Cofield, William E., Sr.
(born: August 1939 - died: August 8, 2021)In 1991, William E. Cofield was the first African American appointed to the Franklin County Board of Education. He was a member of the board for 25 years. Cofield was also an appointed member of the board of regents at Morehead State University. In 1992, Kentucky Governor Brereton Jones reappointed him to the Morehead Board of Regents. In 2004, Cofield was named president of the National Caucus of Black School Board Members. He had also served as president of the Kentucky NAACP Conference for 28 years, and also served as president of the Franklin County NAACP Branch. In 1983, he was elected president of the United Way of Kentucky. William E. Cofield, Sr. was born in LaGrange, GA, and his family moved to Pennsylvania when he was a child. They returned to Georgia when he was a teen. He is a graduate of Fort Valley State University, Tuskegee University, and worked on his doctorate [ABD] at Ohio State University. Cofield moved to Frankfort, KY in 1973, and was a professor at Kentucky State University.
In 2018, the William Cofield High School was named. It is a conceptual school housed inside the Franklin County Career and Technical Center. "The performance-based program allows students the opportunity to graduate with a full-fledged diploma in a non-traditional school setting," said Franklin County Schools Superintendent Mark Kopp in the State Journal.
William E. Cofield, Sr. died in 2021.
For more see In Black and White. A guide to magazine articles, newspaper articles, and books concerning Black individuals and groups, 3rd ed., edited by M. M. Spradling; and M. Davis, "An ardent advocate for kids, education," Lexington Herald-Leader, 06/27/2004, City&Region section, p.C1; "Jones continues to name university board members," Lexington Herald-Leader, 04/15/1992, p.15; "People You Know: Elected vice president," Daily News, 05/24/1983, p.5; Chanda Veno, "William Cofield honored at new 'conceptual' high school," State Journal, 10/22/2018 (online); "Obituaries: William E. Cofield, Sr.," State Journal, 08/16/2021 (online).