AAEA Legacy Leader

Dr. Tom Kimbrell

Leading up to the 50th anniversary of the AAEA Summer Conference which will take place on July 28-30, 2025, at the Statehouse Convention Center and Marriott Hotel, we are interviewing some of the greatest education leaders over the past several decades. Our first interview is with Dr. Tom Kimbrell, former AAEA Executive Director and Arkansas Commissioner of Education.

Dr. Tom Kimbrell grew up in Corning where his dad was superintendent. He began his career in education as a science teacher and coach in Pocahontas in 1984. After three years, he moved to Paragould and then back home to Corning for his first administrative job as assistant principal. After a few years, he moved back to Paragould where he served in administration at the high school and then on to the central office as Director of Finance. After one year in this position, Mr. Lee Vent, the superintendent, moved to another district and Dr. Kimbrell had his first opportunity to serve as a district superintendent. He served as the district leader of Paragould for nine years.

Dr. Kimbrell decided to move closer to central Arkansas to be more involved in the political process and fulfill his goal of leading education at the state level. He was hired as superintendent of the North Little Rock School District. At the end of his first year in this position, Dr. Kellar Noggle, the first Executive Director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators (AAEA) announced his retirement. The AAEA Board President approached Dr. Kimbrell about the position of Executive Director. Dr. Kimbrell called to share the news with his father, one of the original leaders who met decades before to organize the AAEA. When Dr. Kimbrell told his dad that Dr. Noggle was leaving his dad responded, “I’d sure hate to be the one who had to follow him.” Dr. Kimbrell then told his dad that he was planning to take the position. His dad quickly recovered by saying, “Well, you’ll do a good job!”

Dr. Kimbrell served as the Executive Director of the AAEA for five years which he describes as “the best job he has ever had in education.” Governor Beebe then approached him to serve as the Commissioner of Education for the state of Arkansas. He served as Commissioner for five years before moving back to the superintendency in the Bryant School District for the final three years of his career.

Dr. Kimbrell and his wife, Tina, have been married since 1989 and have two children, Kason and Gracie. Kason and his wife Haley have one child, Kash. After retiring, Dr. Kimbrell and Tina moved to Greenbrier and built a house on a small farm where they enjoy visiting with their neighbors. Of course, their favorite activity is seeing their kids and playing with their grandson. They also enjoy traveling, watching the Razorbacks play baseball, and going to the Arkansas Travelers games where they hold season tickets. Currently, Tom and Tina have visited 9 of the 31 major league parks in the past couple of years and they intend to visit the rest over the next few years.

Dr. Kimbrell’s advice to current leaders is, “Try to fixate on the things you can change. Try to ensure and demand that you educate every kid and provide every opportunity you can. Lean on one another. If you’re a leader today you are going to have to have friends, people that will help you.”

To support new leaders, Dr. Kimbrell suggested this: “Ask questions. Surround yourself with mentors you know are doing the right thing. Learn from their mistakes and successes. Learn from your own mistakes and successes.”

When asked about the greatest benefit of AAEA membership, Dr. Kimbrell said, “Without the AAEA I would have never met those wonderful individuals that helped me survive all of my work. Everybody works together and brings their own thoughts, processes, and opinions. When we all work together, that’s when the magic happens.”

Dr. Kimbrell understands the importance of education. He stated, “If you don’t have an educated population, you have a population that, in my opinion, can be led in the wrong direction.”

Click here to watch Dr. Kimbrell’s complete interview and learn more about this Legacy Leader.