The executive committee of the Southern Regional Education Board has named Dale Winkler as interim president. 

SREB President Stephen L. Pruitt has announced his departure from SREB to become the next president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. Winkler will work closely with Pruitt until Pruitt ends his tenure at SREB in late June.

The executive committee will conduct a search for a new president this summer. 

“The executive committee, Governor Kemp, and I are confident that Dr. Winkler is the right person to sustain the momentum underway in supporting the needs of states, districts and the thousands of educators across the region,” said SREB Board Vice Chair Felicia Cumings Smith, president of the National Center for Families Learning. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is the current SREB chair.

Winkler is SREB’s senior vice president for school improvement, leading the organization’s efforts to assist states, schools and districts in connecting classrooms, careers and college.

He was previously a high school teacher, principal and associate commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education. He holds a bachelor’s in accounting and master’s in secondary education from Cumberland College and doctorate in educational leadership from the University of Kentucky. 

“I look forward to collaborating with states, schools and higher education institutions to address common problems of practice and education and workforce priorities,” Winkler said.