FRANKFORT, Ky. - Gov. Matt Bevin announced Friday that embattled University of Louisville President James Ramsey will step down, and in a sweeping act of executive power, the governor also fired the university's divided board of trustees and will replace it with members of his own choosing.
Former trustees who sought Ramsey's ouster said they were guardedly pleased with the announcement he is apparently leaving, but concerned that legal challenges could delay his departure indefinitely.
Ramsey was on a university-sponsored river cruise in Europe and didn't respond to emails seeking comment. But in a letter to the governor, he said "upon a legal restructure of the Board of Trustees, I will immediately offer, to the newly appointed board, my resignation/retirement as President of the University of Louisville."
Legal experts said it is unclear whether Bevin, who acted using executive orders, has the authority to fire an entire university board. State law gives Kentucky governors broad discretion to use executive orders to reorganize state agencies, but no court has ever ruled whether universities are covered by that statute, and no governor has attempted to reorganize a college board since the current framework for appointing boards of trustees was enacted in 1991.
In a statement, Attorney General Andy Beshear said state lawmakers mandated that university boards be independent and that his office is reviewing Bevin's actions.
Ordering the termination of trustees and explaining Ramsey's departure, Bevin cited news stories in recent months "and frankly years" that have "shed less than the best light on the university and the commonwealth as a whole." He also said the current board, which has feuded over Ramsey and other issues, is "operationally dysfunctional."
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...6/06/17/u-l-president-stepping-down/86004032/
Former trustees who sought Ramsey's ouster said they were guardedly pleased with the announcement he is apparently leaving, but concerned that legal challenges could delay his departure indefinitely.
Ramsey was on a university-sponsored river cruise in Europe and didn't respond to emails seeking comment. But in a letter to the governor, he said "upon a legal restructure of the Board of Trustees, I will immediately offer, to the newly appointed board, my resignation/retirement as President of the University of Louisville."
Legal experts said it is unclear whether Bevin, who acted using executive orders, has the authority to fire an entire university board. State law gives Kentucky governors broad discretion to use executive orders to reorganize state agencies, but no court has ever ruled whether universities are covered by that statute, and no governor has attempted to reorganize a college board since the current framework for appointing boards of trustees was enacted in 1991.
In a statement, Attorney General Andy Beshear said state lawmakers mandated that university boards be independent and that his office is reviewing Bevin's actions.
Ordering the termination of trustees and explaining Ramsey's departure, Bevin cited news stories in recent months "and frankly years" that have "shed less than the best light on the university and the commonwealth as a whole." He also said the current board, which has feuded over Ramsey and other issues, is "operationally dysfunctional."
http://www.courier-journal.com/stor...6/06/17/u-l-president-stepping-down/86004032/
