FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 15, 2015
Board of Regents Announce the Retirement of Dr. Andy Tompkins
(Topeka, Kansas) - Kansas Board of Regents President and Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Andy Tompkins, has announced his retirement following 46 years of public service in education.
"As a means of introduction, I have spent most of my career as an educator in leadership roles," begins the letter Dr. Tompkins penned in February 2010, when first asked to consider the position of President and CEO for the Board. "Leading any agency or organization at the state level is an important responsibility and privilege," the letter continues. "As such, I believe that it is best served by those who see this as an honor and who lead from a perspective of servant leadership."
Throughout his five years at the Board of Regents, Dr. Tompkins has fully personified the concept of servant leadership. At the March 5, 2015, Pittsburg State University Apple Day celebration, he spoke of this commitment stating, "What I ultimately discovered in my late 20s and early 30s, was that being in service to a broader good was much more fulfilling. In essence, 'we' became more important than 'me'."
Dr. Tompkins has served at all levels of public education throughout his career, beginning as high school English teacher in 1969. He became a Principal in 1973, then served as Superintendent of Schools in Satanta, El Dorado and Salina from 1977-1994. In 1994, he was hired by Pittsburg State University as Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Special Services and Leadership Studies. He then went on to serve as Interim Dean for the College of Education (1995-1996), a position he returned to as Dean from 2007-2010. In 1996, he was asked to serve as the Commissioner of Education for the Kansas Department of Education, a role he continued in through 2005. From 2005-2007 he was an Associate Professor at the University of Kansas, teaching in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies. He came to the Kansas Board of Regents in 2010.
"The Board simply could not feel more positive about the job Dr. Tompkins has done," stated Kenny Wilk, Chairman of the Kansas Board of Regents. "We are so grateful for his dedicated service to this Board and to the State of Kansas."
Dr. Tompkins intends to step down at the end of June 2015.
Contact: Breeze Richardson – 785-291-3969 (office) or
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About the Kansas Board of Regents:
The nine-member Kansas Board of Regents is the governing board of the state's six universities and the statewide coordinating board for the state's 32 public higher education institutions (six state universities, one municipal university, nineteen community colleges, and six technical colleges). In addition, the Board administers the state's student financial aid, adult education, high school equivalency, and career and technical education programs. Private proprietary schools and out-of-state institutions are authorized by the Kansas Board of Regents to operate in Kansas, and the Board continues to administer Kan-Ed, a program for facilitating and promoting distance learning and telemedicine in schools, libraries and hospitals. Visit the Kansas Board of Regents online at www.kansasregents.org.
Board of Regents Announce the Retirement of Dr. Andy Tompkins (PDF download)