MSU grad named KSU interim provost
Morehead State University alumnus Dr. Lucian Yates III has been named interim provost and vice president for academic affairs at Kentucky State University.
He begins the position on July 1. Yates was inducted into the MSU Alumni Hall of Fame in 2012.
“It is with great excitement that we welcome Provost Yates back to the ‘College on the Hill,’” KSU President Christopher Brown said of Yates acceptance and homecoming.
Yates’ career in education has spanned more than 40 years and includes P-12 through graduate education. During his prior tenure at Kentucky State, Yates served as chair of the School of Education from 2004 to 08. 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).
“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 must continue to enhance our contributions to the regional and national workforce needs,” said Brown.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in history and political science and a master’s degree in history and education from MSU in 1974 and received a Ph.D. degree in curriculum, instruction and supervision from Ohio University.
Yates most recently served as the graduate school dean and professor of curriculum and instruction at Tennessee State University. 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.
“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.”
