Working on a quick timeline, KSU hopes to name new president in next four months

Kentucky State University hopes to name its next president by May or June, the board of regents said Thursday.

Last year, the university began a search for the next president, with help from the Council on Postsecondary Education. But House Bill 250, which also gave the university $23 million to address a budget deficit, ordered the university to halt its presidential search for one year.

Now, the university is restarting its search. A quick timeline is needed, board chair Gerald Patton said, because interim president Ronald Johnson’s contract expires in June. The next president would start on July 1, if selected within this timeline, Patton said.

“The university needs a full-time president,” Patton said. “To extend interim (positions) would be something that, in my interpretation of the legislation, is not what should be happening.”

Presidential searches can often be a semester- or year-long process at universities, involving multiple rounds of interviews, meetings with employees and students, and on-campus visits. At KSU, that process will be compressed into the next three months, according to the timeline approved Thursday.

Several board members expressed concern about the quick timeline, saying they wanted to make sure they would get quality candidates, but Patton insisted the quick search was necessary to bring stability to the university.

“We want to make sure that we’re taking our time to find the best-fit president for the university,” regent Tammy Dukes said. “I understand the timeline, but if for any reason we have to extend it, we’ll have to, because we want to make sure we’ve got the right person for the job.”

There is some flexibility with the timeline, such as moving on-campus interviews to the last week in April or early May, Patton said. But Patton expressed concerns about extending the timeline beyond the end of Johnson’s contract, which could leave the university with another interim president.

“The university is in peril and any delays and obfuscation is not going to bode will for the university,” Patton said.

KSU will use a search firm, Myers McRae Executive Search and Consulting, to assist with the search. Myers McRae was initially contracted by the university for the search last year.

Patton said he had spoken to the search firm about the timeline, and the firm had said it was doable. Board members said they are looking for a candidate who is energetic, creative and has experience working with historically Black colleges and universities, as well as experience working with legislatures.

The board also had lengthy discussion about the makeup of the search committee, and how many board members should be voting members of the search committee. There were also questions about CPE having a role on the search committee. The search committee is still being formed and accepting nominations, Patton said.

KSU has been without a permanent president since July 2021, when then-president M. Christopher Brown II resigned amid growing concerns about KSU’s financial health and multiple lawsuits accusing college officials, including Brown, of various acts of misconduct.

In addition to funds for the university, HB 250 required the university to create a management improvement plan “designed to assist with organizational and financial stability,” according to the bill. Around the same time, Senate Bill 265 replaced nearly the entire board of regents.

KSU is also undergoing a special examination by the Office of the Auditor of Public Accounts, which will review the governance and financial activity of KSU between July 1, 2018 and June 30, 2021.