Bevin fills vacancy on U of L board of trustees
Jul 14, 2017, 1:21pm EDT Updated Jul 14, 2017, 2:58pm EDT
Chris Larson ReporterLouisville Business First
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin announced a replacement to a vacancy on the University of Louisville board of trustees.
The governor has appointed Raymond Burse, Prospect, retired vice present and general counsel for GE Appliances and former Kentucky State University president, to fill the spot vacated by Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman on U of L's governing board, according to a news release from the governor's office.
Bridgeman, a prominent Louisville businessman and former professional basketball player, officially tendered his resignation from the board to chairman David Grissom in February. Grissom told reporters at the time that Bridgeman’s “business activities have expanded greatly" but didn't offer any other reasons why Bridgeman resigned. Burse will serve for the remainder of an unexpired term ending January 13, 2019.
Burse was president of Kentucky State University, a historically black college in Frankfort, for two terms: once from 1982-89 and again in an interim role from 2014-16.
Burse faced threats of a vote of no confidence from KSU's board of regents in February 2016. He announced his resignation after a closed-door executive session of board of regents in May 2016, according to reports from Frankfort-based paper The State Journal.
Burse said in a statement announcing his departure that his role as interim president "was to put KSU on solid footing so that the school would not shutter."
"Under my leadership, KSU is back on the path to excellence," the statement continued. Earlier in 2016, Burse said state funding cuts could cause the school to close.
One report from The State Journal says that Burse assumed a “dictatorial position” that was “demoralizing to faculty, staff and students” and that staff and faculty questioned his fiscal decisions in a time of financial turmoil for KSU.
U of L is also facing financial troubles, but not to the point of shuttering the school.
U of L recently passed a budget that cut roughly $48 million from the school's more than $1 billion operating outlay. To help bridge the gap, the university is under a hiring freeze at least until Oct. 1. University leaders will determine how to address hiring at that time.
Burse's appointment to the board continues Bevin's, at times, controversial involvement in the U of L's oversight.
In April, the governor reached a settlement in a lawsuit from the Kentucky Justice Resource Center Inc. to restore racial minority representation to the U of L board of trustees after Rev. Kevin Cosby, the only black person on the board, was removed.
With Burse's appointment, the board of trustees has three black members, including Jeffersonville physician and Prospect resident Ronald Wright and Louisville attorney and Crestwood resident Bonita Black.
Bevin abolished and reformed the U of L board of trustees unexpectedly in June 2016 by executive order after deeming the board "dysfunctional," rather than simply appointed racially diverse members to the board. The move to abolish board prompted U of L's accrediting body to place the university on academic probation.
The governor's move shrank the 20-member board with 17 at-large trustees appointed by the governor to a 13-member board with 10 at-large trustees appointed by the governor. In both cases, the three remaining positions would have been held by staff, faculty and student representatives.
The move was challenged in court by Kentucky attorney general Andy Beshear, who claims that the governor does not have the authority to abolish and reform educational boards unilaterally.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled in September 2016 that Bevin didn't hold legal authority to abolish the board after Shepherd extended a temporary injunction of Bevin's executive order in July 2016.
Bevin filed an appeal of Shepherd's ruling. In January, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. signed an order granting Attorney General Andy Beshear's request that the case bypass appeals court and be heard by directly the highest court in the state. Oral arguments are scheduled for Aug. 18.
Bevin announced his 10 at-large appointees, which included Bridgeman, in January 2016 and the Kentucky General Assembly passed bills which effectively enumerated Bevin's executive orders.
Burse steps into the role with several issues pressing U of L such as finding a permanent president for the university, addressing sanctions from the NCAA on the men's basketball team and addressing questionable actions of previous university leadership regarding management of the U of L Foundation.
Jul 14, 2017, 1:21pm EDT Updated Jul 14, 2017, 2:58pm EDT
Chris Larson ReporterLouisville Business First
Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin announced a replacement to a vacancy on the University of Louisville board of trustees.
The governor has appointed Raymond Burse, Prospect, retired vice present and general counsel for GE Appliances and former Kentucky State University president, to fill the spot vacated by Ulysses "Junior" Bridgeman on U of L's governing board, according to a news release from the governor's office.
Bridgeman, a prominent Louisville businessman and former professional basketball player, officially tendered his resignation from the board to chairman David Grissom in February. Grissom told reporters at the time that Bridgeman’s “business activities have expanded greatly" but didn't offer any other reasons why Bridgeman resigned. Burse will serve for the remainder of an unexpired term ending January 13, 2019.
Burse was president of Kentucky State University, a historically black college in Frankfort, for two terms: once from 1982-89 and again in an interim role from 2014-16.
Burse faced threats of a vote of no confidence from KSU's board of regents in February 2016. He announced his resignation after a closed-door executive session of board of regents in May 2016, according to reports from Frankfort-based paper The State Journal.
Burse said in a statement announcing his departure that his role as interim president "was to put KSU on solid footing so that the school would not shutter."
"Under my leadership, KSU is back on the path to excellence," the statement continued. Earlier in 2016, Burse said state funding cuts could cause the school to close.
One report from The State Journal says that Burse assumed a “dictatorial position” that was “demoralizing to faculty, staff and students” and that staff and faculty questioned his fiscal decisions in a time of financial turmoil for KSU.
U of L is also facing financial troubles, but not to the point of shuttering the school.
U of L recently passed a budget that cut roughly $48 million from the school's more than $1 billion operating outlay. To help bridge the gap, the university is under a hiring freeze at least until Oct. 1. University leaders will determine how to address hiring at that time.
Burse's appointment to the board continues Bevin's, at times, controversial involvement in the U of L's oversight.
In April, the governor reached a settlement in a lawsuit from the Kentucky Justice Resource Center Inc. to restore racial minority representation to the U of L board of trustees after Rev. Kevin Cosby, the only black person on the board, was removed.
With Burse's appointment, the board of trustees has three black members, including Jeffersonville physician and Prospect resident Ronald Wright and Louisville attorney and Crestwood resident Bonita Black.
Bevin abolished and reformed the U of L board of trustees unexpectedly in June 2016 by executive order after deeming the board "dysfunctional," rather than simply appointed racially diverse members to the board. The move to abolish board prompted U of L's accrediting body to place the university on academic probation.
The governor's move shrank the 20-member board with 17 at-large trustees appointed by the governor to a 13-member board with 10 at-large trustees appointed by the governor. In both cases, the three remaining positions would have been held by staff, faculty and student representatives.
The move was challenged in court by Kentucky attorney general Andy Beshear, who claims that the governor does not have the authority to abolish and reform educational boards unilaterally.
Franklin Circuit Judge Phillip Shepherd ruled in September 2016 that Bevin didn't hold legal authority to abolish the board after Shepherd extended a temporary injunction of Bevin's executive order in July 2016.
Bevin filed an appeal of Shepherd's ruling. In January, Kentucky Supreme Court Chief Justice John Minton Jr. signed an order granting Attorney General Andy Beshear's request that the case bypass appeals court and be heard by directly the highest court in the state. Oral arguments are scheduled for Aug. 18.
Bevin announced his 10 at-large appointees, which included Bridgeman, in January 2016 and the Kentucky General Assembly passed bills which effectively enumerated Bevin's executive orders.
Burse steps into the role with several issues pressing U of L such as finding a permanent president for the university, addressing sanctions from the NCAA on the men's basketball team and addressing questionable actions of previous university leadership regarding management of the U of L Foundation.
