Kim Hunter Reed Appointed to Lead the Colorado Department of Higher Education

John Hickenlooper, governor of Colorado, has appointed Kim Hunter Reed as the next executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education. If confirmed by the state Senate, Dr. Reed will be the first African American woman to serve in the position.

Dr. Reed served as under secretary of education for postsecondary diversity and inclusion in the Obama administration. She also served as head of the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Earlier, she was chief of staff for the Louisiana Board of Regents and executive vice president of the University of Louisiana System.

Dr. Reed is a two-time graduate of Louisiana State University with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a master of public administration degree. She earned a doctorate in public policy from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.