Editor’s Note: This article covers the 2026 Climate Survey. To view the survey’s results, a University of Louisville login is required. The link to the survey can be found on the Commission on Climate, Culture and Well-being’s website.

By Roxy Osborne

Faculty concerns were discussed at a university-wide town hall on Wednesday.

U of L President Gerry Bradley answered questions about an annual faculty survey, the President’s Commission on Climate, Culture and Well-being (CCCW) survey, in Chao Auditorium on Aug. 26.

Executive Vice President and Provost Katie Cardarelli also provided updates on the university’s Artificial Intelligence initiatives.

Bradley responds to faculty and staff surveys

Presidential evaluation

Bradley opened the meeting by discussing his FY26 evaluation. The Board of Trustees gave him a positive review.

The abbreviated version of the president’s review showcased at the town hall read, “100% of responding Trustees recommend he continue the role, and he scores at or near 100% favorable on integrity, decisiveness, strategic planning, shared governance, and the Cardinal Principles.”

A campus-wide survey on Bradley’s performance was sent to 1,442 employees. This pool included Trustees, cabinet members, executive leadership and a randomly-selected group of staff and faculty. Of 187 responses submitted, reviews were still positive but slightly more critical.

“Roughly two-thirds express confidence in his leadership,” Bradley’s presentation materials read. “[The survey] points clearly where Year Two should focus: communication timing, shared governance, and campus climate/morale.”

Bradley graded himself a “B/B+” and agreed with the listed weaknesses. Provost Cardarelli says the president gave himself this rating partially because of missed university objectives.

“We did not hit the mark on important goals. We didn’t hit our fall enrollment goal, even though we still have record enrollment,” Cardarelli stated. “We also did not hit our 1st to 2nd fall retention goal, which was 85%. Looks like we’re going to come in somewhere around 81.3%.”

2026 Climate Survey

In February, employees were given access to the 2026 U of L Climate Survey. 2,009 faculty and staff responded out of 7,074 surveyed.

The CCCW published the survey’s findings on April 29. The results included recommendations for the university.

U of L’s actions om response to concerns expressed in the 2026 Climate Survey. (Screenshot taken by Roxy Osborne / The Louisville Cardinal)

Bradley mentioned job creep and workload pressures as a stressor.

“We are also looking at training performance evaluations and supervisor training,” said Bradley. “This goes back to the whole job creep thing, supervisors should know what their employees are doing.”

Supervisor training is a developing action plan. Some initiatives, such as mental health being included in sick leave, were immediately implemented.

Another immediate action taken was improving police presence and surveillance, specifically on the Health Sciences Campus. Bradley notes previous camera blind spots have been amended.

Cardarelli discusses Cardinal Intelligence

Provost Katie Cardarelli speaks to an audience of U of L faculty, staff and administrators at a town hall event held Aug. 26, 2026 in Chao Auditorium. (Photo by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)

Cardinal Intelligence

The Office of the President announced the creation of the Cardinal Intelligence advisory group on May 26. The council ensures that AI use on campus follows the university’s guidelines and policies.

“Cardinal Intelligence is not an initiative. It overlays on top of our strategic plan,” Cardarelli said. “We’re thinking of Gen AI as a way to progress our four pillars of the Strategic Plan.”

The CCCW executive summary lists “Erosion of trust through fragmented communication and limited transparency” as a top challenge the university faces. The communication and transparency focus group noted the email announcing U of L cutting ties with the Family Scholar House as an example of unclear communication.

The group’s report includes an AI-generated revision of the original email to “Include context and empathy” in Addendum 1.

The Louisville Cardinal asked Provost Cardarelli if that use of AI would have to be approved by Cardinal Intelligence.

“No, in that kind of example of putting out a communication, Cardinal Intelligence would not be required to review that communication. We wouldn’t share that communication with Cardinal Intelligence and have them give us feedback.”

Unease on AI stifling creativity in higher education was also addressed.

“We actually want to do the opposite. In order to do that, we need to have guardrails in place,” the provost said. “Every [Cardinal Intelligence committee] has an IT leader and somebody from the university’s council office.”

Town hall takes audience questions

Flock cameras

ULPD Chief Bryan Luckett spoke on Flock camera controversy.

“Flock is a publicly-available safety tool. It is license plate reading, not a GPS system,” said Luckett. “It will pick up vehicles involved in criminal activity.”

The chief then commented on reports of the cameras’ misuse, including instances of officers being accused of stalking former romantic partners.

Luckett clarified that the cameras do not track individuals, and stated that any officer misusing Flock cameras can face consequences up to termination.

President Bradley and Provost Cardarelli field audience questions at a town hall event held Aug. 26, 2026 in Chao Auditorium. (Photo by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal)

Reinstating relationship with John Schnatter

Brandon McCormack, professor and Chair of Pan-African Studies, asked Bradley to expand on his reasoning for U of L’s reconciliation with Papa John’s founder John Schnatter.

U of L previously cut ties with the former Board of Trustees member in July 2018 after he was recorded using racial slurs on a phone call. On April 23 of this year, Bradley announced that the university would be reinstating a relationship with Schnatter.

“I talked to John about his previous engagements around the area of diversity and culture within his company,” Bradley said. “And I am convinced that John is not the person he was portrayed as in the media.”

Bradley also brought up Schnatter’s $2.5 million commitment to Simmons College of Kentucky as an example of good character.

The meeting concluded after audience questions. Another town hall meeting is planned to take place next month.

Photo by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal