KSU lawsuits allege ‘death by 1,000 cuts.’ What to know about the cases
A Kentucky State University alum and attorney told a Franklin County judge that a recent law is unconstitutional and will push out marginalized students from the state’s only public historically Black university.
That’s why, plaintiffs say, they’re suing the university, the state, lawmakers and Gov. Andy Beshear in an effort to stop the law from being enforced.
Beshear is asking to be removed from both the state and federal lawsuits challenging the law, as are others named in the lawsuits.
Here are new takeaways from the legal battles:
- Rev. Jacques Wigginton, case manager of the state lawsuit, says Senate Bill 185 and KSU President Koffi Akakpo have caused “campus gentrification” at the university, comparing the shrinking student body to the gradual displacement of people in Eastern Kentucky.
- Attorney James Morris, who’s representing people who have sued KSU, argued in Franklin County Circuit Court that SB 185 is “a death by 1,000 cuts” to KSU, alleging the university could eventually be consolidated into the Kentucky Community Technical College Systems, a network of 16 predominantly white schools.
- KSU has halted 10 academic programs and faculty has dropped from 112 to at least 77 since 2023, saving the university more than $1.27 million through separations, Provost Michael D. Dailey and Chief Financial Officer Heather Bigard told the Council on Postsecondary Education on June 8.
- Kentucky State will no longer provide “wraparound services” for students with low GPA and ACT scores, creating new challenges for students who historically attended the university.
- Judge Thomas Dawson Wingate struggled to understand how plaintiffs, who are students, were harmed by the bill that is shrinking the HBCU, adding “they could go to some other university if they wanted to.”
- Beshear’s legal team filed motions to dismiss him from the state and federal lawsuits, arguing “the mere fact that a governor is under a general duty to enforce state laws does not make him a proper defendant.”
- Beshear acknowledged “there is an important question” as to whether lawmakers legally passed SB 185, but said that dispute is between plaintiffs, the legislature and the attorney general — not him.
The summary points above are based on the reporting of Herald-Leader journalists. The roundup was produced with the assistance of AI. Herald-Leader reporters and an editor reviewed this story for accuracy. You can read more about our AI policy here.