King University President Alexander W. Whitaker, J.D. to Retire

After an 8-year tenure as President of the religiously affiliated King University in Tennessee, Alexander Whitaker has announced his plans to step down at the end of the 2023-2024 academic year. President Whitaker, who served since 2016, previously served as chief of staff and as head of major gift fundraising at Berry College in Georgia. Also before joining King College, Whitaker served as a gubernatorial appointee on the Georgia Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission. He is a trustee of the Trinity School for Ministry.

Prior to embarking on a career in higher education, President Whitaker served in the Navy for 25 years as an active-duty officer and as a judge advocate. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia and an LLM from Georgetown University (International and Comparative Law). He also holds an MA in religion and a Th.M.

Another Government Lawyer Selected to Lead Higher Education System

The Kentucky Community and Technical College System Board of Regents has selected Ryan Quarles, Ed.D. and J.D., as its fourth president. Quarles was first elected Commissioner of Agriculture in KY in 2016 and from 2011 to 2016, he served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. He has spent 13 years in public service. KCTCS consists of 16 community and technical colleges.

According to the press release announcing the appointment, Quarles was first introduced to higher education policy as a college student, when he was appointed by then Governor Fletcher as the student representative to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, the state’s higher education coordinating agency.

Quarles previously served as associate general counsel at Georgetown College and he worked in private practice.

He earned his JD from the University of Kentucky College of Law, an M. Ed. from Harvard University, and an Ed.D. in higher education administration from Vanderbilt University.

Sophie Zdatny, Chancellor of the VT State Colleges System, to Step Down at the End of December

In 2020, lawyer Sophie Zdatny was named Chancellor of the Vermont State Colleges System. Prior to this appointment, she served the System as Associate General Counsel for three year and as General Counsel for three years. Last week she announced her intention to step down as Chancellor after a successful three-year tenure. She is credited with positively transforming the system despite the challenges of assuming office during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Prior to joining the Vermont State Colleges System, Zdatny spent more than five years with the law firm Dinse, Knapp & McAndrew in Burlington, Vermont, where she represented a number of higher education clients. She previously practiced employment law with Allan Karlin & Associates in Morgantown, West Virginia, following a two-year federal clerkship with Judge Irene Keeley of the Northern District of West Virginia, and two years with Kay, Casto & Chaney, PLLC. She also taught appellate advocacy and served as an adjunct professor in the Immigration Law Clinic at West Virginia University’s College of Law.

Zdatny is a graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law.