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Former Ky. Education Commissioner Appointed As President Of Southern Regional Education Board

Posted at 2:40 PM, May 24, 2018
and last updated 2018-05-24 14:40:13-04

LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18 )-  The former Kentucky Education commissioner has a new job.

Stephen L. Pruitt will serve as the next president of the Southern Regional Education Board. 

SREB’s Executive Committee unanimously selected Pruitt, 49, after a months-long nationwide search. He will succeed Dave Spence, 73, who has been SREB president since 2005 and informed the Board in June 2017 of his intention to retire this summer. 

“I am honored by the opportunity to lead the Southern Regional Education Board, which has long been a driving force in improving education in the states,” Pruitt said. “I will work to ensure that each student from pre-K through postsecondary has access to an equitable and rigorous education that prepares them for their chosen careers.”

Stephen Pruitt started his education career as a high school chemistry teacher in Fayette County, Georgia. He served in several leadership roles at the Georgia Department of Education, including associate superintendent for assessment and accountability and chief of staff. As senior vice president for Achieve, a nonpartisan education organization, he worked closely with state agencies and educators around the country to improve science education. Most recently, he was Kentucky’s state commissioner of education.
 
A native of Georgia, Pruitt holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from the University of North Georgia, a master’s degree in science education from the University of West Georgia and a doctoral degree in chemistry education from Auburn University.
 
Pruitt and his wife are parents of two children: a son who attends the University of Colorado Boulder and a daughter at the University of Kentucky.