Raymond M. Burse, president of Kentucky State University in Frankfort, announced on May 23 that he was resigning on May 27. He was named interim president of the university in 2014 and was named permanent president in October 2014. He is the former vice president and general counsel of General Electric.
President Burse has been highly critical of budget cuts made by new Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin. Burse said in the past that the cuts would be so devastating to the university that it may have “to declare financial exigency and/or prepare a closure plan.”
But in the statement announcing his retirement, President Burse said that “KSU is on an upward trajectory ” and “KSU is back on the path to excellence.” He added that “at this juncture, I have decided that the further demands and challenges of Kentucky State must be undertaken by new leadership.”
President Burse is a graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, where he double majored in chemistry and mathematics. He studied organic chemistry at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar and later graduated from Harvard Law School.
