Jamya Chenault is finishing her third year as a mass communications major at Kentucky State University, but the state legislature has her worried about what will happen if the state takes control. 

In March, a plan was unveiled in the Kentucky General Assembly that would shave Kentucky State’s academic offerings and assign it a new polytechnic mission. The move stems from a financial crisis at the school tied in part to alleged mismanagement of university funds. 

The potential new structure sent Chenault’s mind racing, as she weighed her options on how online classes would work for her or if she should quickly switch her major to one of the science and technical majors that the university would start emphasizing. 

“My first thought was, ‘Oh my goodness, what am I gonna do, especially if they’re getting rid of our major,’” she said. 

Senate Bill 185 moved quickly through the legislature, with the House approving it 90-1 on April 1. Gov. Andy Beshear is expected to sign the legislation into law. 

KSU’s possible state overhaul only echoes a trend in higher education: Republican-led states are taking over public college boards and their finances. In 2024, Tennessee State University signed a $94 million agreement with state lawmakers, leading the state to take over the Board of Trustees, according to Inside Higher Education. Similarly, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis launched a major conservative overhaul of New College of Florida, a once-progressive liberal arts college. 

Back on KSU’s campus, students are left in a frenzy, organizing meetings and protesting state lawmakers’ attempts to take over the university’s financial oversight. 

Whitley Costner is a second-generation KSU student and is currently enrolled in the university’s master’s in education program. Costner’s parents met at the university, where she was practically raised. She remembered hearing that the original construction plans for the university, founded in 1886, included doors facing inward rather than outward toward the community. 

“That kind of sheds a light on how much a safe haven was needed for people of color,” she said. 

In 2026, she said Black students still need that environment where they feel comfortable, including in-person classes. 

Despite the community’s worries, the university president, Koffi C. Akakpo, sent a message to the student body the day after the unanimous state Senate vote, calling the bill a “partnership” between the assembly and the institution. 

“Let me be clear, the name of Kentucky State University will not change,” Akakpo wrote to the students. “Our mission will not change. Our commitment to students, faculty, staff, and the Commonwealth will only grow stronger. Instead, this plan strengthens our ability to deliver on that mission in a rapidly evolving higher education landscape.” 

Capital B reached out to Akakpo and McDaniels, but neither was available for comment at the time of publication. 

What would the bill do?

The legislation, titled “An ACT relating to Kentucky State University and declaring an emergency,” is a five-year emergency financial plan. If passed, it’s effective immediately. The university would move to 10 recommended in-person academic areas focused on science, technology, engineering, math, and applied sciences, while moving traditional liberal arts online.

The previous version of the bill did not reflect a “partnership” to Costner. 

The bill states that if faculty are not needed for courses aligned with the polytechnic mission, the university would not be required to employ them, leaving staffing at the Council on Postsecondary Education’s discretion. The council, comprising 13 members elected by the governor, oversees public colleges in the state. Under the new law, the university only has to retain faculty and staff necessary to support the enrollment of 1,000 in-person students.

Now, the limited in-person courses will be determined by the council and the university, and the list will then be submitted to the programs that the board recommends to the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges. These programs are due by July 1. 

Costner said she and her father can get into heated debates about their alma mater’s future but there’s one thing that they can agree on: The university’s finances should’ve been handled long ago.

In 2021, the university was expected to face a nearly $15 million shortfall for the fiscal year, according to the State Journal. In the last two years of President M. Christopher Brown II’s tenure, he was accused of overspending $72,000 on a university-issued credit card.

Years later, in 2023, the state conducted a special report on Kentucky State, where the auditor found “20 findings noting multiple issues” totaling more than $3 million, according to the state’s report. Among the findings are underawarding Pell Grants, holding refund checks longer than the college should have, and improper documentation of university spending. 

Now, the university would be barred from entering into any financial partnership exceeding $20,000 without the Council on Postsecondary Education’s approval. 

“I feel like that’s not really the university’s fault; that’s the last president’s fault,” Chenault said. 

As of 2026, Brown has not faced any criminal charges.

Tensions are rising on campus 

Chenault heard about the change from her professor, who is encouraging students to be more active in learning what’s going on at the land-grant institution. 

“There have been meetings on campus every day,” she told Capital B. That same day, the Student Government Association held a town hall meeting about the initial senate bill — just two days before the House’s April 1 vote on the university’s future. 

Now, the current KSU is stuck between possibly closing its doors and taking a deal with the state legislature, which may cost them their culture. 

Costner said she’s sure the state legislature will pass the bill, considering how quickly it’s moving. Still, alumni are doing all they can to make sure they get the “best outcome,” she said.

During one of the town halls, she said Akakpo, the university’s president, was asked several questions about what the next steps are, but he replied that the college’s hands are tied this late in the game. 

“You’re leading an institution and you don’t understand the culture, the value, the integrity that’s there,” Costner said. “In my own view, it doesn’t matter how much time is on the clock, we’re going to fight even if it comes down to the last second.” 

This story has been updated.

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