Things are unraveling more swiftly at the University of Louisville. Against a background of mounting local, state, and even national concern about the ability or appropriateness of President James Ramsey to lead the University; and with more frequently heard rumors that his remaining tenure is numbered in days and weeks; at last week\u2019s Board of Trustees meeting, two Board members withdrew their support of his presidency and the Board Chairman voiced support of decentralizing the leadership of the University and UofL Foundation \u2013 a change President Ramsey vigorously opposed. Support from the community demanding that the Board exercise their statutory and community responsibilities to protect our University seemed to actually be having an effect \u2013 at least for some Board members.<\/p>\n
A life preserver is thrown.<\/b>
\nNo sooner than it takes to make a phone call to Frankfort, Governor Bevin announced his intention to declare illegitimate the last three or four Board members appointed by his predecessor \u2013 which includes the Board\u2019s current Chairperson. He furthermore voiced a request\/demand that the Board as a whole cease immediately to do any business until a judicial opinion about the legality of the racial makeup of the board could be determined. This of course might give Gov. Bevin an opportunity to appoint four new Board members of his own \u2013 a total of nearly one quarter\u00a0of the Board\u2019s membership that is subject to his discretion! The Governor\u2019s actions would emasculate the Board, abort potential reforms, thwart demands for accountability, and perpetuate for months a rudderless ship \u2013 unless one is content with the way things have been going in recent years. Surely only the most rabid fanboys and those doing business with the University or its associated foundations can be happy with the status quo.<\/p>\n
I agree with the Governor in part. The current dust-up being used to justify Gov. Bevin\u2019s actions derives from the fact that as of the most recent round of appointments last Spring, the only African-American Board member remaining on the Board was one of the the group of the three members automatically empaneled because they are presidents of the faculty, staff, or student organizations over which any Governor has no control. Of note, but usually overlooked, is the fact that two additional Board members are appointed by the Governor from names submitted by the UofL Alumni Association. There are no statutory restrictions on who the alumni nominations are other than that they be UofL alumni themselves. It would appear that these latter seats are the most secure of all and in my opinion are currently occupied by two of President Ramsey\u2019s most obvious allies. For that matter, the only statutory requirement for the Board Nominating Committee is that their nominations lead to boards that are balanced by sex!<\/p>\n On the other hand, the UofL, and other state university boards, require that among other qualifications that the racial minority of the Board be no less than the statewide<\/span> proportion of racial minorities. Therefore, we are forced to confront the difficult-to-talk-about and the even more difficult to define scientifically what race is or means with respect to humans. The statewide proportion of Kentuckians classified by the U.S. Census definition as black is 8.2%. Following the last set of regular Spring appointments by Governor Beshear, the UofL Board had one member from the automatic set who is identified as of African-American descent and a newly appointed member who is of Hispanic descent and considered to be a racial minority for purposes of statutory balance. Thus, with 10% \u201cminorities,\u201d the Board could be argued to be well within its required makeup.<\/p>\n Not all were satisfied.<\/b> The protest and advocacy initiatives<\/a> of the concerned individuals included a lawsuit for a judgement that the Board was out of compliance and that an additional black trustee, or even more than one to match the racial makeup of Louisville, should be appointed. A subsequent determination by the Attorney General\u2019s office found that according to Kentucky law, that for the purposes of the operative statutes, \u201cHispanic\u201d counts as a racial minority<\/a> for University Board composition.<\/p>\n One of the obvious ways to make more people happy was for one or more of the current Board members to resign, thus allowing Governor Beshear to replace them without a need for intervening deliberation by the Nominating Committee. Indeed, a white, apparently Euro-American Board member did resign, but the Governor delegated control of the nominating process to the Committee which acted in an expedited manner. Alas, only a small handful of new nominations of unknown (to me) race were received from the public. These were added to an existing standing list of previous nominations for University Board memberships. No one was interviewed for the nomination. \u00a0Three of the\u00a0names were submitted<\/a> to the Governor who appointed a second<\/a> and widely respected African-American to the UofL Board. Problem solved \u2013 at least for the time being. Reform is needed for a nomination and appointment process that is variously\u00a0characterized as overly political, purchasable, elitist, sexist, and racist. Nonetheless, it is clear to me that today\u2019s UofL Board is well within its statutory requirement as far as race is concerned. I wish it were more obvious that the Board as a whole was exercising its own statutory function.<\/p>\n Why now?<\/b> Its time to go.<\/b> If I have made an error of fact, please direct me to the evidence to fix it.<\/p>\n Peter Hasselbacher, MD
\n<\/b> I have written at length<\/a> about how the state\u2019s University board-appointment process of the Commonwealth\u2019s is broken<\/a>. If the last four appointees at UofL are illegitimate, then so is the membership of the entire Board! \u00a0Even the makeup of the Board Nominating Committee that selects the eligible names put before the Governor to chose among is currently inconsistent with its own statutorily required composition. The makeup of such\u00a0committees and boards \u00a0can reasonably be argued\u00a0to be a predictable consequence of the structural racism that underlies\u00a0our society.<\/p>\n
\nSome representatives of the black community felt otherwise and were further aggrieved that one of the nine nominees for the three regular spots up for appointment was a current African-American Board member who was eligible, but who was not reappointed. (That person headed an organization that had academic\/business relationships with the University and who was a supporter of President Ramsey.) I myself have argued that there is, indeed\u00a0should be no restriction to an upper limit of African-American Board members for UofL. \u00a0Given our self-declared and reasonable mission as an Urban University, our Board should look like and think like our community and our student bodies.<\/p>\n
\nApparently Governor Bevin feels differently, to the extent that he is willing to throw the entire Board under the bus and with it the stability of an increasingly fragile University. Of course, Gov. Bevin has also stated that he wants\u00a0to\u00a0undo much of former Governor Beshear’s legacy. \u00a0Other reporters<\/a> have pointed out the role of the UofL Foundation’s contract\u00a0Rebublican operative in this current initiative. \u00a0Not surprisingly, President Ramsey endorsed Gov. Bevin\u2019s actions, ostensively in support of the importance of racial balance of his Board. I am unaware of, and find it disappointing that President Ramsey never raised a peep about the importance of having minority representation\u00a0on his board when the matter was flaring in public view. Now that his presidency is in jeopardy, and when he is receiving criticism from some on the Board that can remove him, he is apparently singing a louder tune. In my opinion we are seeing self-serving opportunism and desperation\u00a0rather than conviction. If he is not ashamed, then I am ashamed for him.<\/p>\n
\nAt the time of his sombrero affair, President Ramsey was reported to have stated that he would not resign, at least until the scandal of providing sexual favors for potential basketball recruits was seen through. I don\u2019t think that is the biggest problem facing the University of Louisville, nor that President Ramsey is the best or only person to represent the University before the NCAA. I respectfully suggest that President Ramsey follow the lead of recent\u00a0President Tim Wolfe of the University of Missouri and step down, and for the same reasons. He can no longer lead and there is no one else left to take the fall for him.<\/p>\n
\nEmeritus Professor of Medicine, UofL
\nJanuary 17, 2016<\/p>\nShare this:<\/h3>