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Southern University Commencement

Spring 2025 Graduate Commencement Speaker

Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D.
Louisiana Commissioner of Higher Education

Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D., is Louisiana’s commissioner of higher education. She is currently the only woman in the country to have served as a state higher education leader in multiple states. Reed is a proven advocate for students who has worked effectively at campus, state, and federal levels. She was recognized nationally as the 2020 Exceptional Leader by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).

Along with the Louisiana Board of Regents, Reed leads the state’s talent development efforts, focused on increasing educational attainment, erasing achievement gaps, and increasing prosperity. To reach the state’s goal of doubling the number of credentials awarded annually by 2030, she promotes transformational policies and deep collaboration, advancing the Regents’ talent imperative.

In support of that vision, Louisiana’s institutions are focused on strengthening the state’s education-to-employment pipeline, accelerating student success, advancing innovation through research and discovery, and contributing significantly to the state’s economic recovery.

Reed is a nationally recognized student advocate with extensive higher education and government experience. In addition to leading the Colorado Department of Higher Education, she served in President Obama’s administration as deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education, where she also led the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Collectively, Reed has served in senior leadership roles with four governors across two states.

In January 2023, Reed was named as one of the nation’s Top 10 Black higher education leaders by Forbes, which stated, “Louisiana’s top higher ed exec is unrivaled, the absolute best among state-level leaders.”

A native of Lake Charles, Louisiana, Reed received a doctorate in public policy from Southern University and A&M College. She has a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Louisiana State University and A&M College.