Governor appoints new members to higher education council

On Tuesday, Gov. Matt Bevin made six appointments to the Council on Postsecondary Education, higher education’s governing agency in Kentucky which oversees public universities and the community and technical college system.

Four people were appointed by former Gov. Steve Beshear last year but those individuals were not confirmed by the State Senate during the last legislative session. Two other members of the council saw their terms expire and were not reappointed.

The Council is composed of thirteen citizen members, a faculty member, and a student member, all appointed by the Governor. The Commissioner of Education serves as a nonvoting ex-officio member.

All of Governor Bevin’s appointments represent business and industry.

According to the Lexington Herald-Leader, the six new appointees include:

• Ron Beal, of Bowling Green, president of Luvata’s Tubes Division with its main U.S. operations center in Franklin;
• Ben Brandstetter, of Hebron, vice president of the Transportation Engineering Division of Brandstetter Carroll Inc.;
• Luke Mentzer, of Lexington, program manager in acquisitions and mergers for Lexmark International in Lexington;
• Joe Papalia, of Louisville, chief executive officer of Munich Welding and Deposition Technology Innovations in Jeffersonville, Indiana;
• Vidya Ravichandran, of Louisville, technology entrepreneur owner of Glow Touch Technologies in Louisville;
• Carol Wright, of Tyner, president and chief executive officer of Jackson Energy Cooperative in McKee.