Ryan Quarles
In January, Ryan Quarles became president of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS), which includes a central office in Versailles and 16 colleges with more than 70 campuses across the state.
Quarles brings a wealth of experience to the position, combining a background in government service with advanced degrees from Vanderbilt University, Harvard University, and the University of Kentucky, where he earned a juris doctorate.
A ninth-generation farmer from Scott County, Quarles grew up working on his family’s farm, which dates to the 1780s. “I started working on the farm for $1 an hour when I was 6 years old,” he said. “I saved that money to go to college.”
Quarles’ career in public service began in 2010 when he was elected to the Kentucky House of Representatives. From 2016 to 2023, he served as Kentucky’s commissioner of agriculture, overseeing one of the state’s largest executive agencies, with more than 200 employees.
Since stepping into his leadership role at KCTCS, Quarles has focused on charting a path forward for the state’s community colleges. In June, he presented a comprehensive vision document to the KCTCS Board of Regents, outlining key goals for the next year. A significant part of this plan aligns with the directives of Kentucky Senate Joint Resolution (SJR) 179, which tasks KCTCS with identifying ways to strengthen and advance its system while reporting its findings to state leadership.
Business Lexington spoke with Quarles about what lies ahead for KCTCS.
What prepared you for your role as president of KCTCS?
My mother was a lifelong educator and nursing instructor at Kentucky State University. She was a direct influence on me about the value of an education, especially higher education, as well. She went back to school as an adult learner to get her PhD when she was in her late 40s and 50s. It’s because of her I finished out my doctorate, which prepared me for this role.
My years as a state representative and Agriculture Commissioner also helped. First, they gave me insight into the higher education process in Frankfort — how policy is made and how higher education impacts the state. Second, traveling to every Kentucky county multiple times allowed me to see firsthand the workforce needs across the state, from technical skills to the need for more Kentuckians earning four-year degrees.
What appealed to you about KCTCS?
KCTCS just celebrated 25 years since the reforms of the 1997 House Bill 1. We have the largest student body in Kentucky, with well over 100,000 students and a footprint in every county. Enrollment is up over 8% from last year.
We are the state’s largest provider of workforce training. We currently work with and interact with over 7,000 Kentucky companies every year, and we’re always looking for partnerships to help solve workforce needs in our state. The best experience for our students is when they know that there’s a job waiting for them once they complete their studies. For example, last spring, I met a student finishing his electrical degree who already had a job lined up months before graduation.
We’re also the largest provider of dual credit, meaning that we are in our high schools now, providing early college experiences for high schoolers across our state, so they can jump-start their college studies.
We’re proud that we are educating Kentuckians who have faced a few bumps in the road, meaning that we are in our addiction and recovery communities. We’re also in our jails and prisons, teaching Kentuckians as they exit the criminal justice system.
There are 300,000 Kentuckians without a high school diploma. We are the largest provider of not just associate degrees and technical degrees, and the biggest provider of certificates, but we’re also a provider for those Kentuckians who want to achieve the dream of getting their GED.
Can you talk about the vision statement you presented to the Board of Regents in June?
As only the fourth president of KCTCS and the first native Kentuckian in the role, I felt it was crucial to articulate a vision for the system’s future, not just for the next year but for the next decade.
First and foremost is to achieve compliance with the multiple state audits that I inherited as the new president. We just finished two audits, and we have one more to go — primarily about financial issues and policies that need to be corrected.
We are also focusing on a once-in-a-generation reset of KCTCS through Senate Joint Resolution 179. We are finishing up well over 8,000 hours of work reviewing KCTCS after 25 years and preparing us for the next 25 years. We’re finalizing a reform package that includes legislation for this upcoming session.
What details can you share about that report?
The report includes recommendations to maintain our affordability advantage compared to four-year colleges while ensuring we are adequately funded. It also emphasizes the need for a statewide workforce plan that defines KCTCS’s role.
We need to ensure that we provide the best experience at KCTCS — whether high school students, traditional students, or adult learners — and how we can remove barriers so they can achieve their goals, whether pursuing a four-year degree or earning a certificate.
We’re also expecting changes in our board of governance. And we need to have more program sharing across the state. Program sharing might be where Maysville has a healthcare program that we need to replicate, say, in Ashland. Instead of reinventing the program, we can share that program across counties.
What work pathways are you finding most in demand across Kentucky?
We know that we have a shortage of allied health workers, primarily nurses. We are the largest nursing provider in Kentucky. We also train behind-the-scenes medical professionals like lab workers and technicians. We also have one of only four prosthetic limb schools in the country.
Another area is cybersecurity. You don’t need a four-year degree to be a cybersecurity professional. And, of course, anything to do with jobs that require you to work with your hands — meaning welders, electricians, aviation mechanics.
A lot of people find it surprising that the Kentucky Fire Commission is attached to KCTCS. The Fire Commission oversees most of the training for our 18,000 firefighters across Kentucky. Firefighters can not only get their annual training that they need through us, they can also earn college credit.
What is the enrollment cliff, and how is KCTCS positioned for it?
Back in 2008-2009 and in the subsequent years of the financial recession, the birth rate in America went down. This means fewer students in the pipeline.
Additionally, there’s a growing narrative questioning the value of higher education, citing concerns over student loans and degree relevancy.
KCTCS is well-positioned to address these challenges. We’re focused on getting students in and out in two years or less. Over 80% of our students receive financial aid, and two out of three students pay no out-of-pocket tuition.
While we’re concerned about overall enrollment trends, KCTCS is somewhat insulated. About a third of our students are high schoolers earning dual credit and another third are adult learners. Our flexibility and affordability keep us competitive.