He’s not out of the woods yet, but there appears to be a clearer path ahead for Jim Ramsey.
Ramsey has received a nice boost from the Faculty Senate in a confidence vote on his ability to provide effective leadership at the University of Louisville. The Faculty Senate, an officially-recognized governance group for faculty members, voted 55% in favor of Ramsey as opposed to 40% against him. The remaining 5% abstained from voting.
The outcome indicates that Ramsey continues to enjoy strong support from the academic community, the people who interact with the UofL President on a daily basis. Finally given a chance to weigh in on the issue, a clear majority endorsed him.
“In politics, these numbers would be called a landslide,” wrote former UofL Board Chairman Bob Hughes on his Facebook page.
The outcome is the latest in a series of positive initiatives on behalf of Ramsey, including a full-page ad from supporters in the Courier-Journal and an online petition that includes the names of more than 450 people.
Some interesting names on that list, including Senator Mitch McConnell, Board Members Bob Benson, Ron Butt, Bruce Henderson and Bob Hughes, Vice President of Athletics Tom Jurich, and UofL Coaches Ken Lolla and Sandy Pearsall.
A scheduled no-confidence vote on April 20 by the Board of Trustees came and went without a vote. Governor Matt Bevin has yet to appoint two minority members to the board. The Governor, known for respecting Ramsey’s financial acumen, is taking his time to make the appointments.
Given the friction on the board, Gov. Bevin could best serve the University by reviewing some of ex-Gov. Steve Beshear’s appointments. Specifically he should question whether Craig Greenberg, Steve Campbell, Emily Bingham and Larry Hayes have the school’s best interests in mind. Their only objective appears to be getting rid of Ramsey.
Beshear is gone now. Gov. Bevin may want to invite the aforementioned to submit their resignations. They are not leading and need to get out of the way.
Cool under fire for sure. Amazing to watch.
I have never doubted Ramsey would successfully navigate those artificially-stimulated rugged waters, created by some long-time haters and bitter people who see the local university as a business competitor. I really admire the man and I would never want to be opposite him in a real fight.