Here are the names sent to Governor Steve Beshear from the Postsecondary Education Nominating Committee to fill vacancies on the University of Louisville Board of Trustees:
- Phoebe Wood, Republican, Louisville
- Dr. Kevin Cosby, Democrat, Louisville, pastor of St. Stephen
- Mark E. Lynn, Democrat, Louisville, optometrist
- Dennis Williams, Democrat, Louisville, attorney
- Dennis Clare, unknown political affiliation, Louisville, attorney
- Dr. Gail Henson, Democrat, Louisville, professor at Bellarmine University
- Robert Kohn, Democrat, Louisville, attorney
- Robert Young, Democrat, Warren County, attorney
- Sabrina Bowling, Democrat, Bullitt County, head of construction company
So, who will it be? Who does the Governor owe the most? Thoughts? Predictions?
And will the appointees be pushovers? Will they allow another Felner scandal to go down with absolutely zero oversight?
19 responses so far ↓
1 Flag // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:05 am
If the governor has any balls he will choose someone who has had to file a grievance against U of L (or lawsuit) and subsequently been denied rights and all forms of justice, followed by harassment, ridicule, and perhaps loss of a job. It is time to change the whimpy little club into a real board.
2 jake // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:07 am
Haha! You people and your optimism. Hahahaha.
3 Novena // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:23 am
“Hope, Optimism, and Daydreaming”
I agree that Flag is a rosy-eyed optimist. Yet hope springs eternal, even among prospects for the UofL Board. After all, could they be any worse than many of the present seat-holders (sorry, Plate Glass)? Cosby might at least represent a bit of West Louisville and low-income people’s interests. Henson, of Bellarmine, might be a welcome counterweight to the current dead weight on the Board–the ones who awaken whenever JR snaps his finger and nudges them from their siestas.
4 AbG // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:24 am
Looks like the spoils system is still alive and well.
5 Rant // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:37 am
It seems to me it will be the people JR chooses to be on the board. Isn’t this how business is done in the bluegrass state?
6 le gardien de but // Jul 2, 2009 at 10:51 am
Rant, you got it right. JR will have the final say. Effectively, the BoT is a rubber stamp for JR; effectively the board reports to JR, not the other way around. It would also appear that the School Board & Berman have a similar relationship…
A few years back Dey Systems did a survey of alums (i recall) & the results were abysmal. JR & SW found fault with the survey & got rid of Dey Systems. During my career at U of L, some deans got terrible reviews; but the provost & president at the time did not want to hear it. Recently the teachers of Jefferson County turn in a scathing review of Berman, and the school board just blew it off. There is a perception among UofL’s boad that the faculty are a bunch of wing nuts. I feel that perhaps Berman has convinced his board in a similar vein.
There will be NO change at U of L, not until JR & his buddies in Frankfort have moved on…
7 Novena // Jul 2, 2009 at 11:28 am
“Stand Up for Your School”
Rant & le gardien, I hate to be a nihilist, but you’re doubtless correct. Shall we just bow our heads in despair and hum, “All hail to thee our UofL?” At least the new Board members will get free basketball tickets, so they can sing louder and then join the others in their siestas.
P.S. Plate Glass, any further news on the Phi Beta Kappa application? It’s been a long time in comin.’
8 Flag // Jul 2, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Well I suppose one could hope for the gov just giving everyone the shaft and starting all over…wouldn’t that be refreshing?
9 Steve // Jul 2, 2009 at 3:04 pm
I’ve known Bob Kohn and his wonderful family for decades. He’s an excellent attorney and has the heart of a true public servant. Bob would have pushed for Felner’s immediate outster long before his abuse and fraud reached its critical mass. His is a voice for justice, so I hope he gets the nod.
Kevin Cosby also would be an superb choice. When we lived in Barbourmeade, he was a very good neighbor, and he’s very well regarded for his steady, level-headed service to the community.
10 justsayin // Jul 2, 2009 at 11:46 pm
Sorry but Cosby will always be for Cosby, first and foremost. Any appointment will be used to further his presidency at Simmons Bible College before it benefits any West Lou residents.
11 SC // Jul 3, 2009 at 8:16 am
Steve, you probably just sunk Bob Kohn chances by outting him as a voice for justice. That is incompatible with UofL philosophy and mission.
They like to use the rhetoric, but actions never get past the Communications Dept. In fact, Felner’s mantra was “social justice and equity”. When, a truthful philosophy for him would have been “steal, cheat, and mistreat”.
In actual fact, every sitting member of the Board has breached their fiduciary duty to this university — why no one “officials” seem to care about this is indeed one of the great Kentucky mysteries.
12 Novena // Jul 3, 2009 at 9:26 am
“Trudging Onward & Downward in Dung”
SC, you’re so right about the prattle on “social justice and equity.” It was indeed Felner’s BS calling card. Faculty who saw beyond it would endlessly call it bullshit and the Loser Team would lamely say, in defense of their Savior: “He means well; he has such great values.” Meaning faculty should forget his disastrous means and his completely hypocritical, and equally disastrous, ends. Is there a true voice and actor of integrity and courage among high KY officials who can put an end to one of the deepest piles of crap in U. S. academic history? It is ruining KY’s reputation for higher learning across the globe. And those who hold the power to do something don’t seem to care.
13 marie // Jul 3, 2009 at 2:29 pm
Learning to Crawl
At the U of L, a sure sign would be the actual
principles of social justice applied to one’s life in inverse proportion to the very inflated talk.
Awards, especially, notwithstanding!!
14 Novena // Jul 3, 2009 at 3:11 pm
“The Ultimate Award”
Yes, Marie, UofL bestows many awards–mainly as PR gimmicks. I wish those who give them out would pay more attention to the everyday lives of students, staff, and faculty. Then they would earn an award they’ve never garnered: a simple “thank you” for common decency and integrity.
15 Hope // Jul 3, 2009 at 6:53 pm
The Board of Trustees desperately needs members who are not afraid to take action and dismiss leaders when the are doing incompetent jobs. They need someone who is not of the good-old-boys and girls-mentality. It’s time for KY to start to crawl up from the corrupt nepotistic quid pro quo sort of politics. Lets start with UofL. The university should be the model and the BOT needs to lead the way.
16 marie // Jul 4, 2009 at 4:27 am
Instead of doing what his job requires of him,
U of L tolerates their absurd “mall cops,”
managers talking ‘liberation theology’ but
spreading fear, an eye out for *the guy who just
might show up requesting a copy of a letter
sent to his e-mail. One page. That will be denied.
*(these were older vets from the VA)
17 Novena // Jul 4, 2009 at 7:47 am
“Bucks and Respect for Everyday Folks”
The last few comments awaken me to what sets UofL apart: the neglect of commonplace, day-to-day lives in favor of honoring the Big Glitz–be it in athletics, “Bucks for Brains” or a gazillian grants and awards for PR notoriety. By forgetting the daily existence of “ordinary people” (students, staff and faculty), UofL permits persuasive salesmen with glib tongues and music-man swagger (vide Felner) to receive anything their cold hearts and devlish minds desire. Honchos, please remember the hard-working custodian in the Humanities Bldg., the young lady from Paducah working two jobs to stay on campus and the impudent, but caring, professor searching the library for an arcane book–who cringes at what he sees going on at Belknap. It is their campus, too.
18 marie // Jul 4, 2009 at 3:00 pm
“This is not America”
Sadly, Novena, the bully holds a special place of honor at U of L. The university’s actions of the past year in the larger world have confirmed my view that once they identify their target, like
the jaws of a predatory beast, they never let go.
From my own experience with the hypocritical “Mr.Social Justice” to the public battle of wills over the Mint Jubilee brand, the talk loudly clashes with “the walk.”
Apparently, anyone in a position to compromise or be conciliatory lacks the compassion, intellect, or sophistication to step up. We have Mark Hebert, I suppose, to thank for the
relative quiet from their camp of late.
But hope and charity, faith, aren’t just big, empty ideals.
All drama aside, people do live or die by, what, for them, these words embody.
Not everyone is so cynical.
When you are in a position of power and therefore have “power” over others;
performing the daily activities of that job
as if resigned to a code of nastiness
should not be allowed, much less encouraged.
It kills the spirit of everyone who happens to be around and cares.
And for me, thats what sets U of L apart.
19 Novena // Jul 4, 2009 at 3:26 pm
“UofL’s Two Worlds”
Marie, you have captured our mutual thoughts in beautifully wrought prose. This Independence Day, I hope the nominees for the UofL Board will remember that higher education is a daily, eternal dialogue in search of truth. Those who violate trust in that journey should not hold power over those who undertake the precious, but fragile, voyage. Some of the anger and bitterness post-Felner is still there because some of us love academe (its students, staff and faculty) too much to condone the killing of its spirit.
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