By Ashley Carroll–
While Trump paid the great city of Louisville a visit on Super Tuesday, and the greatest fan base in the country bade goodbye to our men’s basketball team’s beloved seniors, new board of trustees information hit the fan Unfortunately, not a lot of people are talking about it.
The board of trustees is now pulling out the big guns. Everyone can honestly say that U of L has been going through some tough times this year, between October’s Sombrerogate to the postseason ban for our men’s basketball team. A lot of these issues coincidentally, or not so coincidentally, have a lot to do with President James Ramsey.
It’s not a bold statement anymore to say many are unhappy with the way the current president of U of L is running the university. For instance, a recent scandal surrounding Threlkeld Hall and racial tensions wasn’t handled to the best of Ramsey’s abilities, and students are beginning to take due notice.
The most important thing to take out of this giant mess is the lack of trust on the part of U of L’s community in regards to the school’s leadership.
This takes us back to the issue at hand: the board. A few days ago, they agreed to discuss a vote for the upcoming April meeting regarding a no confidence vote on Ramsey. A simple break down of a no confidence vote is a statement that a person in a position of responsibility is no longer fit to hold said position. Let me repeat once more for emphasis, our Board of Trustees is considering to vote that Ramsey is no longer doing his job correctly. I don’t know about you, but that is some major news in my book.
The president of a university is the face of the university. They are someone who the media turns to and who is expected to address all issues brought forth by students and faculty alike. I would love to have a president who could stay out the media for longer than a month and whose raises and bonuses are justly deserved.
So while the BOT is in a bind on whether or not the vote should come to fruition, it still speaks wonders that even a fraction of the board feels strongly to request a vote of no confidence. A trustee claims at least nine members of the board support the vote of no confidence. Why aren’t more people talking about this?
I can’t tell you why it is not receiving the appropriate shock value that it so justly deserves, but I can tell you to watch for university news on April 20 when more light comes to the thoughts behind the Board of Trustees. A board who no longer backs the one they employ is a board on the brink of a breakdown.
