Gov. Steve Beshear’s appointments to the University of Louisville Board of Trustees were in violation of the law regarding minority representation, according to an Attorney General opinion issued Tuesday.
In light of the ruling, a well-known, outspoken member of the board stepped down from his position Tuesday, citing his concern about the board’s lack of diversity.
The board has the least racial diversity among university trustee boards in the state. Beshear removed the only African American member this summer when he made two new appointments to the board.
Trustee Steve Wilson, owner of 21C Hotels, resigned today in a letter to Beshear, saying he had “no doubt” Beshear would appoint an African American member.
“As a premier metropolitan research university, U of L’s board should reflect its community,” Wilson wrote.
Beshear’s appointments this summer precipitated the election of a new board chair, Larry Benz. The appointments and Benz’ election came at a time in which increased scrutiny of U of L President Jim Ramsey’s compensation.
“I fear the lack of racial diversity on the board may hinder the positive progress the board has startedto make under the leadership of Chairman Benz,” Wilson wrote.
In an email on Tuesday afternoon, Benz complimented Wilson’s “motivation and drive.”
“We will miss his independent thought, inquiry, and voice on the board,” Benz said.
Beshear previously told WFPL he was “very proud of the minority appointments we’ve made through the years.”
In July, Louisville Public Media’s Kentucky Center for Investigative Reporting reported that Beshear passed over three black candidates for appointments to the powerful board, which lacks a governor-appointed black representative for the first time in 45 years. The board’s student body representative is African-American.
A separate KyCIR investigation found that the state’s university boards are stacked with Democrats, a violation of state law that demands the boards reflect the ratios of registered Democrats and Republicans in the state.
Earlier this month, gubernatorial candidates from each party criticized Beshear’s appointments to the board.
“It is unconscionable,” Republican Matt Bevin told WFPL. “It is wrong, and I would question whether or not it is racially motivated that our governor and attorney general have no qualm with — even though it’s statutorily required — having no representation of any blacks on the University of Louisville board.”
Democratic candidate, Attorney General Jack Conway, criticized Beshear last week. “That is not right, to have a metropolitan research university in a county that’s 20 percent African-American and not have African-Americans on the board of trustees,” Conway told The Courier-Journal.
