FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) - While Kentucky Republicans have used their new majority in the state legislature to rush through bills on abortion and labor unions, at least one thing still divides them: the future of the University of Louisville.
Legislation to reshape the university’s board of trustees remained in flux Wednesday after a House panel adjourned without taking up the measure. The issue surfaced last year when Gov. Matt Bevin abolished and replaced UofL’s board of trustees and negotiated the resignation of former President James Ramsey. That prompted the school’s accrediting body to put it on probation for a year, citing concerns over possible “undue political influence.”
Tuesday, the first day of the legislative session, Republican leaders filed a bill that would make Bevin’s changes permanent. The bill was scheduled to advance through a House committee on Wednesday, but committee Chairman Jerry Miller said work on the measure is ongoing and the Republican-led panel wasn’t ready to take up the issue.
“We want to make sure that whatever we do is absolutely the best thing for the University of Louisville, period,” Miller said.
Lawmakers have good reason to be careful. If UofL were to lose its accreditation, its students would no longer be eligible to receive federal and state financial aid. Belle Wheelan, president of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, was quoted by the Courier-Journal on Wednesday as saying that if the legislature writes Bevin’s orders into law, it “is not going to get them off probation.”
Democratic Rep. Jim Wayne of Louisville said he has seen a draft of the proposed Republican changes, which he said would not solve the accreditation issue.
“It’s obvious they don’t have their act together on what they’re doing,” Wayne said of Republican lawmakers.
Bevin’s attorney, Steve Pitt, told reporters Wednesday that Bevin has spoken with officials at the accrediting agency - the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges - and believes the agency is “on board with anything that the legislature does.” Other states, including South Carolina, have passed bills replacing boards of trustees at public universities and have not lost their accreditation.
UofL spokesman John Karman said any legislation needs to be consistent with requirements from the accrediting agency. He said the school expects to receive a letter from the agency next week outlining its concerns and what it expects the university to do to end its probation.
House Speaker Jeff Hoover added Republican leaders are not at odds with Bevin. He said some lawmakers just want to wait to pass a bill until after they see the letter from the accrediting agency.
“We decided we were going to take a step back,” he said.
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