A divided Board of Regents at Kentucky State University this week selected a new chief executive to lead the troubled state-controlled, land-grant institution, despite widespread concern the process of selecting a new leader was flawed and concluded too quickly.
Dr. M. Christopher Brown, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost for Louisiana’s Southern University and A&M System for less than a year, was chosen by a 7-3 vote from a pool of three finalists, the university announced Monday.
A broad base of the Kentucky State community, ranging from students to faculty to alumni, had questioned the search committee’s work and expressed sharp concern over the refusal of the committee to consider interim president Dr. Aaron Thompson. He has had served since last May.
Thompson, widely respected in Kentucky for work in education, had taken the helm of the university after Raymond M. Burse, a highly respected retired executive of General Electric, left the post after two years to return to retirement. Before leaving, he had faulted the state’s new governor with proposing draconian budgets cuts that would be lethal to the university.
Three of the seven regents spoke passionately about their opposition to the vote to select a president this week, echoing a variety of constituents of the university who expressed alarmed that Thompson had not been considered for the job nor chosen as a finalist.
“This dark cloud is not going to leave unless we put the best process in place,” said Paul Harnice, one of the three vocal dissenters, according to a report in the Lexington-Herald Leader, the daily morning paper serving the university area. The paper had covered the regents’ meeting during which the presidential vote was taken.
“To make this decision right here right now is a really big mistake and Kentucky State cannot afford to make any more big mistakes,” said Harnice, echoing other dissenting regents.
