This story was written by Lia Salvatierra, our new Education Reporter. Find more of Lia’s reporting here. Do you have an NKY education story? Email lsalvatierra@linknky.com.
Northern Kentucky University has adopted a new policy under state law allowing the university to fire faculty for financial reasons, including tenured positions.
NKU’s Board of Regents passed the policy Wednesday ahead of the state’s Oct. 1 deadline for adoption, with two dissenting votes from regents who belong to the university’s faculty and staff.
Passed as in April, House Bill 490 requires public colleges and universities to adopt a universal policy and process for firing faculty for “bona fide financial reasons,” — something some institutions already have on their books.
The Republican-backed bill overrode Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto in which he called “bona fide financial reasons” an “an ambiguous and vague new standard” to fire educators who have earned tenure.
According to bill language, those reasons include low enrollment in a particular program or major, “misalignment” of revenue and costs of a college, department, program or major — or simply, financial struggles overall.
The law “may be misused to target people, programs and research based purely on subject, politics or many other unconstitutional grounds, under the guise of economic necessity. This would likely violate contractual agreements that institutions have made to attract and retain talented educators,” Beshear wrote in his veto.
However, NKU Chief Communications Officer Corey Best told LINK nky the university currently has no plans to put the policy into action.
A review of last fiscal year 2026 during the Sept. 16 meeting showed a budget surplus of $6.8 million, from a budgeted $221.4 million in annual expenses.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Board of Regents Chair Kara Williams described the policy-making process, which aimed to consider, if not include, all faculty input.
“I don’t believe any policy this complex is perfect, and I don’t believe that responsible government requires us to pretend that it is. But I do believe that a tremendous amount of good faith work has gone into getting us to this point,” Board of Regents Chair Kara Williams said Wednesday.
“I believe that the policy before us provides a responsible path for NKU to meet its obligations under the law by continuing to fulfil our mission,” she said.
Details of the NKU policy
NKU’s new policy “applies to removal of faculty of any status or rank.”
But the policy states “these decisions also are guided by respect for faculty tenure, which contributes to the vibrant community of scholars on our campus.”
Any decision to remove faculty would occur only after review and would be subject to “protections” required by the policy under the First Amendment and “academic freedom.”
Academic freedom is defined differently across different institutions and groups, but relates to the ability to teach and learn without interference by administrators, governing boards, political figures and other entities.
Under the First Amendment, according to policy language, the policy can’t be used to remove faculty based on the following:
- Expression of ideological and political viewpoints
- Expression related to the Faculty Senate, which allows the faculty to help govern the university, or other faculty governance functions
Under the “academic freedom” protections outlined in the policy, it can’t be used to remove faculty due to exercising professional judgment around:
- Teaching
- Scholarship
- Research within the faculty member’s academic discipline
- Creative activity
During the Sept. 16 meeting, the board voted to expand that protective language to add “creative activity.”
Under the policy, only the university president can initiate removal of faculty for “bona fide financial reasons.”
A faculty member proposed for removal can request a hearing before the Board of Regents, which would make a final decision by a majority vote of a quorum.
That policy adopted Wednesday, prevails over provisions about faculty separation, including tenured positions, in the university’s faculty handbook.
Pushback during discussion
Regent Sandra Spataro voiced concerns about the speed of the policy-making process and involvement of faculty, which filled the audience during Wednesday’s meeting.
“I understand that the new law requires us to act quickly. At the same time, I hope we treat the process used here as an exception not as a precedent or how we make consequential decisions at NKU,” Spataro said.
“Faculty leaders had the opportunity to react to drafts, but that’s different from helping develop the policy from the start,” she said.
She also noted concerns about its content, including how it conflicts with other university policy and the faculty handbook and whether it provides sufficient due process for faculty proposed for removal.
Spataro is a professor of management and director of NKU’s Master’s of Business Leadership and Innovation program.
Ultimately, the board passed the policy with two no votes from Spataro and Regent Cori Henderson, associate director of NKU’s Office of Institutional Research.
Spataro called her no vote a “call to keep working together” to implement and refine the policy.
The policy can be amended by a quorum majority vote by the Board of Regents.