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Kentucky State University’s finances are “chaotic” and lacking in “effective safeguards and responsible management,” according to a state report released Wednesday.
The audit revealed rampant overspending, a lack of financial controls and inconsistent processes and procedures that placed millions of dollars in federal funding at risk. Former staff members also reportedly misled KSU administrators and the Board of Trustees about university finances, failing to report $15 million in expenditures carried over from one year to the next.
More than $1.3 million in credit card transactions had little or no documentation, the report found. COVID-19 relief funds and grants for the historically Black university were also reportedly misused.
Douglas Allen, the executive vice president of finance until 2021, was also found to be employed at both KSU and Tennessee State University between May and June of 2021, violating the university’s conflict of commitment policy. Allen reportedly did not cooperate with investigations into long-standing financial concerns at Kentucky State and directed staff not to cooperate, either, The Louisville Courier-Journal reported. Allen is currently listed as vice president of business and finance in the Tennessee State employee directory.
State officials have referred the findings of the report to state and federal prosecutors.
