Dr. Castle currently serves as President and CEO for Somerset Community College, Somerset, Kentucky. He works with a talented group of faculty and staff that are focused on helping students succeed through transfer, technical, and continuing education. These are areas focused on meeting not only their needs but those of the college’s 13-county service area in southcentral and southeastern Kentucky. Dr. Carey Castle is a person who believes great leadership is both essential and contagious, that college students, faculty, and staff like their work and want to be successful, and that the role of technical colleges is clearly separate from other higher education institutions; driven to meet the needs of not only students, but the businesses, industries, and communities that they serve. Castle’s background began with the U.S. Air Force where he worked as an aviation technician on F-4 and F-16 fighter aircraft. He earned the highest enlisted rank of Chief Master Sergeant, demonstrating leadership and team focus at the squadron and group levels, deploying for Operation Desert Storm, Operation Allied Force, and numerous other global assignments. He began his academic career as the Aviation Department Head for Greenville Technical College advancing to become Academic Dean and then Associate Vice President for Education before taking the role of Vice President of Academic and Student Affairs with Northland Community and Technical College. During this period Dr. Castle enjoyed teaching courses, working with students, and helped develop and lead multiple opportunities and partnerships with business, industry, other higher education institutions, and the secondary school systems. Castle continues to be heavily involved with major grant partnerships through both federal and state venues and the enjoys seeing the success options bring to the partners, institutions, and region. Dr. Castle did not take the typical pathway for higher education administrators and began his education with two associate degrees with the Community College of the Air Force. Those achievements gave him the drive he needed to complete his baccalaureate and master’s degrees with Valdosta State University while serving in the Air Force. He culminated his formal education by completing his Doctorate in Higher Education with Nova Southeastern University, but now continues to learn and focus on new areas that help him continually improve. Dr. Castle is focused on teambuilding and partnership attainment. He believes the best way for people to improve is to develop from the inside out, focused on the end goal for their teams. He has successfully realized this idea, first in the Air Force and later in higher education to achieve student success. To him student success is not just about the student but also about the student being successful in the environment surrounding them. That may mean readiness to transfer to a university or learning a trade or specialty skill, but it also means being work-ready for the industries and businesses the college serves. Dr Castle is focused on the next step, the next place, the institution should be driving toward and then working with the people inside and outside of the college to achieve that goal. He believes that the technical college niche is the place for both students and the communities they serve to join up and provide a successful pathway for all. Dr. Castle enjoys golf and being outside and also enjoys driving and working on cars. He is especially proud of Sheila, his wife and life-long partner, and their two sons, Ron, Nathan, and their families.