Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education is to blame for Kentucky State struggles

The Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) has proven itself to be a Kangaroo Council when it comes to Kentucky State University.  CPE and KSU have been in a sordid square dance that has yielded more presidential turnover than details on when the state’s flagship historically Black college will be released from an emergency management improvement plan (MIP).

On February 20, the Kentucky State University Board of Regents conducted a Special Called Meeting to discuss various issues at the university.  Arguably, the most crucial reason for the meeting (and probably the reason for the numerous special called board meetings since the Commonwealth’s takeover) was an update on the institution’s MIP. 

KSU Interim President Ronald Johnson reported that various factors impact how the university can successfully navigate its MIP and efforts to grow the institution.  He highlighted unfunded items and lamented how a lack of communication and misalignment of expectations puts KSU at odds with the outline of HB 250, a legislative loan plan that raises imaginary bars for performance but doesn’t account for current challenges created in large part by the neglect of the commonwealth (see planned closures, unplanned closures, student emergencies).  

President Johnson’s commentary did not differ much from a 2021 interview with former KSU President M. Christopher Brown II, where he outlined the Management Improvement Plan and progress under his leadership.  

While the University has been on management improvement status with CPE and has maligned financial strife at the school, no audit has been completed.  This is not KSU incompetence but that of CPE officials to mislead the public with facts and data lacking timeliness and context.

When the university does something perceived as “incorrect” or “risky,” those actions are typically regarded as the result of incompetent leadership and their decision-making.  Kentucky State has had three permanent and three interim presidents since 2009.  The problem cannot be that the university’s governor-appointed Board of Regents cannot choose effective leadership, or that each administration can’t help or avoid corruption. Under current CPE rules, very few things the university does are without the oversight or authorization of CPE.

Whatever KSU does or doesn’t do, typically, is by the design of the commonwealth under the eye and permission of CPE.

The consistent variable over the last 14 years is the council and its meddling in KSU’s affairs. While CPE is responsible for leading its public universities, it does not do so lightly or equitably among institution types.  To be clear: there is no other HBCU like Kentucky State University for the education of all the people in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And no other university has been harmed by legislative discrimination, underfunding, and tampering as much as KSU has suffered.

Until KSU alumni and supporters demand more and challenge the over-involvement of CPE, the university will continue to struggle. Kentucky’s only public, comprehensive HBCU deserves much more than CPE has given to it.  If we fail to change course now, we must prepare for another interim president and administration to answer questions about how KSU should respond to struggles the commonwealth has always intended for the university to endure.