Koffi C. Akakpo, Ph.D.

Dr. Koffi C. Akakpo has held leadership roles in higher education for more than 16 years, with a proven record of fostering inclusion and openness, team building, strong fiscal accountability, strategic planning, and dynamic problem solving. He has implemented a “students first” philosophy at each institution he has served.

Since 2019, Dr. Akakpo has been President/Chief Executive Officer of Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC). Central Kentucky‘s largest comprehensive public two-year college, BCTC serves more than 15,000 college credit students annually across multiple campuses and via online classes.

During his four-year tenure, the college has expanded programs, adding Computer Engineering Technology, Integrated Engineering Technology (in partnership with University of Kentucky), Orthotic & Prosthetic Technology, Health Science Technology, and Emergency Medical Services – Paramedic; has received a Center of Academic Excellence for Cybersecurity Education designation from the National Security Agency and Department of Homeland Security; and has increased the number of credentials by 26% and the number of individuals who earned credentials up by 22% despite the pandemic. In addition to increases in enrollment, the college had an overall increase in graduation rates from 24% to 35%, including graduation rates for African Americans rose to 24% from 12% and 20% for Hispanic students.

Prior to his appointment at BCTC, Dr. Akakpo was Vice President for Business, Administrative, and Student Services at North Central State College (NCSC). During his eight-year career at NCSC, he also held the offices of Chief Operating Officer and Chief Student Services Officer. A public post-secondary institution serving the residents of north central Ohio, NCSC is one of only four community colleges in the state to receive approval to confer bachelor’s degrees. During his first year, he engaged faculty, deans, staff, and students in developing a strategic enrollment management plan that enabled the college to respond to a steep enrollment decline. Accordingly, the trend was reversed, and, in 2014, NCSC began an upward trend of enrollment growth and achieved 1% Total FTE growth in FY 2017 and 2% Total FTE growth in FY 2018, placing NCSC at or near the top of Ohio’s 23 community colleges with respect to enrollment growth.

In 2007, Dr. Akakpo was appointed by the Governor of Ohio to serve as Department Secretary/Director of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR). During his four-year appointment, he pioneered department-wide strategic realignment process, efficiency and cost avoidance, resource development, and budget recalibration that saved over $23 million in 12 months and over $63 million in 24 months.

Dr. Akakpo began his administrative and academic career in 2003 at Central State University, a historically Black college and university in Ohio. As Director of Academic Financial Planning & Management (Chief Academic Business Officer), he streamlined the annual budgeting process to involve all stakeholders, including faculty, and tied strategic planning goals to the budget planning process. He also led a major restructuring of academic programs and units through a robust and collaborative needs assessment process. The results included the creation of 21 new faculty positions that successfully helped address accreditation and faculty workload issues without any additional cost to the academic and institutional budgets.

Dr. Akakpo holds a Ph.D. in higher education administration from the University of Toledo, Ohio, a Master of Business Administration from Ashland University, Ohio, and a Master of Science from Universite du Benin, Lome, Togo.