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    KCTCS Board of Regents celebrates achievements of retiring President Box

    Versailles, Ky. – The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) Board of Regents celebrated the accomplishments of retiring President Jay Box during their quarterly board meeting. During his time at KCTCS, Box held four positions – president of Hazard Community and Technical College, KCTCS vice president of technology, KCTCS chancellor and almost six years as system president. Box was involved in or led many of the system’s successes. Achievements included:

    • Hazard Community & Technical College President (2002-2007): Established the Kentucky School of Bluegrass and Traditional Music located in Hyden, which has national recognition and students enrolled from across the nation.

    • KCTCS Vice President over Technology Solutions (2007-2009): In 2009, KCTCS launched Learn on Demand. The transformative online program allows students to assess out of modules of instruction based on prior knowledge. Because of this early innovation, KCTCS became one of the founding members of the national Competency-Based Education Network, which includes members such as Western Governors University and Southern New Hampshire University.

    • KCTCS Chancellor (2009-2014): Box worked with university provosts and legislators to write legislation that ensures that general education KCTCS college courses are accepted fully by Kentucky’s public universities. KCTCS became the Commonwealth’s largest provider of online education.

    • KCTCS President (2015-2020):, KCTCS has seen increases in student success metrics, new programs approved to meet today’s business and industry’s workforce needs, and growing record numbers of credentials awarded with KCTCS now second in the nation per capita for number of credentials awarded by public, two-year colleges based on percentage of population. Box was a founding member of the Kentucky Chamber’s Business and Education Roundtable, which advocates ways for business, education, and government to work together to build Kentucky’s economy. 

    Box oversaw increases in KCTCS colleges’ national ranking and status: 

    • Selected by President Donald Trump to serve on the American Workforce Policy Advisory Board, which raised Kentucky’s community college profile nationally. 

    • Served on Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s National Advisory Group, National Council of State Directors of Community Colleges, American Association of Community Colleges Sustainability Education and Economic Task Force, Southern Regional Education Board’s Commission on Career and Technical Education, Aspen Institute’s Innovation in Higher Education Working Group and the national board of Rebuilding America’s Middle Class.

    • Several KCTCS colleges have been named by the Aspen Institute as one of the top 150 community colleges in the nation, with two in the top 10 colleges.

    • KCTCS was recently named one of the best-in-state employers by Forbes.

    “Jay Box has been a great leader for KCTCS,” Board of Regents Chair Dr. Gail Henson stated. “He is a visionary and a person of great integrity. He will be missed by this board as well as the faculty, staff and students of KCTCS.”

    In other business, the board:

    • Ratified 46 certificate programs.

    • Approved a Diploma in Medium and Heavy Truck Technician for Southcentral Kentucky Community and Technical College.

    • Approved a Diploma in Civil Engineering for Big Sandy Community and Technical College.

    • Approved an Associate in Applied Science in Orthotics and Prosthetics for Bluegrass Community and Technical College.

    • Approved 21,603 academic credential requests between April 11, 2019 – July 17, 2020 (associate degrees, diplomas and certificates).  These credentials include:

      • 13,961 candidates for certificates;
      • 1,303 candidates for diplomas; and
      • 6,339 candidates for associate degrees.

    The next meeting of the KCTCS Board of Regents is scheduled for December 4 at the KCTCS System Office in Versailles.