HENDERSON, Ky. – Henderson Community College recently announced the promotion of Mike Knecht to Chief Academic Officer effective Dec. 16, 2023. Knecht is a tenured professor who has worked at HCC for 29 years, most recently as HCC’s Interim Dean of Academic Affairs.
During his tenure, Knecht has held several leadership positions including the Director of Library and Tutor Services, Off-Campus Coordinator, Chair of the Arts and Humanities Division, and Interim Dean of Business Affairs. He will continue to serve as Perkins Grant Coordinator and principal writer.
“Mike brings a wealth of experience with tutoring, student success initiatives, academic scheduling, and new program development,” said HCC President/CEO Jason Warren. “He led efforts to bring the AAS in Health Science Technology to campus in 2019, as well as the addition of numerous academic certificates since then. Most recently, he successfully guided the approval of HCC’s new Associate of AAS in General/Occupational Technical Studies (GOTS) which was approved by the Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) in December 2023. We are very excited to add the GOTS degree to HCC’s academic offerings beginning this fall.”
He has also been instrumental in guiding HCC through multiple Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) Decennial and Fifth-Year Review accreditation cycles, as well as numerous SACSCOC Substantive Change processes.
Knecht holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Emporia State University, a Master’s degree in Library Science from Emporia State University, and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Western Kentucky University. Additionally, he has completed coursework toward the Doctor of Education (EdD) degree from Morehead State University and will graduate in spring 2025.