At a meeting on Tuesday, the Kentucky Legislature’s Government Contract Review Committee approved a little over $4 million for Northern Kentucky University’s Hermann Science building.
“NKU was approved for a $79.9 million project to renovate and expand the Dorothy Westerman Hermann Science Center by the Kentucky General Assembly in the 2023-24 biennial budget,” said Carmen Hickerson, assistant vice president of economic engagement and government relations.
The first $4 million will be used for the project’s architectural and engineering design phase.
“The project will enable NKU to expand its lab and student research space in the basic sciences and engineering technology,” Hickerson said. “These programs are among the fastest growing at NKU.”
NKU requested $79.9 million for the capital investment to expand the Hermann Science Center during last year’s state budget. Kentucky included $683.5 million for asset preservation.
A contingent of leaders from NKU, including former President Ashish Vaidya, Hickerson, Economic Engagement and Government Relations, Mary Paula Schuh, senior director of planning, design and construction, and Syed Zaidi, assistant vice president of facilities management, all presented to the House Review Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education last January.
NKU presented information on how they would benefit from higher education funds in the budget — the funding was performance-based.
The Kentucky legislature built a Postsecondary Education Work Group, which comprises the Council on Postsecondary Education President, university leaders, and representatives from the legislature and the governor’s office.
Together they created a funding model that gives state funding based on performance and student success metrics.
At the time, Hickerson said that NKU was performing well.
However, the university recently parted ways with Vaidya due to differences in vision. The announcement regarding Vaidya came on the heels of an October report showing the university faced a budget deficit of $18.7 million, which has since increased to $24.2 million.
According to reporting from NKU’s student newspaper, The Northerner, the university’s gross tuition and fees revenue fell by 2.3% from $168.5 million in 2021 to $164.6 million this year, while expenses rose from $276.7 million to $290.2 million, representing a 4.9% change.
NKU is scheduled to receive funding and tuition totaling $265,344,400 in the 2022-2023 school year and $269,908,900 in the 2023-2024 school year.
Here’s a breakdown of those funds and how they’re funding NKU.
Total expected in funding: $265,344,400
General Fund — this money comes from tax revenue: $53,090,500
Restricted Fund — this money is agency funds from tuition, fees, and other services: $199,178,300
Federal Fund — money from income, such as pandemic aid: $13,075,600
2023-2024
Total expected in funding: $269,908,900
General Fund — $57,655,000
Restricted Fund — $199,178,300
Federal Fund — $13,075,600