Past Presidents

Kentucky State University presidential lineage 

Kentucky State University, which was founded in 1886, has had 18 permanent presidents since its humble beginnings. 

Four presidents have served multiple terms, with each term counting as a separate presidency. John Henry Jackson (1886-1898, 1907-1910), James Shelton Hathaway (1900-1907, 1910-1912), Green Pinckney Russell (1912-1923, 1924-1929) and Raymond M. Burse (1982-1989, 2014-2016) all served as multiple-term presidents. Previous historians have not always advanced the number of presidents in the institution’s history because of multiple-term presidencies. For example, instead of counting John Henry Jackson as the first and fourth president, Jackson would only be counted as the first president. Considering Jackson as the first and fourth president is considered a best practice and is done so in the University’s official history.   

Multiple interim presidents have guided Kentucky State throughout its history, but are not counted in the institution’s list of permanent presidents. Kentucky State honors those who have moved the University onward, upward and forward during its historical service to the Commonwealth and the nation.

	John Henry Jackson 1886 – 1898		James Edward Givens 1898 – 1900
	James Shelton Hathaway 1900 – 1907		John Henry Jackson 1907 – 1910
	James Shelton Hathaway 1910 – 1912		Green Pinckney Russell 1912 – 1923
	Francis Marion Wood 1923 – 1924		Green Pinckney Russell 1924 – 1929
	Rufus B. Atwood 1929 – 1962		Carl McClellan Hill 1962 – 1975
	William A. Butts 1975 – 1982		Raymond M. Burse 1982 – 1989
	John T. Wolfe, Jr. 1990 – 1991		Mary L. Smith 1991 – 1998
	George W. Reid 1998 – 2002		Mary Evans Sias 2004 – 2014
	Raymond M. Burse 2014 – 2016		M. Christopher Brown II 2017 - 2021
	Koffi C. Akakpo 2023 – Present