FINDINGS OF FACT
Charges, Petitioner's Suspension, and Petitioner's Response
From 1997 until the end of the spring semester 2016, the Kentucky State University employed the Petitioner, Dr. Karah Stokes, as a fulltime faculty member in the Division of Literature, Language, and Philosophy. She became tenured in 2002, and she was promoted to fulltime professor in 2008. Day 1 Hearing Recording, 18:40 through 21:30 ("1 HR 18:40–21:30").2
On April 22, 2016, Raymond M. Burse, then President of KSU, issued a document entitled Charge Supporting the Termination and Removal of Karah Stokes ("the Notification of Charges"), which terminated the Petitioner. Hearing Exhibit 1 ("HE 1").
The President's termination letter stated, "Dr. Stokes may, within 10 days of the date below, respond to the charge, in writing to the undersigned, and state whether she desires to make defense before the KSU Board of Regents. In that event, a date will be set by the Board of Regents for a hearing on the charge." HE 1, page 2.
On March 7, 2016, the Petitioner's counsel wrote a letter to the General Counsel of KSU stating the charging document provided to him was unsigned. The Petitioner's counsel states he was “confused as to when the ten day period [for responding to the charges] starts.” HE 18. The Petitioner's counsel also states, “While I would certainly appreciate a signed copy of the charge which would then begin the ten day period, please consider this letter as Dr. Stokes' response and objection to the proposed termination.” Id.
The two-day evidentiary hearing was recorded by video and transferred to two DVDs, each DVD containing the recording for each day of the hearing. The time counts in this recommended order reflect the running time shown in Windows Media Player.