But for Ken Tucker, the path from the county courthouse to the next post took a different trajectory. In this state’ s 200-year history, he may be the only county commissioner to become a university president.

In 2015 – after a dozen years on the Marengo County Commission – he became president of the University of West Alabama. As he sees it, the two roles are more alike than many people might expect, and those commonalities were abundantly clear in April.

Photo: University of West Alabama

That is when, in partnership with AT & T, UWA hosted the first Alabama Summit on Rural Technology to convene diverse leaders for the purpose of enhancing the region’ s technology infrastructure as a means to improve economic development, education and quality of life. ACCA Executive Director Sonny Brasfield spoke in a session focused on public policy aspects of rural technology.

UWA undergraduate and graduate programs enroll about 2,000 students on campus and a roughly equal number in online programs.

Tucker earned his Ph. D. at the University of Alabama, and today he holds leadership posts with a number of organizations related to education and economic development. His career has spanned both public and private sectors, and he is a member of Leadership Alabama.

A native son of Marengo County, Tucker now lives in Livingston, the county seat for Sumter County. He and his wife are the proud parents of four married daughters, who have given them three grandchildren.

Those who were part of the county family in 2012 may recall that Marengo County took home an Excellence in County Government Award presented by ACCA for a successful rural healthcare initiative that preserved labor and delivery services at the local hospital.

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