Centre honoring Crit Luallen ’74 for enduring dedication and service
During her decades of public service, Crit Blackburn Luallen ’74 was often reminded how her experiences as a Centre College student helped shape her approach.
“Centre prepared me to face difficult decisions. Centre armed me with the confidence to walk through every door of opportunity that opened,” she told graduates during a 2015 Commencement address. “And Centre taught me to go out and make a difference in the world.”
For Luallen, that final lesson turned into her life’s mission.
Luallen is retiring from the Centre College Board of Trustees after a remarkable 28-year term. In recognition of her contributions to the College, she is being awarded the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Service.
Click Here to Read About Centre's 2026 Commencement Exercises
“Crit Luallen has been steadfast in her dedication to Centre College,” said President Milton C. Moreland. “Her governance on the board mirrors her leadership in state politics, demonstrating integrity and a principled approach built on the strength of her convictions.”
Luallen received the award, created by a fellow Centre graduate, Professor of Glass Patrick Martin '86, during Centre’s 203rd Commencement Ceremony.
A groundbreaking legacy
In the fall 1970, Crit Blackburn Luallen first stepped onto Centre College’s campus as a first-year student from Frankfort, Kentucky. Enrollment was 679, the Norton Center for the Arts was under construction, the Flame sculpture was celebrating its first anniversary, and Thomas Spragens was entering his 14th year as Centre President.
Over the last 50 years, she has watched the College grow in remarkable ways with dynamic new majors and athletics programs, new and improved residence halls, and the expansion of a global curriculum that truly takes students around the world.
Since 1998, Luallen has helped the Board oversee those improvements, ensuring Centre stays true to the values that shaped her career.
“I am deeply humbled,” Luallen said upon receiving the award. “When I hear Milton talk about all the different ways that I've served Centre, it really brings up some wonderful memories because my experiences at Centre have defined my life and my career, and serving on this board has been the honor of a lifetime.”
After receiving her degree in Art, Luallen wasted no time carving out her place in a family legacy of public service that extends back to the 19th century. She got her start in politics working in the campaign mailroom of Kentucky governor-turned-senator Wendell Ford.
She was part of the successful gubernatorial campaign of Martha Layne Collins, for whom she later served as a special assistant and as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of the Arts, helping found the Governor’s School for the Arts. Luallen also served as secretary of the Kentucky Tourism Cabinet, secretary of the Finance and Administration Cabinet, and secretary of Gov. Paul Patton’s Executive Cabinet. In all, Luallen has served seven Kentucky governors during her career.
Her first elected role, as Auditor of Public Accounts, began in 2003. Luallen was re-elected by a landslide in 2007. Her tenure as auditor drew praise for her tenacious and bipartisan work to snuff out fraud. In 2014, she was appointed Kentucky Lt. Governor. She currently serves as chair of the Kentucky Ethics Branch Executive Commission.
In 2019, the University of Kentucky Martin School of Public Policy and Administration recognized her as a Trailblazer in Public Policy. She was named a Centre Distinguished Alumna in 1994 and recognized as the Centre Associate of the Year in 2017.
Her service on the Board of Trustees has included serving as Vice-Chair since 2022. She was elected secretary in 2016, making her the first woman elected to serve as an officer of the Board. She has also chaired the governance committee since 2016, and she co-chaired the Board’s Working Group on Diversity and Inclusion in 2018-19. Additionally, she led the presidential search committee that recruited Moreland as the College’s 21st President.
Throughout her groundbreaking career, Luallen has remained a staunch supporter of Centre College and a valuable spokesperson for the transformative power of a Centre education.
“You graduates should never doubt that in this rapidly changing world, your liberal arts degree is more important than ever before,” Luallen told Centre’s newest graduating class. “You will leave here prepared for any path you choose, and because of the Centre experience, you will lead meaningful lives of service and leadership.
“And the second thing I know for certain is that you will leave here with a real treasure, and that is a lifetime of friendships that will grow even more meaningful with each passing year.”
