As House Bill 490 nears passage in the Kentucky legislature, alarm bells have been raised as to what this could mean for professors with tenured positions. 

The bill adds verbiage to Kentucky law, which would allow public universities to remove tenured faculty members due to financial exigency (emergency), low enrollment in a degree program or misalignment of revenue. 

Journalism Professor Mac McKerral, senator-large in WKU’s faculty senate, said his concern lies beyond the actual content of the law, as most universities already have policies in place that let tenured positions be removed for financial reasons. 

The removed faculty would be provided 30 days’ notice in writing, along with a stated reason for removal. McKerral said this added level of job insecurity is the most concerning part of the bill. 

McKerral said if removing faculty within 30 days is the only way to fix a budget, “what you really ought to be considering is terminating every administrator who prepared that budget,” McKerral said.

Because of the vagueness of the bill’s wording, universities would have the power to remove not just faculty, but full majors or departments due to stated financial reasons, according to a statement published by the American Association of University Professors.

McKerral said another concern with the bill is how it may affect bringing new faculty to WKU. 

“There has to be a reason for them to want to come work at WKU, and this certainly isn’t helping,” McKerral said. 

The bill passed in the Kentucky House 72-21, and in the Senate 30-7. Even if Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear were to veto, the strength of these majorities suggests the bill would pass anyway. 

The full text of the bill and more details can be found here.