TOPEKA — Gov. Laura Kelly nominated to the Kansas Board of Regents a former Fort Scott Community College president as well as the top executive of an information technology company, while reappointing the higher education board’s chairman to a new term.
Kelly said she would forward to the Kansas Senate the appointments of Alysia Johnston, who worked 37 years in community college education, and Neelima Parasker, president and chief executive officer of SnapIT Solutions, to four-year terms on the bipartisan board.
They would replace Cheryl Harrison-Lee, chief executive of the HLDC management consulting firm, and Shelly Kiblinger, an education consultant who served as an administrator in the Cherryvale, Hutchinson and Garden City public schools. Jon Rolph, president and chief executive officer of Thrive Restaurant Group, was nominated to a second four-year term.
All were 2019 appointees of Kelly, a Democrat responsible for filling the nine-member board with oversight of 32 state universities, community colleges and technical colleges.
Kelly said the three nominees were highly qualified and dedicated to advancing Kansas’ public post-secondary institutions.
“I look forward to working with them and the entire Board of Regents as we continue to ensure Kansas’ higher education system is positioned to meet the needs of students, families and businesses,” the governor said.
Johnston most recently worked as president of Fort Scott Community College. She was vice president for academic services at Coffeyville Community College from 2005 to 2015. She earned bachelor’s degree in animal science from Kansas State University and a master’s degree in biology at Pittsburg State University.
Parasker heads SnapIT Solutions, which offers IT services, software product development training and staffing. She graduated from Osmania University in India with a mechanical engineering degree and earned a master’s degree in computer science at Oklahoma City University.
Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and Twitter.
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