Kenyatta Lovett currently serves as the Managing Director for Higher Education at Educate Texas. In this role, he leads the portfolio of programs to support the Educate Texas strategic plan to significantly contribute to Texas’s 60X30TX goal. Dr. Lovett also designs strategies to connect degree and credential attainment to workforce outcomes.
Prior to joining Educate Texas, Dr. Lovett served as the Assistant Commissioner for Workforce Services at the Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development. Under his leadership, the agency launched the state’s first apprenticeship office – Apprenticeship TN. He also led the development and approval activities for Tennessee’s 2020-2024 Workforce Innovation & Opportunity Act Plan. In response to the economic challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Lovett established a partnership with Coursera to provide higher education and postsecondary credential options to nearly 10,000 unemployed Tennesseans. He also introduced braided funding solutions, through his leadership of the Supplemental Nutrition & Assistance Program (Education and Training) to support community college students with emergency aid and supplemental funding support to improve college completion rates.
In 2016, Kenyatta Lovett helped to launch the nation’s first education advocacy group focused on increasing postsecondary attainment – Complete Tennessee. Dr. Lovett was responsible for executing the strategic vision to build community engagement around Tennessee’s plan to significantly increase degree attainment by 2025. He was also responsible for leading efforts in research to better inform policy and practice in higher education.
Prior to joining Complete Tennessee, Dr. Lovett served as an assistant vice chancellor at the Tennessee Board of Regents. He also worked in different roles at Volunteer State Community College, including chief of staff responsibilities for the college’s president. Dr. Lovett has led statewide initiatives for the community college system in Tennessee and played a critical role in the implementation of major higher education reforms within the state, including the Complete College Tennessee Act of 2010 and Governor Haslam’s Drive to 55 Plan. The Tennessean recognized him as one of five key people responsible for the successful launch of the Tennessee Promise, the state’s initiative to cover tuition for high school graduates attending a community college.
Dr. Lovett works with statewide programs focused on improving student access and success. He served on the advisory board for early high school remediation, as well as other programs designed to improve student performance for adults, foster care students, and underserved populations. He is an adjunct professor at Tennessee State University and Lipscomb University. Dr. Lovett has served as a columnist and contributing author for topics related to higher education, public policy, and governance.
Dr. Lovett has a B.F.A. from Howard University, an M.B.A. and a Ph.D. in public policy from Tennessee State University.
