Category: Education

That didn’t take long!

The day after a slate of three nominees for an open position on the UofL Board of Trustees was presented to him by the Postsecondary Education Nominating Committee, Governor Beshear announced his choice for the appointment – William Summers, IV of Louisville.

Mr. Summers is a distinguished, respected, and long-serving public figure in Louisville. He is a known and knowledgeable quantity and should be able to hit the ground running.  In the announcement from the Governor’s office this afternoon, Mr. Summers comments:

“For over 40 years I have devoted my life to serving my hometown of Louisville, and I appreciate this opportunity by Gov. Beshear to serve on U of L’s Board,” … “My entire life I have always been proud of the University of Louisville and its deep history of helping men and women of all races and nationalities reach their potential. This is a true honor and privilege to serve as a board member with the distinguished faculty, staff and students who have devoted their lives to helping U of L and the city of Louisville achieve greatness.” 

This has been an appropriately fast-track process. The enabling position on the Board that became available upon the resignation of Trustee Steve Wilson only opened on September 29, public notice of the meeting of the nominating committee became known to me only two days ago, and the Nominating Committee met only yesterday!   I would like to believe that the speed of the appointment reflects only its importance to the community, but this was also a distracting matter that had to be settled before the upcoming November elections. Of course, Mr. Summers is also appointed just in time for the November Board meeting.  Hardly a beat missed!

Mr. Summers and the Board a face a significant set of challenges in the year ahead.  We wish for them all a professionally satisfying experience and outcomes of which we can all feel proud.

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
President, KHPI
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, UofL
October 21, 2015

Background.
As reported earlier today, the Postsecondary Education Nominating Committee voted unanimously to send three names to Governor Beshear to fill the opening created by the resignation of Trustee Steve Wilson last September 29.  Last June, the same committee sent the Governor a list of 9 nominees to fill the three rotating slots opening at that time.  The governor did not reappoint the eligible African American incumbent on the list or either of two other nominees of African American descent.  For the first time in several years, this left the Board of Trustees without an African American member appointed to one of the 17 positions (15 really) over which the Governor has discretion.  The appointment at that time of a new trustee of Hispanic/Latino descent to satisfy the statutory requirement that appointments to the Board reflect the minority racial composition of the Commonwealth did not satisfy a motivated segment of the minority community which protested effectively at the Board Meeting on Sept 3 and in other venues.

As part of this advocacy, representatives from the West Louisville Ministers Coalition and the Justice Resource Center requested an opinion from the Office of the Attorney General as to whether the appointments reflected the racial composition of Kentucky, whether “Hispanic” counts as a minority for this purpose, and whether U.S. census data requires a governor to appoint more than one racial minority to the Board. Continue reading “Nominations Offered To Restore Minority Balance on UofL Board of Trustees.”

The Governor’s Postsecondary Education Nomination Committee met this morning to consider names to present to Governor Beshear to fill the opening on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees that resulted from the resignation of Trustee Steve Wilson in September.  The Nominating Committee voted unanimously to forward the following three names to the Governor. None of the three were on the previous list of nine submitted in June, 2015 for the positions opening at that time.

• William Summers, IV, of Louisville.
• Ryan Bridgeman, of Louisville.
• Kim Barber, of Scott County.

I will add to this article shortly with details about the meeting, the candidates, and to offer commentary on the process.

Peter Hasselbacher
President KHPI
October 20, 2015,  1:25 p.m.

Oct 15, 2015; 11:45 AM

Good News!
The University of Louisville School of Medicine has just received the good news for which it has worked hard over the past two years.  Its probationary status is said to have been lifted by the LCME.  The Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) is a joint endeavor of the American Medical Association and the Association of American Medical Colleges that accredits North American Medical Schools.

In my view,  the LCME made a needed wake-up call to the University Administration that put educational maters back on track again. In its emphasis on its commercial research agenda, UofL has allowed its educational priorities to receed.  In that respect, although the experience was both painful and embarrassing for all of us, we are now entering a better place.  As pointed out in yesterday’s article, the LCME will likely to have concluded that a few items still require monitoring.  This is not a time to relax or withhold resources. We need to make sure our momentum is not lost.

I will update this article as I learn more.

[It’s official.  Although the status listing on the LCME website had not yet changed as of the writing above, by this afternoon UofL is listed as being fully accredited.]

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
Emeritus Professor of Medicine