By Kyeland Jackson —
Update: As of Tuesday morning, this meeting was postponed due to scheduling conflicts. Date of the rescheduled meeting has not been decided.
President James Ramsey’s resignation will be decided sooner than later, after the board of trustees unexpectedly announced they will meet tomorrow.
A news release confirmed the meeting.
Ramsey offered his resignation in an executive session when trustees met two weeks ago. Pledging to remain legal in executive session, Chair Pro Tem Junior Bridgeman said the board would accept Ramsey’s resignation at the next meeting. Originally, the next meeting was set for August 16.
While Ramsey’s resignation may be contested, tomorrow’s agenda considers the next steps in searching for a new president and the transition period in between. Ramsey has said he would be willing to remain president during the transition, but no further than the next academic year. He has not announced whether he shall remain president of the U of L Foundation, saying “we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.”
Last week’s meeting stirred the university when students convinced the board to reconsider the school’s budget.
The budget included an increase to student tuition, meal plan and housing rates, prompting students Kate Hall, Kaleb Fischbach and Jamie El-Mallakh to question it. Hall said students have quit college after previous tuition increases, and asked why Ramsey’s deferred compensation from the U of L Foundation was not used to allay tuition costs.
“Do you care about low income students who have to work full time to work through college?” Hall asked trustees during the meeting.
Ramsey was payed upwards of $8 million from the foundation between 2012 and 2014.
Bridgeman allowed the students to stay and talk throughout the meeting, offering to halt the budget approval to ease concerns. He announced a new committee would be formed to analyze the budget by today, but Cindy Hess, U of L’s director of communications and marketing, said it has not been formed yet.
Hess said the committee is in an “information gathering” stage, and will host a public meeting when it’s gathered.
Bridgeman did not clarify if Ramsey would be part of the group, but said the committee is more for board members than administrators. Student Government Administration President Aaron Vance said he plans to be on the committee.
“I would be remiss to think that the student rep. shouldn’t be apart of it,” Vance said in an email.
Vance said he opposed the budget and later issued a statement condemning tuition increases.
Tomorrow’s meeting will be held in the Jefferson room of Grawemeyer Hall at 9:30 a.m.
