By RONNIE ELLIS
CNHI
FRANKFORT —
Robert F. Sexton, the longtime director of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence and a vocal proponent of education reform, has died.
Sexton, 68, died Thursday evening at the University of Kentucky Medical Center after a long battle with cancer.
“Many Kentuckians may not realize the revolutionary impact Bob had on shaping our state’s education practices, but it is not an exaggeration to say that Bob Sexton has influenced and enriched the education experience for generations of students,” said Gov. Steve Beshear. “Our thoughts and prayers remain with his wife Pam and their family.”
Harry Moberly, D-Richmond, had known Sexton since his college days when Moberly was in an intern program at Frankfort administered by Sexton. The two often discussed education in Kentucky as Moberly helped craft legislation he said often was shaped by those discussions with Sexton.
“I don’t believe the Prichard Committee which has done a great deal in improving education in Kentucky would have stayed on track without Bob Sexton,” Moberly said. “He was a continual prodder and provoker of education issues and discussions that moved Kentucky forward. Bob Sexton was a great Kentuckian.”
Sexton headed the Prichard Committee from the time it was formed in 1983 to advocate for education in Kentucky. The Louisville native had a bachelor’s degree from Yale and a Ph.D. in history from the University of Washington. He served pm the boards of the Kentucky Long-Term Policy Research Center and the New Opportunity School for Woman. He was a founder of the Governor’s Scholar Program and the Kentucky Center for Public Issues. He was a visiting scholar at Harvard University and the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, according to information released by the Prichard Committee.
Before joining the Prichard Committee, Sexton was Deputy Director of the Council on Higher Education which was replaced by the Council of Postsecondary Education created by the 1997 higher education reform.
Dr. Terry Holliday, Kentucky’s Commissioner of Education, a post created by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 for which the Prichard Committee worked to see enacted, said Sexton had “an unswerving dedication to strengthening Kentucky’s public education system.” Holliday called Sexton’s passing both a personal and professional loss.
“Kentucky has lost one of its great education leaders and advocates today,” said Dr. Robert King, President of the Council on Postsecondary Education. “Bob was a visionary reformer and a tireless supporter of stronger schools and greater opportunity for Kentucky students. He will be missed, not only by those of us fortunate enough to have known him, but by all citizens who have benefited from his life’s work.”
Plans for a memorial service are pending.
Ronnie Ellis writes for CNHI News Service and is based in Frankfort. Reach him at rellis@cnhi.com. Follow CNHI News Service stories on Twitter at www.twitter.com/cnhifrankfort.
