The Kentucky State Senate recently unanimously passed new legislation that aims to alleviate financial concerns at Kentucky State University (KSU) and assign the HBCU a new polytechnic mission.
Senate Bill 185, sponsored by Senator Chris McDaniel, outlines a five-year transition that will position KSU as a land-grant polytechnic institute that focuses on “highly technical, industry-based applied learning and offers programs aligned with the workforce needs of the Commonwealth [of Kentucky].”
If passed, the bill would require KSU to offer no more than 10 academic areas of study, excluding programs that are exclusively online, in the College of Education, or determined by the Council on Postsecondary Education to be necessary to KSU’s new polytechnic mission. These changes would begin in the 2026-2027 academic year and continue for the following five academic years.
The legislation would also declare a “state of financial exigency” at the HBCU. Over the next five years, KSU President Koffi Akakpo would “have the authority to terminate employment of any university employee, including tenured employees,” and could “only retain the faculty and staff necessary to support the enrollment target of at least 1,000 in-person students” and the aforementioned programs. Additionally, any expenditure that exceeds $20,000 would need to be reviewed by the Council on Postsecondary Education.
In a letter to the campus community, President Akakpo mentioned that KSU will receive a $50 million investment in a new Health Sciences Building and up to $50 million in asset preservation funding to continue modernizing campus infrastructure. Furthermore, there will be no reduction in the HBCU’s base state funding.
“From our agricultural research farms to our environmental education centers and our mobile health units, from our classrooms to communities across the Commonwealth, Kentucky State University continues to lead with impact,” wrote President Akakpo.
He continued, “Kentucky State University will emerge from this moment stronger, more innovative, and better positioned to serve our students and the Commonwealth for generations to come.”
