In 1999, after a nearly year-long search, Pataki advanced King as a candidate to fill the shoes of John W. Ryan, the ailing Chancellor of the State University System, a move applauded by fiscal conservatives, but criticized by the SUNY rank and file.

[12] Additionally, Pataki had a longstanding desire to reduce the role of the state in the University's funding which already led to one Chancellor's departure.

[14] During his time as Chancellor, funding for the University System began to shift from state taxpayers to private hands,[15] which required campuses to seek revenue from tuition increases,[16] from outside research grants and contracts,[17] and from outside donations.

[20][verification needed] After five years on the job, King sought a leave of absence, citing family issues,[21] but the paid sabbatical raised the ire of the New York State Legislature.

[22] King publicly rescinded his request,[23] and spent the next few months negotiating an agreement to move from his position into that of Interim President of State University of New York at Potsdam.

[25][26] At the end of 2008, King retired from the Arizona Community Foundation to take up the position of president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education in January 2009.

[30] During King's tenure as the state's higher education leader, Kentucky's public institutions saw steady growth in degrees and credentials, as well as student readiness rates.

Between 2009–10 and 2016–17, resident undergraduate tuition and fees represented a 60 percent reduction in the average rate of increase compared to the previous seven years.

King also led efforts to move a portion of state funding for higher education to an outcomes-based model.