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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
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Lenvillecards Offline
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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
Getting the facts straight?

http://louisville.edu/president/news-ite...to-article

May 26, 2016

Dear friends:


This letter is in direct rebuttal to media reports this week about the U of L Foundation’s 990 tax filing. In short, the reporter doesn’t understand the purpose of the filing and has for two consecutive years misreported salary and compensation information for the University’s management team. Chris Otts at WDRB has vastly overstated the compensation for Dr. Jim Ramsey, Kathleen Smith, and other university officials. He has done this repeatedly and in a deliberate attempt to mislead the public about compensation matters, and he has done so without a fair assessment of the inarguably positive results the leadership team has achieved since 2002.


Despite nearly 15 years of declining financial support for UofL from the state (totaling $322 million), the university continues its upward trajectory producing more job-ready graduates and a record number of prestigious Fulbright, Truman, and other national scholars. The campus has been transformed from a sleepy commuter school to a vibrant and academically competitive university attracting increasingly large numbers of more highly qualified applicants year-over-year. The University of Louisville Foundation has stated repeatedly those successes can be directly linked to one key strategy – retaining the leadership of Dr. James Ramsey and his executive team.


Yesterday, the elected officers of the UofL Foundation Board and the Chairmen of the two standing committees (Finance and Audit) spent 1½ hours with Chris Otts, WDRB-TV, to detail the reported data on the Foundation’s FY15 IRS 990 submission. An audio recording of the session is posted as follows: click to download. The time spent with Mr. Otts was to explain a complex federal reporting methodology for taxable earned and projected compensation. But, this methodology is not used by the IRS, or other entities, for employee withholding purposes or representation of salaries earned. Dean, Dorton, Allen, and Ford (DDAF) presented the taxation formula and the Chief Financial Officer discussed the liabilities and biennial data included on the 990 schedules. Unfortunately, the complexities of the formulas and the purposes behind the 990 schedule were missed by the WDRB reporter and he used only a simplistic compensation total which was overstated by $1,198,249 in taxable year 2014 and overstated by $1,024,078 in taxable year 2013.


Interestingly, WDRB made no mention of the 990 reported data for the Athletic Association where the following individuals are listed as follows:

Richard Pitino:
$5,212,506
Robert Petrino:
$3,694,493
Mr. Tom Jurich:
$3,450,983
Mr. Jeff Walz:
$1,136,771
Mr. Todd Grantham:
$1,031,167

One could presume the station and its reporter have an agenda that is beyond reporting all the facts.

Ethical reporting without bias or predetermined opinion is what the Foundation and the University deserve. We felt that it was critical the record be corrected regarding the realization of income that Dr. Ramsey and his staff received. Mr. Otts overstated compensation for Kathleen Smith in taxable year 2014 by $463,791 and in taxable year 2013 by $142,841. Perhaps unsurprisingly, there was no mention by Mr. Otts of the nearly $150,000,000 in federal, state, and private funds she has raised for infrastructure and academic programs at the University since 2006.

Dr. Ramsey’s corrected compensation for this same 2014 taxable year is $1,593,137, the bulk of which is in the form of deferred compensation and contributions to retirement, a practice that university foundations commonly use to retain top performing presidents. Retaining top talent in higher education has become increasingly competitive and critical in a rapidly changing fiscal environment.

The officers of the UofL Foundation Board credit Ramsey’s strong fiscal acumen, focus on academic achievement and decisive leadership style for UofL’s transformation. Retaining Ramsey and his team has produced a tremendous return-on-investment for the University.
It is possible these oversights and misrepresentations were not deliberate, but they have been repeated for the past two years. When an organization is growing and achieving, it is critical to retain top talent. Dr. Ramsey has demonstrated exemplary leadership of both the University and the Foundation, and that leadership has driven incredible results. By linking his and his team’s compensation directly to performance, we’ve created an environment of accountability and achievement.

We are disappointed that after spending valuable time with a representative of WDRB, Mr. Otts continues to be selective in his reporting, creates negative stories with clickbait titles, and misleads the public with fairy-tales regarding the compensation for Ramsey and his team.

Sincerely,




Robert Curtis Hughes, M.D.
Chairman, UofL Foundation
05-29-2016 07:38 AM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
Ramsey had me when he aggressively said...."are you matt jones?....I don't know who he is......"

Bottom line is that Gordon Gee is the gift that keeps giving. Kensucky and their minions will work tirelessly against UofL even to their own detriment. They would deprive their own students if it meant harming or impeding the University of Louisville. That is why we have to find a way around the BoT. We very well need to go private.
That is how much the State would like to harm us. So sad.
06-02-2016 12:51 AM
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Lenvillecards Offline
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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
(06-02-2016 12:51 AM)Dasville Wrote:  Ramsey had me when he aggressively said...."are you matt jones?....I don't know who he is......"

Bottom line is that Gordon Gee is the gift that keeps giving. Kensucky and their minions will work tirelessly against UofL even to their own detriment. They would deprive their own students if it meant harming or impeding the University of Louisville. That is why we have to find a way around the BoT. We very well need to go private.
That is how much the State would like to harm us. So sad.

I think their attempt to oust Ramsey has failed. They have egg on their face & at least one has publicly apologized, to Petino anyway.
06-02-2016 07:49 AM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
Looks like the Governor cleared house. Fired the whole BoT and forced the President to resign.
Gotta keep Jurich. With Florida AD job opened up, could be time to start worrying.
06-17-2016 10:01 AM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
06-17-2016 10:15 AM
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Lenvillecards Offline
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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
Something tells me this is going to be a bad thing. I have no confidence in Bevin.
06-17-2016 11:05 AM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
(06-17-2016 11:05 AM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  Something tells me this is going to be a bad thing. I have no confidence in Bevin.

No matter the opinion of the members of the BoT that was just ousted, it ceased to function effectively at anything, let alone in the best interest of the University.

Clean slate is best.
06-17-2016 05:34 PM
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Lenvillecards Offline
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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
(06-17-2016 05:34 PM)Dasville Wrote:  
(06-17-2016 11:05 AM)Lenvillecards Wrote:  Something tells me this is going to be a bad thing. I have no confidence in Bevin.

No matter the opinion of the members of the BoT that was just ousted, it ceased to function effectively at anything, let alone in the best interest of the University.

Clean slate is best.

President Ramsey accomplished a lot of great things at UofL, he shouldn't have been forced out like that. As for the board members, let's just hope that Bevin appoints qualified people & not play political games with his appointments. Keeping JB is a great start though.
(This post was last modified: 06-18-2016 08:07 AM by Lenvillecards.)
06-18-2016 08:06 AM
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Lenvillecards Offline
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Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
"Ambiguity". Ramsey may not be gone from the U of L just yet. His resignation has been turned in to the new board & they don't have to accept it.
06-20-2016 08:23 AM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
In order to battle the enemy you have to name it. With a voice and political ties, Kentucky Sports Radicals seems to be working against the University of Louisville on multiple levels. They will deny it even exists but as the recent events have illuminated, they are real and in places at the highest level within the University and Government. This isn't about sports, it is so much more, but it is fueled by the sports fan and those providing the talking points.
06-23-2016 01:13 PM
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Dasville Offline
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RE: Robert Hughes Rebuttal to WDRB article
Will the newly appointed BoT members (just announced today,and all UofL first) accept Dr. Jim Ramsey's resignation? Stay tuned.

You would think that, that decision would not be made until after the former Governor's son has had his day in court in order to stop these new appointments.
BTW, I like variable term limits.
06-29-2016 02:25 PM
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