While the overhaul redirecting KSU's focus to STEM majors and high demand fields already had considerable backing from lawmakers, students, teachers, and alumni have raised questions about the bill — which would bring a series of campus-wide changes over the next five years.
Kumar Rashad, a KSU alum, was named the Kentucky High School Teacher of the Year in 2024. He told lawmakers he had come prepared to give much different speech in committee Wednesday, but the latest version of the bill, called a committee substitute, calmed many of his fears.
"I was so worried that we were going to have polytechnic and not have liberal arts. I think you all have addressed that. I was so worried that we were going to limit the amount of students at the university and you all have taken care of that," Rashad said. "I thought the whole mission of KSU was going to be stripped of its historically Black college and university status, that we were going to be demoted to a junior college... that hasn't happened."
Still, the overhaul will shift KSU toward a polytechnic model in a bid to avoid closure of the HBCU, which has struggled to right its financial ship. Critics say the school hasn't been properly funded in the past, but lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have expressed support for the new plan.
The bill would whittle down the areas of study available at the school to just 10. It's unclear exactly which programs will be cut or trimmed back, but KSU would have to deliver a list of its recommendations by June 1.