Gov. Steve Beshear signed an order Thursday to attach the Council on Postsecondary Education to his office, saying the move will strengthen the state's hand in recruiting a new higher education chief.

The restructuring shifts the council from the Education Cabinet, where it was moved by Beshear's predecessor, Ernie Fletcher. He had said he wanted it insulated from political influence.

Beshear told reporters the council's president will become one of his top advisers, but said the council will remain independent. The council is the state's coordinating agency for Kentucky's public universities and community and technical colleges.

"To recruit the kind of national leader that we want and that Kentuckians deserve, the CPE president must be positioned as a close adviser to the governor," Beshear said.

Beshear said the arrangement for the council reflects the organizational structure spelled out in the higher education overhaul passed in 1997.

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