Nominations Offered To Restore Minority Balance on UofL Board of Trustees.

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.

Attorney General’s Office responds.
On September 29, the Attorney General’s Office told the petitioners some but not all of what they hoped to hear. It was judged not improper to fail to reappoint an incumbent who was eligible for a second term on the Board.  For lack of contravening guidance in state law, “Hispanic” counts as a minority for the purpose of board memberships. However, based on current U.S census data, the current sitting board is not in compliance with the relevant statute, and in fact that to become compliant the Governor’s appointments should contain at least two minority members. 

An opening to fill appears.
Following these determinations, Trustee Steve Wilson resigned his position as Trustee to allow the Governor to replace him with an individual of African American descent. Things have moved swiftly since then.  Although it is not required by the controlling statute, Governor Beshear requested that the Postsecondary Education Nominating Committee (PENC) present him with three names for his consideration. That was not an unreasonable decision on his part.  A call was put out to collect nominations.  These were gathered and considered by the PENC members prior to this morning’s meeting. I responded to a public notice of today’s meeting sent from the Governor’s office yesterday and was the only non-committee or staff member present.

Following perhaps 15- 20 minutes of executive session in which possible nominees were considered, the committee voted to forward the three names presented below.  The committee had some 5 or 6 new names to consider that had been recommended to them over the last 90 days or so.  The Committee also has a standing list available of some 50 or so eligible names accumulated over the last few years. I do not know from which list the current nominees came.  All three seem qualified.

And the nominees are:

• Mr. William Summers, IV is a well known Louisville citizen who served as Deputy Mayor for many years.  In-between stands in the Mayor’s Office he was an executive in Greater Louisville Inc. He sits currently on the Bridge Authority.  He would likely be sympathetic to UofL’s efforts to boost the local economy with its commercial activities.

• Mr. Ryan Bridgeman, 33,  is the middle son of former UofL Trustee Ulysses Bridgeman, Jr., and who, after a several years as an investment advisor and with Fifth Third Bank is currently active in the restaurant business. To avoid confusion, it was the name of Ulysses Bridgeman, Jr. that was submitted in the Committees June’s list of nominees to the UofL Board. Ryan Bridgeman received an MBA in Entrepreneurship at UofL in 2006, would bring his business acumen to the Board, and likely be supportive of UofL’s business activities.

• Ms. Kim Barber of Scott County is currently CEO of The Color of Education and a business consultant. She is an “advocate for policy and social change in higher education looking for opportunities and innovative changes to close the gap so all students can meet their potential.” [Sounds like a plus to me!] She used to work for the Housing Authority of Georgetown.

Ready and willing to serve?
It is my understanding that all candidates for gubernatorial appointments have to fill our a standardized application.  I assume the three nominees above are willing.  They certainly seem able.  None of the candidates have been interviewed by the Nominating Committee.  Although authorized by statute, the Nominating Committee does not interview individual candidates.  Someone needs to!   I must assume, indeed I expect that the Governor or a senior member of his staff will interview these three nominees to learn something of what they hope to bring to the University of Louisville.  Since it is through such appointments that a Kentucky Governor honors his or her responsibility to its Universities and to the Commonwealth, the Governor must have some discretion in shaping the governance of what is after all, a state institution. In other words, if the governor wants to replace a trustee who expressed his loyalty to the institution by asking questions with another who is willing to do so, that is a Governor’s privilege.  [It should be obvious to my readers that I hope that in this case he does!]  My reading of the controlling statute says that the Governor is not required to select any of these three candidates to fill the unexpected opening, but it would be awkward for him not to do so.

Additional comments deferred.
I have written a lot about this matter and will hold off for now.  I think how the UofL Board of Trustees defines its role in the governance of the University (or has its role defined for it) is of immense importance to the future of the institution.  To my eye and that of others, the University is spinning out of control.  Even our sports fans have much to worry about right now!  I have expressed at length my concern that the Board appointment process is not working it is supposed to. The more I see it in action, the more certain I am that a make-over is in order.  I think the recent opinion by the Attorney General’s office can serve as a starting point for the discussion that needs to occur.

As usual, if I have got any of my facts wrong, give me a chance to fix them.

Peter Hasselbacher, MD
President, KHPI
Emeritus Professor of Medicine, UofL
Oct 20, 2015