KRS 164.360: Appointment and removal of president, faculty, and employees --

Performance and productivity evaluations.

(1) (a) Each board of regents for the universities shall appoint a president, appoint all

faculty members and employees, and fix the ir compensation and tenure of

service, subject to the provisions of subsections (2) to (6) of this section.

Faculty member and employee appointment and removal decisions may be

delegated to the president in accordance with policy adopted by each board of

regents.

(b) The board of regents for the Kentucky Community and Technical College

System shall appoint a president, appoint all faculty members and employees,

and fix their compensation and tenure of service, subject to the provisions of

subsections (2) to (6) of this section. Faculty member and employee

appointment and removal decisions may be delegated to the president in

accordance with policy adopted by the board of regents.

(2) A person shall not be employed at an institution where his or her relative serves on

the board of regents for that institution.

(3) Each board may remove the president of the university or Kentucky Community

and Technical College System, and the president may remove any faculty member

or employee.

(4) A president or faculty membe r may be removed for cause, which shall include

incompetency, neglect of or refusal to perform his or her duty, immoral conduct, or

failure to meet college or university performance and productivity requirements as

determined in accordance with subsection (5) of this section. A president or faculty

member shall not be removed until after thirty (30) days' notice in writing, stating

the nature of the charges preferred, and after an opportunity has been given him or

her to make defense before the board by cou nsel or otherwise and to introduce

testimony which shall be heard and determined by the board. Charges against a

president shall be preferred by the chairperson of the board upon written

information furnished to him or her, and charges against a faculty me mber shall be

preferred in writing by the president unless the offense is committed in his or her

presence.

(5) (a) President and faculty member performance and productivity shall be

evaluated at least once every four (4) years using a process approved by each

board.

(b) Any preliminary discussions relating to the evaluation of the president by the

board or between the board and the president prior to the final evaluation

report shall be conducted in closed session pursuant to KRS 61.810(1)(f).

(c) The fina l performance and productivity evaluation report on the president

shall be in writing, discussed and adopted in an open meeting of the board and

reflected in the minutes, and made available to the public upon request.

(d) Failure to meet performance and productivity requirements may result in

removal of a president or faculty member regardless of status.

(e) The evaluation process shall be established by each board and provided to all

faculty members by January 1, 2026, to become effective July 1, 2026.

(6) (a) In addition to removal for cause as provided in subsections (4) and (5) of this

section, a faculty member may be removed by the board for bona fide

financial reasons, including but not limited to:

1. Financial exigency;

2. Low enrollment in a particular program or major; or

3. Misalignment of revenue and costs in a particular college, department,

program, or major.

(b) The process by which removal as provided in paragraph (a) of this subsection

shall be proposed, evalu ated, and decided shall be established by each board

and provided to all faculty members, with an effective date no later than

October 1, 2026. The process shall require that no faculty member is removed

until after thirty (30) days' notice in writing, sta ting the reason for removal,

and after an opportunity has been given to the faculty member to respond

before the board by counsel or otherwise and to introduce testimony which

shall be heard and determined by the board.