The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees met on Feb. 23 to vote on a resolution that could change UK’s governing relations and to look back on what the university has accomplished in recent years. 

During the meeting, the board of trustees approved a resolution that could alter the university’s Senate Council structure and redirect their power.

In a campus-wide email on Feb. 28, UK President Eli Capilouto said this is a step toward a bigger goal called “Project Accelerate,” a task set to further advance the university and in a timely manner. 

Capilouto said in the email that the university is facing challenges regarding decision-making and there are “many rules and with very little clarity” about doing so. 

“We can streamline our roles and create more clarity where there is currently ambiguity and confusion,” board chair Britt Brockman said. “We can better empower colleges and units, we can better unleash the energies of our faculty, we can do more to support the efforts of our students and staff, and we can do so while recognizing that everyone, everyone should have a voice, everyone should bring their expertise and experience to the table.”

Faculty trustee Hollie Swanson was the only member to vote against the resolution.

“I will (be) voting against this resolution. There is a lack of substantial evidence supporting this resolution and I have not been given substantial time to consider the ramifications of the proposal,” Swanson said. 

Capilouto said in his email that UK’s faculty has the “most important voice when it comes to curriculum” and that the material being taught and methods to do so cannot and will not change.

He also said he will be meeting with different groups from the university, staff and student senates in the near future and welcomes this feedback, according to his email.

Capilouto also spent time highlighting the university’s 159th Founders Day and UK’s recent accomplishments through his presidency while looking at growth for the future.

Also mentioned in the meeting was the newest faculty trustee Hubie Ballard, reporting a “strong voter turnout of 56.3%,” according to Swanson, on Feb. 16.

Ballard is a Kentucky native who graduated from UK’s Pigman College of Engineering and later attended UK’s College of Medicine. 

He completed a combined residency in internal medicine and pediatrics, serving as the pediatrics chief resident in 2001 and finishing his fellowship in neonatal-perinatal medicine in 2004. 

He has been a faculty member in the Department of Pediatrics and currently holds the position of associate professor of pediatrics, special title series. 

“His service to UK and the College of Medicine extends beyond his faculty appointment and into leadership positions in representing faculty, mentoring students, and helping administer critical clinical programs and initiatives,” Swanson said.