He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in industrial education from Wichita State University in 1969.
[2][4] He earned a Master of Arts degree in industrial studies from California State University, Los Angeles in 1974, and a Doctorate degree in industrial education from Iowa State University (ISU) in 1976.
[2] In 1984, he moved to the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff as Chair of the Industrial Technology Program.
[2][4] Yarbrough served as a full professor of Industrial Education and Technology and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs at Virginia State University before being named provost and vice president for Academic and Student Affairs from 1998 until 2003.
[2][4] On December 1, 2006, Yarbrough was named president-elect of Knoxville College, however the institution was unable to pay his salary and that of his staff, so the board terminated his contract so he could assume the presidency at Savannah State.