Where Did Andy Beshear Go to College?

Andy Beshear has won several elections in his political career — one for Kentucky attorney general and two for its governor.

Beshear gained national attention when he made the shortlist of select lawmakers considered for Kamala Harris’ running mate in the 2024 election. While not ultimately selected, Beshear reaffirmed his commitment to the Bluegrass State in a statement, saying that Kentucky is “in his DNA.”

“Over the past several weeks we’ve seen Kentucky get such positive national attention for what we’ve accomplished by working together,” he said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. “I’m in this office this morning working hard to ensure we continue this incredible momentum as we build a better future for every single Kentuckian.”

Born and raised in Kentucky, Beshear, 46, graduated from Henry Clay High School in 1996. After high school, he attended Vanderbilt University for his bachelor’s degree, majoring in political science and anthropology, and joined the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Studying anthropology taught me the importance of trying to understand where other people are coming from, and trying to establish good communication with people who may come from a very different place, but that you may have more in common with than you initially believed, Beshear said in a 2020 interview with Vanderbilt Magazine.

Despite running for various positions during his middle school and high school years, Beshear’s first election win was in college when he ran for president of Interhall, the organization overseeing the university’s student-life programming.

I got a lot of satisfaction out of making a difference, he said. I didn’t think that would lead me to run for other things, but it certainly taught me that why you put yourself up for office is what drives you to be successful.

Following his college graduation in 2000, Beshear attended the University of Virginia School of Law, earning his Juris Doctor degree in 2003. His first job out of law school was at White & Case LLP in Washington, D.C., where he worked for two years before joining the law firm Stites & Harbison, in Louisville, Kentucky, where his father served as managing partner.

Beshear practiced law until he announced he was running for attorney general in 2013, a position his father held from 1979-1983. He won the election by approximately 2,000 votes and served as attorney general from 2016-2019. In 2018, he launched his gubernatorial campaign, winning the election in 2019 and successfully securing reelection in 2023.

Despite being a Democratic governor with a Republican-controlled legislature and supermajority, Beshear has advocated for substantial investments in the state’s higher education institutions.

One of his earliest actions as governor was announcing the state Board of Education would waive fees for students taking the GED test for the first time.

Beshear also supports diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs on college campuses, in contrast to the state Legislature, which has introduced two bills aimed at eliminating DEI practices in higher education.

DEI is not a four-letter word, Beshear said in a March 5 speech commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1964 March on Frankfort. DEI is a three-letter acronym for very important values that are found in our Bible. Diversity, equity, and inclusion is about loving each other. It’s about living out the Golden Rule. … Diversity will always make us stronger. It is an asset and never a liability.

The governor’s 2022-2024 state budget proposal included an 11.7% increase for the state’s nine public postsecondary education institutions, more than $100 million in funding for local vocational centers and state-operated area technical schools, and funding for 19 new university capital projects.

His most recent budget proposal for 2024-2026 includes another $100 million to improve secondary career and technical education centers, an almost 8% increase in funding to postsecondary education institutions over the two years, and almost $50 million each year for three new student loan forgiveness programs for teachers, social service workers, and state employees.

Kentuckians don’t wake up every morning thinking about Democrat or Republican — and neither does this budget, Beshear said in a 2023 press release. We are working to address the things that actually matter to our people … that are important to everyone. This budget reflects our shared Kentucky values of family, faith, and community.