President's Cabinet
Dr. Cynthia Kelley
President
Dr. Kelley comes to KCTCS from Motlow State Community College in Lynchburg, Tennessee where she served as vice president of Academic Affairs. She also served as vice president of academic affairs at Kanawha Valley Community and Technical College. In addition, Dr. Kelley served a variety of leadership positions at West Virginia University at Parkersburg and taught special education in the West Virginia public schools.
- Ph.D. in curriculum and instruction, Ohio University in Athens, Ohio
- M.A. in education of gifted and talented students, West Virginia University
- B.A. in elementary education, Glenville State College, Glenville, West Virginia.
Ray Gillaspie
Chief Business Officer
Ray Gillaspie served as director of Kentucky Tech West Daviess County Campus in Owensboro, Kentucky for 22 years. In that capacity he was responsible for supervision of all academic programming, vocational/technical training, student support programming, and facilities and budget management. During that same time he served as an adjunct instructor for Murray State University in Vocational Teacher Preparation. He is also a graduate of the College Business Management Institute conducted by the University of Kentucky. Since 2000, he has served as Madisonville's chief business officer.
- M.S. in industrial education, Murray State University
Dr. Jay Parrent
Vice-President, Administration
Dr. Jay Parrent is a native of western Kentucky and has been at Madisonville Community College since 2002. Prior to his appointment as vice president of quality assurance and administration, he served as the college's chief student affairs officer. Prior to that role, he was the registrar at MCC and began his career at Kentucky Wesleyan College. In 2010, Jay was appointed to the Kentucky Board of Education by Governor Steve Beshear. He currently supervises the college's marketing, public relations, grants, planning, diversity, accreditation, and institutional effectiveness activities.
- Ed.D. in educational leadership studies, University of Kentucky
- M.A. higher education administration, University of Louisville
- M.A. in history, Murray State University
- B.A. in history, Kentucky Wesleyan College
Melanie Tapp
Director of Workforce Solutions
Melanie Tapp, director of workforce solutions, previously served as the assistant director of workforce solutions at MCC. Her professional experience includes a stint as the director of workforce development for Madisonville Hopkins County Economic Development Corporation.
Tapp currently serves on the Hopkins County Young Professionals Board of Directors, the Hopkins County Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and the Crittenden County Economic Development Board. In 2023, she was recognized as one of the 30 under 40 Successful People in Western Kentucky by the Western Kentucky Business Journal.
- Bachelor of Integrated Studies - Murray State University
Dr. Sid Hill
Provost
Dr. Hill was appointed MCC’s provost in 2022. He had previously served as vice president of organizational development and leadership at Motlow State Community College in Tennessee. Prior to that role, he also served the college as academic dean of their Moore County Campus, the director of institutional effectiveness and assessment, the academic assessment specialist, and program coordinator and assistant professor in the early childhood education program.
- Ed.D. in private and post-secondary leadership, East Tennessee State University
- M.S., Tennessee State University
- B.A. in English, University of Memphis
Austin Tarkington
Director of Advancement
Austin is a Madisonville native and comes to MCC from 5/3 Bank, where he was the financial center manager and personal banker for a number of years. Austin is a first generation graduate of the University of Kentucky with the Bachelor of Science in business administration. He’s been active in our local community as the minister of music at Hanson Baptist Church and as the vice president of the board of directors for Habitat for Humanity-Pennyrile Region.
- B.S. in Business Administration, University of Kentucky
