Brandon L. Baskett is the new Dean for Higher Education Services at the Lexington District 1 College Center for the 2020–2021 academic year.

The School District 1 Board of Trustees approved the promotion at its Feb. 18 board meeting.

In this new position, Baskett will oversee the dis trict’s efforts to advance college-mindedness and college-readiness for all high school students, particularly giving dual credit college coursework access and support to students typically underrepresented in high school courses earning college credit.

Baskett currently serves as assistant principal at Lexington High School. He graduated from the district’s Aspiring Principals Academy in 2019 after joining the district in 2017.

He founded a nonprofit that focuses on mentoring middle and high school boys from more than 10 schools in the Columbia area. He currently serves as its president.

An educator for 8 years, Baskett began his career in 2011 as interim coordinator of intercultural programs at the University of South Carolina Aiken.

He joined Mid-Carolina High School in the School District of Newberry County as an English teacher in 2012. While there, he served as assistant varsity boys basketball coach from 2013–2016, summer school administrator from 2014–2016, administrative intern and teacher technology leader in 2015, and assistant principal and freshman academy director at Newberry High School in 2016.

He also served as an Upward Bound Instructor for the University of South Carolina in 2013.