my activities and initiatives related to the three pillars of the 2022-2026 Strategic Plan.
I. LEARNER SUCCESS
MENTAL HEALTH IN HIGHER EDUCATION RESOLUTION
In January, I spoke with the Board of Student Body Presidents at their annual meeting, convened by CPE. As a result of that conversation, it became clear that the students were keenly interested in the mental health of students in higher education. I promised students that we would bring awareness to this issue to the General Assembly. As a result, we worked with Rep. Emily Callaway to sponsor a resolution titled, “Mental Health Day in Higher Education,” which recognizes October 10 as the statewide day to focus on mental health at our institutions. This resolution was presented to students during the March 7 Higher Education Student Rally at the Capitol.
FIRST SYSTEMWIDE RECRUITMENT COLLABORATIVE
While the colleges participate in recruitment efforts, historically there has not been a collaborative approach to these and the System Office staff have not had a role in active recruitment. Beginning with the National Farm Machinery Show, held at the Louisville fairgrounds, System Office staff joined with staff from several of the colleges to present a KCTCS booth that highlighted our colleges with agricultural programs. I am confident these events drawing potential students from across the state should have a systematic approach and will continue to look for additional opportunities.
YEAR-AROUND SCHEDULE BUILDING
Effective class scheduling leads to retention and student success, but it is currently not offered at KCTCS. Not knowing what course is needed and when can lead to frustration and confusion, especially for students with work and family obligations. I have tasked one of our presidents’ leadership team (PLT) action groups to look at year-round scheduling so that a student can not only build their course load for the current semester, but also future semesters. This allows them to understand existing and future commitments so that they can better prepare for the road ahead.
SERVING UP SOLUTIONS DINNER & KCTCS FOOD PANTRIES
In my previous role, I began an annual fundraiser to fight food insecurity in Kentucky, with proceeds benefiting Feeding Kentucky, Kentucky Hunters for the Hungry, and Glean Kentucky. Since 2018, the “Serving Up Solutions” benefit dinner has raised more than $200,000. In February, I agreed to host the event again to benefit our existing partners, but beginning next year, the dinner’s proceeds will directly benefit the food pantries found at most of our college campuses.
Working the booth at the National Farm Machinery Show in Louisville
II. EMPLOYMENT SUCCESS
THE WORK READY KENTUCKY SCHOLARSHIP (WRKS) AND TRAINS FUNDS
In this budget year, I continue to emphasize the critical funding need for the WRKS, which allows individuals to earn up to an associate degree in a high-demand, high-wage field with free tuition. Currently, the WRKS is funded at $13 million by the General Assembly and those funds are exhausted every year with outstanding student demand that cannot be met. We are asking for it to be funded at $60 million for the biennium, which was also recommended by our partner KY Higher Education Assistance Authority (KHEAA).
TRAINS is our employee training and upskilling program which enables employers to retain and recruit employees. TRAINS is currently funded at $8 million biannually, but like WRKS, we exhaust those funds with outstanding employer demand. We are asking that the funding for TRAINS be doubled to $16m for 2024-26. Together, these two requests can make a real difference in our workforce across the state.
KENTUCKY ASSOCIATION OF MANUFACTURERS (KAM) DAY AT THE CAPITOL
In February, I spoke with manufacturers attending a Day at the Capitol. Joined by EKU President McFaddin, we discussed how our programs benefit this sector and how we can continue to offer innovative, cutting-edge programs to meet workforce demands. As a result of the conversation, we have had several manufacturers reach out to discuss our TRAINS offerings and how they can use it to benefit their employees.
RELAUNCH OF SYSTEMWIDE INDUSTRY SIGNING DAY
Several years ago, KCTCS launched an inaugural “Going Pro” signing day wherein manufacturing graduates could “sign on” with a company to hire them, meant to resemble the fanfare given to athletes “going pro.” The event was largely a success, but unfortunately did not continue. With the support of VP Schook, we have decided to relaunch this effort systemwide and expand it to numerous sectors. We are working with partners such as the Education and Labor Cabinet and Cabinet for Economic Development, to host events systemwide through the month of April.
STATEWIDE ASSET MAP
For the first time in KCTCS history, a statewide asset map has been created that enables faculty and staff to easily determine which colleges have relationships with companies. This is helpful for a myriad of purposes, such as training efforts and fundraising. It is a crucial step in breaking down college silos and operating from a more systematic approach. College leadership has been instructed to continue the upkeep of this important tool.
JOINING THE GOODWILL INDUSTRIES BOARD AND GOD’S PANTRY FOOD BANK
I was asked to join the Goodwill Industries Board, which is a key partner with KCTCS. With a geographic footprint that spans across 103 of Kentucky’s 120 counties, there are 67 Goodwill stores across Kentucky. Much like KCTCS, Goodwill’s mission is to give a hand up to individuals, not a handout, to help them achieve and maintain employment to gain a better quality of life. I look forward to increasing our partnership opportunities with this important organization.
In addition, I have joined the God’s Food Pantry Bank, an organization that I worked closely with in my previous role. God’s Food Pantry serves 50 counties in Central and Eastern Kentucky in partnership with more than 500 food pantries and meal programs. I look forward to increasing our partnership opportunities with these important organizations.
HEALTHCARE HEROES RECOGNITION EVENT
In February, I attended a Healthcare Heroes event in Louisville along with Chair Martin, Regent Jackson and others vital to our role in the healthcare sector. The event was hosted by Louisville Business First and recognized those who have made an impact on health care through their concern for patients, their research and inventions, their management skills, their innovative programs for employees and their services.
Healthcare Heroes
The first January meeting of the PLT
III. ORGANIZATION SUCCESS
SYSTEM OFFICE LEADERSHIP RESTRUCTURING
In my first month, I brought on three well-known individuals to my team: Dr. Tony Newberry, Shannon Rickett, and Derrick Ramsey. Dr. Newberry is serving as an executive advisor, having a rich history of KCTCS and higher education. Ms. Rickett came from U of L with expertise in strategic projects and governmental affairs. Mr. Ramsey, having served as the Secretary of Labor, is well-known across the state for his interactions with business leaders.
In addition to these individuals, I have hired a VP of Communication (a search which was underway as I began). Ms. Blair Hess, from the Council of State Governments, will join our team shortly. Searches for a VP of Academic and Student Success, VP of Human Resources, and Chief Financial Officer are all launched, and I look forward to creating an all-star team to lead the system office and assist our colleges.
BACK TO OFFICE AND SYSTEM OFFICE BUILDING POTENTIAL
As of March 1, the System Office staff has been asked to return to the office for work. Until this date, Covid-era protocol was still in place with mostly remote days and the System Office was eerily empty.
Even with the gradual employee return, we are looking at other ways to utilize additional space in the building, such as leasing to third parties, starting an incubator business area, or offering evening and weekend classes in conjunction with Bluegrass CTC.
EVALUATION OF LEADERSHIP
With an Acting President and before then, a derelict of duties, the PLT (consisting of the college presidents and my cabinet) has not been meaningfully evaluated in several years by the system president. I have directed staff to work on a complete overhaul of evaluations for these high-level leaders that will include not only subjective goals and outcomes, but meaningful objective data related to a variety of subjects including enrollment, retention, legislative outreach, fundraising, and innovation. The college presidents will continue to be evaluated by their Board of Directors, as statutorily required, but this will be one component of a fuller feedback process to ensure performance.
RESPONSE TO AUDITOR OF PUBLIC ACCOUNTS AND NEXT STEPS
On February 2, I provided our official response to the audit conducted by the Auditor of Public Accounts. We remain committed to ensuring financial transparency and improving the accountability of those involved in our processes. Due to the recommendation of the state auditor to pursue a forensic audit, I have also directed staff to issue an RFP that will investigate outstanding or lingering questions around our financial and legal history. Responses to the RFP are due soon and a firm will be chosen to lead the investigation. The timeline for findings will be October 2024.
COLLEGE TOURS
While I would have preferred to start my presidency with tours to each of the 16 colleges, the legislative session and internal issues have kept me close to the System Office for the first 60 days. However, I have begun the tour circuit and hope to visit all 16 by early May. Each tour stop consists of meetings with the college president’s leadership team, faculty and staff, and local community leaders.
Meeting Students at my first college stop at OCTC
INTERVIEW COVERAGE
I have conducted many interviews and issued several statements over the last six weeks. In February, I appeared on Bill Bryant Kentucky Newsmakers and Connections with Renee Shaw. According to an earned media report covering the January-February period, our media has reached 462.8 million people with 215 mentions of me and/or KCTCS. Outlets have included Spectrum News Kentucky, Lane Report Online, WKYT-TV Online, The State Journal, Northern Kentucky Tribune, Kentucky Lantern, The News Enterprise, WEKU 88.9, WDRB-TV Online, among others.
CHAMBER WELCOME EVENT
The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce graciously hosted a welcome event in January for my arrival. It was wonderful to have some Regents in attendance along with an estimated 75 legislators and business and policymakers.
CHAMBER DAY DINNER & HIGHER EDUCATION PANEL
KCTCS sponsored the annual Chamber Day dinner held in Lexington and widely attended by business and industry and policymakers. As part of our sponsorship, we had two tables filled with Regents, legislators, and system leaders. The following day, at the Chamber’s Annual Board Meeting, I served on a panel along with CPE President Aaron Thompson and Mason Dyer representing private universities. We discussed barriers facing higher education and how we can better serve the workforce with our partners.
Panel on workforce and higher education
COLLEGE CONVERSATIONS AT THE CAPITOL
It is important in Frankfort to present a united front. That is why I immediately issued a call to action for our college presidents to invite me to their one-on-one meetings with their delegations. I, in return, established three days at the Capitol (February 21, March 7, and March 21) for them to welcome their delegations to an open-ended, meet-and-greet event. These conversational sessions are meant to discuss budget, unique items facing the college, and our priorities for the session. While legislators may be intimately familiar with their local college, very few see the “bigger picture” of KCTCS and our impact across the state. We will continue to work on this in the interim and find new ways to approach Frankfort with combined college and system office efforts.
Speaking with Senator Wiliams about the need for more TRAINS funding
Congressman Andy Barr
FEDERAL VISIT TO DC
I was able to visit Kentucky’s Congressmen in DC in February, accompanied by our lobbyist Chris Lamond. We visited with Senator McConnell, Congressman Barr, and Congressman Guthrie, and staffers from Senator Paul’s office. It was a busy and productive two days. I am planning to visit DC at least twice annually, and am working with Mr. Lamond to have college presidents make trips as well to speak about issues related to our system.
Additionally, Chairman Hal Rogers was able to secure language in the FY 2024 Departments of Commerce, Science and Justice Bill that will help our colleges (primarily in his district) secure additional federal funding for STEM education through the National Science Foundation. KCTCS has previously worked with Chair Rogers’ office to develop language that would carve out funding from NSF specifically for community colleges in areas of “lower educational attainment and higher rates of poverty, “ which means our colleges should have a competitive advantage over all other NSF applicants. I look forward to sharing more about our applications and this funding prospect.
THE 16 COLLEGES OF KCTCS
are united in our commitment to making life better for our students, communities and the citizens of Kentucky.
Ashland Community & Technical College
Big Sandy Community and Technical College
Bluegrass Community & Technical College
Elizabethtown Community & Technical College
Gateway Community & Technical College
Hazard Community & Technical College
Henderson Community College
Hopkinsville Community College
Jefferson Community & Technical College
Madisonville Community College
Maysville Community & Technical College
Owensboro Community & Technical College
Somerset Community College
Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College
Southeast Kentucky Community & Technical College
West Kentucky Community & Technical College
