Gov. Beshear orders outside review of KSU following sudden departure of president
Responding to growing concerns about the financial viability of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, Gov. Andy Beshear on Tuesday issued an executive order instructing the school to submit to state oversight.
The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education will have the authority to investigate KSU’s financial health and make recommendations to the governor’s office in time for preparation of the next two-year state budget this winter, Beshear said.
The CPE also will make recommendations to the KSU Board of Regents about improving the school’s management and goals, Beshear said.
KSU is expected to make all necessary documents available to the CPE during its review, Beshear said.
“KSU has been a unique and essential institution in the commonwealth for more than a century, serving generations of students as Kentucky’s historically Black land-grant university,” Beshear said in a prepared statement late Tuesday.
“My administration is committed to getting KSU through this so that the school can continue to provide high-quality education to students for generations to come,” the governor said.
On Tuesday, KSU President M. Christopher Brown II submitted his immediate resignation amid unanswered questions about the school’s financial health and a flurry of lawsuits this year alleging misconduct by school officials, including him. Brown had been president for four years.
Brown’s replacement, acting President Clara Ross Stamps, declined to answer reporters’ questions Tuesday about the school’s cash flow or debt.
The historically Black college in the state capital neglected to start work this year on its legally required audit, which is necessary to prepare a report on its finances for the state government, the KSU Board of Regents acknowledged Tuesday. The school’s private auditors are now supposed to begin their fieldwork shortly.
In her own prepared statement, KSU board Chairwoman Elaine Farris said the school will cooperate with Beshear’s executive order.
“We appreciate the support of Gov. Beshear and the Council on Postsecondary Education,” Farris said.
KSU’s budget this fiscal year is $49.9 million. Of that, $27.1 million comes from the state’s General Fund and $16.3 million comes from tuition and fees from its student body of about 2,200.
The legislature last year authorized a $55.5 million bond to build a 400-bed dormitory and dining hall on the KSU campus using private financing. The construction will be KSU’s first so-called “P3” project, or public-private partnership. CRM Companies of Lexington will operate and maintain the property through an entity called KSU Campus Housing LLC. KSU will finance it through a 35-year lease.
