Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D., is Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education. She is the only female in the country currently serving as a state higher education lead who has led higher education in more than one state and was recognized nationally as the 2020 Exceptional Leader by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO). In 2021, she successfully led efforts to secure additional state funding of more than $100 million, the largest strategic investment in Louisiana higher education in more than a decade.
Working with the Louisiana Board of Regents, Reed leads the state’s talent development efforts, focused on increasing educational attainment, erasing equity gaps, and increasing prosperity. To reach the state’s goal of doubling the annual number of credentials awarded by 2030, she focuses on transformational policies and deep collaborative engagement in line with Regents’ talent imperative.
In support of that vision, Louisiana’s institutions are focused on strengthening the state’s education-to-employment pipeline, accelerating student success, reskilling and training those seeking new career opportunities, finding solutions through research and discovery, and contributing significantly to the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
Reed is a nationally recognized student advocate with extensive higher education and government experience. In addition to leading the Colorado Department of Higher Education, she served in President Barack Obama’s administration as deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education and led the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Collectively, Reed has served in various senior leadership roles with four governors.
A Lake Charles native, Reed chaired Gov. John Bel Edwards’ higher education transition team in 2015 and served as the state’s policy director. She also served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner for Public Affairs for the Louisiana Board of Regents, as well as an adjunct faculty member and Executive Vice President at the University of Louisiana System.
Reed received a doctorate in public policy from Southern University, a master’s degree in public administration, and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Louisiana State University.
She is a wife, proud volleyball mom to her favorite Millsaps College student, and Louisiana’s chief advocate for talent development.
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Commissioner Reed in the News
2021
- September 22, 2021 – Hurricanes, pandemic underscore need for Louisiana education levels to improve, official says (The Advocate)
- September 20, 2021 – Louisiana colleges already reeling from the pandemic now struggle to recover from Ida (Politico)
- September 12, 2021 – ‘We’re tough people’: Higher ed leaders show support for students displaced by Hurricane Ida (The Daily Advertiser)
- August 19, 2021 – New grant offers aid to healthcare, STEM students near degree or credential completion (Beauregard Daily News)
- August 10, 2021 – Regents create power-violence policies (KATC-TV)
- June 16, 2021 – Fewer Black students in Louisiana take high school classes for college credit, report shows (Insider Higher Ed)
- June 9, 2021 – The (Appropriate) Federal Role in Ensuring College Value (Inside Higher Ed Podcast)
- April 9, 2021 – Once a point of pride, Louisiana’s colleges found their affordability and budgets diminished (The News Star)
- March 24, 2021 – Board of Regents vows to bolster sexual misconduct oversight after LSU report (KLFY-TV)
- January 19, 2021 –Program aims to make Louisiana high schools ‘more relevant’ (New Orleans City Business)
- January 11, 2021 – Louisiana high schools targeted for sweeping changes: ‘It can be a real game changer’ (The Advocate)
- January 9, 2021 – Battered SOWELA determined to arise; goal include new programs, enrollment gains (The Advocate)
2020- December 21, 2020 – Louisiana colleges, public schools in line for new coronavirus aid in latest stimulus bill
- December 11, 2020 – A look at Southern University’s in-person graduation: Six feet apart, masks required
- December 4, 2020 – Southern University to hold Fall 2020 Commencement in person
- November 23, 2020 – Many Louisiana colleges plan to go completely virtual after Thanksgiving
- October 23, 2020 – McNeese making moves for a comeback
- September 20, 2020 – ‘Clearly a huge demand’: This new program at community colleges will retrain Louisiana’s unemployed
- September 16, 2020 – Lake Charles schools suffer $300 million in damages from Hurricane Laura, superintendent says
- September 2020 – Louisiana First Foundation Blog – Louisiana Board of Regents’ COVID-19 Response
- August 18, 2020 – A school year unlike any other
- August 4, 2020 – Universities and colleges prepare for returning students
- July 23, 2020 – Guest column: Louisiana’s colleges and universities made for our coronavirus recovery
- May 15, 2020 – State Cuts Grow Deep
- April 22, 2020 – La. Board of Regents approves emergency rules to address admissions, placement, dual enrollment for public higher ed students
- March 3, 2020 – Keel laid for ship named after civil-rights activist
- March 3, 2020 – Education systems must better match programs to La. workforce needs, panel members urge
- January 16, 2020 – The “Re: Connection” Blog Series: Dr. Kim Hunter Reed — Year Two and a Look to the Future
2019- December 18, 2019 – ULM Commencement speaker: ‘Be a forever learner’
- December 3, 2019 – La. Commissioner of Higher Education to address ULM Commencement
- February 18, 2019 – Higher ed commissioner addresses LSU hazing allegations
- February 18, 2019 – Louisiana community colleges too costly, state’s higher education chief says
- February 18, 2019 – Developing Louisiana talent key to Regents’ Master Plan update
- January 26, 2019 – Commissioner of Higher Education visits NSU
- August 23, 2019 – Dr. Kim Hunter Reed’s remarks about former Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco at an interfaith service Thursday
2018- December 11, 2018 – Commissioner of Higher Ed to speak at LSU Eunice commencement
- October 2, 2018 – COMMISSIONER OF HIGHER EDUCATION MAKING HER ROUNDS First Generation Day, Reed visits students at MSU, Sowela
- October 2, 2018 – New LA Commissioner of Higher Education shares future goals at rotary
- October 1, 2018 – Louisiana commissioner of higher education makes stop in Lake Charles
- August 28, 2018 – Back-to-School Tour with Dr. Kim Hunter Reed
- August 28, 2018 – New La. Higher Ed Commissioner Visits LSUS
- August 27, 2018 – Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education tours NWLA colleges
- August 27, 2018 – New commissioner of higher ed. takes a tour of Shreveport colleges
- August 27, 2018 – New Commissioner of Higher Education embarks on “Back to School” Tour
- August 21, 2018 – Reed praises SW La. for focus on higher education
- August 20, 2018 – Higher Ed Commissioner visits UL
- August 14, 2018 – New higher ed commissioner kicks off state tour at LSUA
- August 13, 2018 – New Commissioner of Higher Education visits Cenla
- August 3, 2018 – Official addresses grads at LSU — a school her grandparents couldn’t attend
- August 6, 2018 – First Person with Dr. Kim Hunter Reed
- Spring 2018 – Dr. Kim Hunter Reed Returns to Louisiana to Continue Higher Education Mission
- April 18, 2018 – Educator, former Blanco aide Kim Hunter Reed named Commissioner of Higher Education