Interim President Greg Postel told the board that work is under way to address the $48 million budget shortfall forecast for the 2017-18 fiscal year. University leadership is studying a variety of proposals for dealing with the situation, including the possible elimination of 1,000 currently open positions. Avoiding mass layoffs remains a priority, according to Postel.

Postel said that by not filling 1,000 open positions, delaying some deferred maintenance and enacting other belt-tightening measures, the university has managed to trim about $22 million from the current year budget.

In his report to the board, the interim president noted that the state House of Representatives this week passed Senate Bill 107, a measure that officials hope will satisfy concerns raised by UofL’s accrediting body over the issue of university governance and whether it had come under undue political influence.

The Southern Association of Colleges and Schools placed UofL on probation last year. SACS is scheduled to visit the university in September and review its status at a December meeting.

BOT Chairman David Grissom told the board that the forensic audit of the foundation is scheduled to be completed in early to mid-May. Alvarez & Marsal Disputes and Investigations, the firm conducting the audit, recently expanded the scope of its review. For that reason, the firm has doubled the cost of its work, Grissom said. The audit will now cost the university about $1.8 million.

In other news, the committee charged with selecting a new permanent president for UofL held its first meeting on March 15. The decision was made to split the 16-member body into two groups for some of its work. One group, led by Grissom, will be tasked with creating a job description for the position. The second, led by trustee and Papa John’s International founder John Schnatter, will develop a request for proposals for a search firm.

Grissom said the goal of the committee is to have a new president in place in a year and a half—in time for the start of the 2018-19 academic year.

The committee charged with finding UofL’s next president cited those and other traits when discussing their ideal candidate.

The 16 committee members held their first meeting in Grawemeyer Hall March 15. They focused on organizational issues, including the establishment of two subcommittees, one to develop an RFP for a search firm and the other to compile a list of characteristics and qualifications to use in finding the university’s next leader.

Committee Co-chair David Grissom will lead the characteristics subcommittee; Co-chair John Schnatter will head the RFP group.

Stressing the strengths of his fellow committee members, Grissom said the group “cannot fail.” He stressed that the group should look for someone “who can manage what is and imagine what will be,” and who has personal and financial integrity.

Faculty, staff and student reps Enid Trucios-Haynes, Will Armstrong and Aaron Vance stated the need for someone who appreciates shared governance, who is dedicated to diversity, inclusion and transparency and who holds a “students-first” focus. Trucios-Haynes also stressed the need for significant, formal faculty input, as called for in the Redbook, the university’s governance document.

The group also discussed a timeline for the search. While stressing the need for action, the group agreed that preparatory work — including gathering input from faculty, staff, students and other constituencies — will take two to three months, with interviews probably beginning no sooner than late summer or early fall.

Citing resolution of issues like the current SACS probation and a forensic audit of the UofL Foundation, Grissom stated that the university needs some “wins” before it pursues candidates.

“We need to do (the search) right rather than quickly,” he said.

Postel said the media availability meeting was an important opportunity because he has an obligation to be transparent.

“My style is open communication,” he said. “Because of that, we tend to be forthcoming with documents. It’s not necessary to file for open records requests when the information is publicly offered up on our website. We’ll do our very best to maintain that as long as I’m in this position.”

Postel outlined his initial priorities, including the accelerated growth of the university.

“For this to be a vibrant organization for years and years to come, it’s important to focus on opportunities to expand and offer more services in the areas where we’re needed and can be of value to community,” he said.

Budget

Postel also noted that the administration is currently working on the budget and will present it to the Board of Trustees in May. Because UofL is not raising tuition this year, the budgeting process is expected to be a bit more challenging, he said.

“We are holding true to that (no increase in tuition) commitment. I’m excited about that for our students, both existing and those joining the university in the coming year,” Postel said. “But that also poses challenges for us tasked with achieving a balanced budget because we don’t have additional revenue. It is an opportunity and a challenge that we gladly accept.”

SACS Accreditation

Postel has also spent much of his first few weeks in Frankfort meeting with the Governor and state legislators on how to rectify UofL’s probationary status issued by the university’s accrediting body, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, in December.

“It is important to note that we still have full accreditation. We are making sure the university is responding in every way possible to concerns about accreditation that have been posted by SACS,” he said. “All of the legislators I’ve talked to are keenly aware of the issue and understand how critical it is for these issues to be resolved with SACS. They all have very good intentions to help the University of Louisville through this process.” 

Any documents that pertains to this issue, whether prepared by the university or by SACS, will be shared with the campus community on the Louisville.edu/president website. UofL has until March 3 to respond to SACS’ most recent letter, which is also available online.

Q&A

Other topics posed by the media during a brief Q&A session included Postel’s dual role as interim president and interim EVP of Health Affairs, the national search for a permanent president and performance-based funding of state institutions.

Dual role

Postel said it is possible for him to maintain his position as Interim EVP of Health Affairs while serving as president because of the teams that are in place at the university.

“The bottom line is I have to just be very careful about my priorities. I am spending my time on those things that are extremely important to both campuses,” he said. “I’m very efficient, I work a lot of hours, I delegate and it’s not forever, so that’s why it works.”

He added that it is important to maintain his position at HSC because that campus provides a substantial part of the university’s livelihood, representing about 55 percent of faculty and about 80 percent of research.

Search for a permanent president

The search for a permanent president is a long, multi-step process that entails a search committee and a search firm. Postel said he was told to expect about a year and a half in the position.

He added that he is not actively campaigning for the job as president, but is “always happy to do what UofL asks me to do.”

“If asked to serve, I would certainly consider it,” he said.

Performance-based funding

Postel was asked about his opinion on performance-based funding, a topic Governor Matt Bevin has proposed and discussed most recently at the State of the Commonwealth Address earlier this month.

“I’m very much in favor of performance-based funding. Even though I’m an academic at heart, I have a very business-like approach to running an organization because businesses have to be viable,” he said. “To be held accountable and paid at least in part based on some kinds of metrics is an expectation we should all have.”

Postel said this approach could be challenging because different universities may have different perspectives about what they contribute, but he favors key metrics such as:

• Producing more graduates
• Getting students their degrees in a reasonable amount of time
• Making sure graduates are employable

“I think these are the types of things we can all be supportive of. What are the workforce needs in the city and the state and are we meeting them?” Postel said.

Background

Postel replaces Dr. Neville Pinto, who was named the new president of the University of Cincinnati in December. He joined UofL’s School of Medicine in 1994 as an assistant professor of radiology specializing in neuroradiology. He later became the chair of the Department of Radiology.

In 2011, Postel was the founding chairman of the board for University of Louisville Physicians, and later took on the added role of CEO. He was a key player in unifying dozens of medical practices under the ULP umbrella.

Postel was named vice dean of Clinical Affairs in 2014, and interim EVP for Health Affairs in 2015. As EVP, he directs approximately 1,000 faculty members and 3,600 students.

He earned his medical degree from Case Western Reserve University in 1988 and his undergraduate degree from the College of Wooster in Ohio in 1984.

Postel’s meeting is available below in its entirety.��

The discussion was led by Senate Chair Enid Trucios-Haynes, with Interim Provost Dale Billingsley providing additional color to the discussions taking place in Frankfort. The State Senate is currently in recess until February, however Billingsley noted that the newly-drafted legislation, , which would supersede Senate Bill 12, is “headed in the right direction.”

Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers has asked representatives from UofL and other state schools (including administration and faculty) for assistance in refining the bill so that it protects these institutions from accreditation jeopardy. SB 107 would also bring the Board of Trustees number back up to 17 members – versus 10 members in SB 12 – and three constituents from Faculty Senate, Staff Senate and SGA.

The new bill is still under review. Billingsley noted that much of these “refinement” discussions take place informally. Senators asked if a UofL lobbyist could speak at the next meeting to explain the process.

“Several of us have been talking to legislators throughout the past month to make sure we’re doing what we need to do,” Billingsley said.

Faculty senators agreed to continue discussion about SB 107 and provide recommendations for the legislators before the State Senate reconvenes. A follow up meeting with this objective will be held Jan. 18.

Billingsley also said that the appointment of an acting president, to replace current acting president Neville Pinto, who is leaving for the president’s role at the University of Cincinnati in February, will be the first priority of the new Board of Trustees.

“Continuity and stability are some of the issues SACS has about our leadership and we intend on addressing that soon. Everybody on all sides of this issue believes they are working in the best interests of the university,” Billingsley said.

Report: Acting President Neville Pinto

Pinto spoke briefly to the Faculty Senate, thanking them for their support while he navigated both the interim provost and acting president roles at UofL. Prior to joining the UofL Speed faculty, Pinto was at UC from 1993 to 2011.

“It has been a tremendous honor to be in a leadership position at this university. These past 5 ½ years I would not exchange for anything else. This was a very challenging decision for me. I doubt any other institution would have pulled me away,” Pinto said.

Pinto added that UofL is in need of a fresh start.

“I think the air here has finally cleared and that includes me. My advice to you is to push forward with a focus on the fundamentals,” he said, noting that the 21^st Century University Initiative is a “terrific template” to keep faculty and staff engaged and excited. He especially focused on the student success, research, diversity and inclusion and financial components of the plan.

“We have to ensure every student has an environment supportive of their learning. We have to listen to them and believe what they say,” Pinto said noting diversity and inclusion is one of the most important aspects of University life that requires attention. “As for the financial environment, we are going through a difficult period. It is a short-term pain. And for the accreditation issues, we are going down the right path to resolve the probation status. I think of everything that’s going on now as a perfect Category 5 storm and we will be stronger than ever when we come out of it.”

Pinto received a standing ovation from the faculty senators when he was done speaking.

Report: Interim Provost Dale Billingsley. Billingsley also provided a report from the Provost’s Office. This includes personnel updates: David Adams, currently CEO of the Institute for Product Realization, will, effective immediately, assume responsibilities as interim chief administrative officer. This position has been created to effectively and stably manage administrative and financial functions through current and upcoming leadership transitions in the offices of the CFO/COO and the Office of the President.

Upon the recent departure of Harlan Sands, the CFO and COO roles have been separated. Susan Howarth, vice provost and chief university budget officer, will take on the additional role of interim chief financial officer. Lee Smith, assistant vice president for performance improvement/business analytics, will take on the additional role of interim chief operating officer, overseeing the offices of Business Services, Facilities Management, Information Technology and Public Safety.

The salary equity adjustments will be made by the end of January. About 400 staff will receive a notice from HR about these adjustments. Faculty affected will receive notice from their deans.

Billingsley also touched upon the budget process, which he said will be fairly simple this year due to no tuition increase and no expected increase in state money. A budget will be developed by a “community as a whole, including faculty and staff senator input, SGA input, input from deans and unit budget directors.”

He also noted that due to the stagnant tuition rate, enrollment growth will be a key to UofL’s success this year. The focus will be on the College of Business and the Speed School.

“There’s a call for more engineers in the marketplace and we’d like to answer that call,” he said.

There is an active dean search underway for the Brandeis School of Law and the Speed School. The job description for the ombudsman has been finalized and that will be a national search.

In other business:

The Redbook Committee provided updates on first readings for the Speed School Bylaws and Dental School Bylaws. The Speed School changes entail the composition of some committees, while the Dental School changes include an appendix to include the newly-created Diversity Committee.

SGA report: Meredith Cooksey provided an update on the SGA, which had not yet met for the spring semester at the time of the Faculty Senate meeting. Cooksey reported there was an increase in course evaluation feedback and the SGA is gearing up for elections, held in February. SGA President Aaron Vance has spent a lot of time in Frankfort lobbying for UofL, and Cards in Action, a student lobbying group, has also picked up activity. The Board of Student Body Presidents of Kentucky is planning a combined rally in Frankford on Feb. 13.

Staff Senate: The Staff Senate did not meet in January.

Faculty Senate Chair: Trucios-Haynes provided an update, including a statement she recently sent to Governor Bevin and Kentucky Senate President Robert Stivers, as well as other state leaders. It reads:

Dear Governor Bevin and Members of the Kentucky State Legislature:

As faculty at the University of Louisville responsible for the teaching, research and service mission of this important state institution, we are justifiably and seriously concerned about continued threats to the accreditation that is necessary for student access to federal loans and faculty access to many federal grants, the continued accreditation of our professional schools, and the University’s participation in NCAA athletics.�� We are alarmed by any political actions that further threaten the University’s current probationary status with accreditors and create additional uncertainty.��

SACS compliance is of critical importance to the University of Louisville.�� We call on the Governor and Kentucky State Legislature to do what is needed to maintain SACS accreditation. The University needs the support of our community, alumni, business leaders, and elected officials so we can continue to focus on our core mission– educating students, creating new knowledge through research, and serving and engaging our community.�� This vital mission must be the priority for the benefit of our students and our state.

Respectfully submitted, Enid Trucios-Haynes

Standing committee reports:

Academic Programs: N/A

Committee on Committees and Credentials: N/A

Part-time Faculty:

Planning and Budget Committee: Did not meet

Executive Committee:

Faculty Athletic Representative: Professor Elaine Wise, Faculty Athletics representative, provided the following report:

In the glow of Lamar Jackson’s Heisman Trophy, I have written to congratulate him on behalf of the faculty.��Since my November report, the NCAA has released its annual GSR (Graduation Success Rate) Report. We continue to climb but do have quite a way to rise to be in line with our ACC peers.�� The Committee on Academic Performance continues to monitor student athlete success and to promote and propose policies that will benefit both student-athletes and the entire student population.�� To that end, CAP has recommended data collection on a number of issues that seem to plague college athletics and has been researching best practices and processes that safeguard academic integrity.�� Too, we are recommending review of policies that have had negative impact on the recruiting and graduating of our best and brightest student-athletes.

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Feb. 1 from 3-5 p.m. in the Chao Auditorium.

Senators approved an endorsement of the resolution and offered a moment of silence.

Meredith Cooksey provided an update on the Student Government Association, including the passage of next year’s budget. The election for next year’s leaders is in February and the SGA is aiming for a 20 percent voter turnout. Typically, turnout is under 10 percent.

Finally, the SGA has submitted a proposal to have a student representative on the UofL Foundation board.

Angela Lewis-Klein provided an update from the Staff Senate’s November meeting, which included a presentation from Justin Mog on sustainability initiatives at UofL, as well as Harlan Sands, COO, who provided construction updates around campus.��

An extensive conversation took place with HR Executive Director Jeanell Hughes about the FSLA changes affecting many staff members. And, in response to the news about UofL’s probationary status from the SACS accreditation body, the Staff Senate has reaffirmed its statement sent to Governor Bevin earlier this semester.

Faculty Senate Chair Enid Trucios-Haynes provided the chair’s report, noting her attendance at a Nov. 29 Board of Trustees meeting and the upcoming Executive Committee meeting. Trucios-Haynes also attended a new board member training held by the CPE, which included a discussion about the relationship between foundations and boards. Best practices for boards were discussed, with the suggestion of setting fundraising priorities.

Best practices also suggest foundation board representation be reserved for fundraisers, but it is important to include faculty, staff and students as ex-officio members “at least.” 

Planning meetings are underway for a campus-wide unity event in January. Trucios-Haynes said the objective is to bring together everyone on campus to reaffirm our commitment to /diversity and providing a safe and welcoming environment in response to fears about policy changes from a new administration.

A discussion was held on the growing sanctuary campus movement and a letter about DACA that has been signed by 495 university presidents throughout the country. All ACC presidents have signed the letter except for UofL, Clemson, NC State and Georgia. Trucios-Haynes noted that the letter essentially supports non-citizen students, of which there are about 2,500 in Kentucky. .��

Discussion items

An extensive discussion was held regarding UofL’s new probationary status for SACSCOC Accreditation. Many senators expressed their concerns about the status. Acting Provost Dale Billingsley said a handful of students have also asked about the effect this could have on their degree.

“There are obligations that SACS expects us to fulfill and that will require more than a lengthy report from us,” Billingsley explained. “That means a substantive change in university governance and control of external influences.”

He said SACS typically provides a warning and then a sanction before probation.

“Probation is the last step before removal of accreditation, so that they went right to probation sends a message about the gravity of the issue,” Billingsley said. “This is mostly an issue with board governance and in our case it’s related to the governor.”

The objective in the next year is “to remove as much external influence as possible.”

“We have to resolve these issues to continue reaffirmation,” Billingsley said.

One senator noted that he is “scared” mostly because of Governor Bevin’s reaction to the news about UofL’s probation status.

“He said we haven’t done anything to threaten accreditation, which is different than what SACS has said,” he said.

Billingsley said it’s important for UofL to lobby heavily that this accreditation is crucial to our operations.

UofL has until fall 2017 to remedy failures of compliance at which time SACS will clear or continue probationary status. A university cannot be reaffirmed accreditation if it’s on probation.

“The soonest we can go off probation is December 2017. The soonest our accreditation can be reaffirmed is December 2019,” Billingsley said.

He added that the administration does not expect this to affect UofL’s student recruitment efforts. Faculty recruitment, however, could be affected.

“Students are remarkably indifferent about this. Parents are concerned. But the recruitment of faculty could be an issue,” he said.

Finally, probationary status does not affect financial aid for students, but does affect some grants.

This recent development spurred the Faculty Senate to reaffirm its statement sent in early October, “endorsing the Student Government Resolution of September 13, 2016,” .   

The Faculty Senate further states that it “emphatically opposes any action by Governor Bevin or the Kentucky Legislature that threatens the university’s accreditation with SACS or represents external influence of the Board of Trustees in violation of SACS standards.”

Faculty senators also discussed Board Chairman Larry Benz’s recent letter to the campus community explaining why a presidential search to replace Dr. James Ramsey has not started yet. Although the Redbook requires faculty consultation on the hire of a new president, the board can adopt its own procedure.

Faculty senators discussed the election of a faculty committee for this presidential search, to aid in that consultation. Senators agreed to ask each dean to conduct a search using the same procedure they use to identify faculty senators. The committee should be in place sooner than later, so when the search starts, those members are involved right away.

Interim Provost report

Billingsley provided a report in addition to the SACS updates, including an update on the Salary Equity model that was initially developed in 2015 and distributed to deans for their input in July. Since then, library faculty has been added and other adjustments have been made. Most increases are small ($100 or so) but together they add up to a large number, Billingsley said.  He also reported that that the equity adjustments would not be retroactive to July 1, 2016.

Staff salary equity has been delayed by FSLA, with a projected range expected sometime in January. Staff members benefiting from this initiative have not been notified yet.

On the personnel front, there are two dean searches – College of Business and Brandeis School of Law. The College of Business recently had a “promising visit” from one of its finalizes, from William and Mary, and Brandeis has received about 20 applicants. Also, Dean Fox, from University Libraries, is up for his 5-year review.

Harlan Sands, COO, is leaving for another opportunity. Acting President Neville Pinto will provide recommendations to the Board of Trustees on how to proceed with this search. The search for ombudsman also continues as Dr. Bob Staat fills in in the interim. The goal is to have the job posted by March 1 and the position filled by July 1.

Billingsley ended his report by encouraging faculty senators to attend December graduation on Dec. 15 to send a positive message to the graduates and their families and the public.

Committee reports

The meeting concluded with the following committee reports:

Academic Programs: Did not meet

Committee on Committees and Credentials:

Redbook and Bylaws: Documents have been reviewed for Dentistry and Engineering and hope to be ready for review by the January meeting.

Part-Time Faculty: Members met with Hughes to discuss health insurance issues with some part-time faculty. Hughes plans to bring business manager procedures to HR to help with any other issues for this group. Members asked Hughes to help create a manual for part-time faculty, an idea she liked. Part-time faculty are eligible for the employee assistance program.

Planning and Budget: No report

Executive Committee:

Faculty Athletic Representative: No report

The next Faculty Senate meeting is Jan. 11 in Chao Auditorium at the Ekstrom Library.

Pinto transitioned to  after the Board of Trustees accepted former President James Ramsey’s resignation. He was vacationing with his family in Hilton Head at the time.

“I was sitting on the couch with my son watching a movie. I was actually almost asleep. I don’t think he knew that,” Pinto said. “I got the call and was informed that I was now acting president of the university … I have to be honest, it’s been a whirlwind for me this past week.”

Pinto has been at UofL just shy of five years, first arriving on campus in September 2011 to serve as dean of the J.B. Speed School of Engineering and professor of chemical engineering. He was appointed interim provost in July 2015. The job included oversight of the university’s academic programming and day-to-day operations.

Though he admitted to being surprised by the abrupt transition, Pinto said he is honored that the Board of Trustees asked him to lead the institution in this interim period.

“What I recognized very quickly was that there is a flood of support for us to move forward. I’ve heard from many faculty, staff, student, alumni and community members, expressing their support for the university and for me to move it forward,” he said. “That has really encouraged me, and I’ve started gaining confidence that we can do it.”

As provost, Pinto was charged with the implementation of the university’s and said that the plan will continue to be the structure he and his leadership team will use.

“It’s an exciting plan. It connects to what’s most important for us here and that is a first-rate education for the students. It’s about student success, quality of programs, putting out outstanding research,” he said. “It connects to our service to the community, service in a way that is unique for a university – our ability to bring our intellectual potential to provide long-range solutions for our community.”

Pinto credited a strong team, including vice presidents and deans, for helping to bring these objectives to fruition. He also credited faculty and staff for making sure the university didn’t miss a beat during the transition.

“The task right now is to get ready for almost 3,000 students coming in as our freshmen class and the 22,000-some students that will be coming back to campus for the fall semester,” Pinto said. “I’m excited. I feel optimistic. I feel energized.”

Pinto fielded some questions from the media on a variety of issues, including:

• The impact of ongoing distractions, including the debate between the governor and attorney general about which board of trustees is in charge. Pinto said he is optimistic the judicial process will work itself out and that both boards are supportive of moving the university forward, underscoring that this debate has no impact on the day-to-day operations of the university. He also added that he has kept the chairmen of both boards, Larry Benz and Junior Bridgeman, in the loop.

“From my perspective, the board of trustees is about establishing policy for the university. Operationally, we function fairly effectively in this environment. We can still function well and deliver,” he said.

• When asked about whether he would want the president’s job permanently, Pinto said: “This is not about me right now. It’s (about) what the university needs. I think it needs a competitive, national search for a leader. The board of trustees will define the type of leader that’s required. Right now, I’m thinking about moving this university forward.”

Pinto added that he is just reacting right now. “I don’t expect this (role) to go very long. I think a search will start as soon as the board is finalized, and then we’ll move on. Right now, my focus is providing continued leadership, and that’s more important than anything I need to do for myself right now.”

• About the possibility of more tuition hikes, Pinto said that historically UofL has done better than the average university for student debt after they graduate (about $37,000 for the national average and $26,000 for UofL graduates).

“When we cut costs, it often comes at the price of quality … It’s an optimization of all of our resources to get to our objective of providing a high quality education at the lowest price,” he said. “It’s a really complex problem and isolating it as one or two factors oversimplifies it in my view.”

Pinto reiterated that we are currently operating on a spending plan right now. “There are a lot of implications for students if we don’t establish a spending plan,” he said.

• Asked if he was concerned about the reputational impact any recent issues have had, Pinto said, “Yes, ideally I do not want to be on the front page for this reason. We have, however, a very strong university. For example, last week, our faculty won $4 million in research awards. So things are going on,” he said. “This is a very strong institution, and I recognize that. I have learned to appreciate its strength. I think we will be all right.”

• Pinto said he is not concerned about the upcoming Southern Association of Colleges and Schools accreditation being affected by the leadership transition. There are criteria within the accreditation requirements that speak to governance and whenever there is a change in governance, the university has to notify the accrediting authority.

“There have been some changes, and we have notified them. We will continue to work with the agency, and we’re hopeful that there will be a quick resolution,” he said.

• Pinto called Ramsey’s leadership “transformational.” “If you look at where the university was when he came and where it is now, that’s the only conclusion I can come to. I can tell you that when I worked with him both as interim provost and dean, he was very creative, he was committed to the students, he was committed to the institution – all elements that transformed this university,” he said. “So that’s the record. That’s not going to change.”

• Pinto ended his meeting with a message to the students, promising that the university’s commitment to them has not changed.

“I want to make sure that the discussions and challenges we are having around decisions on governance are completely transparent to them so that their experience will be the same whether this happened or not,” he said. “I will be transparent in everything I do. That’s in my DNA. Academics is about openness, and that’s the way I am.”

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