Kentucky State University will again ask the General Assembly to fund construction of a Health Sciences Center, representatives told lawmakers Wednesday.
In 2024, the historically Black university requested $50 million to build a nursing school for its growing class of future health care providers. The legislature ultimately rejected the request, giving KSU money to design the building but not construct it.
Some lawmakers criticized that denial as the latest in a historic pattern of “underinvestment” in Black educational institutions. Rendering of Kentucky State University’s planned Health Science Center, which would house the nursing program. The university is asking the General Assembly to fund the project in 2026. (Screenshot)
In 2026, KSU is seeking $54 million to build the center, Wayne Cowan, the director of capital planning and gacilities, told the Capital Planning Advisory Board.
The money would create classrooms and conference space, a learning lab with a virtual hospital, study spaces, offices and other meeting rooms.
“KSU’s School of Nursing is poised to grow exponentially with the further development of present and new academic programs to help in making America healthy again,” one slide from KSU’s presentation read.
The money KSU received in the last budget has helped the university “turn a corner,” Cowan said. Recent improvements to campus include sidewalk and building repairs.
“We’re starting to move toward the progress that we all hoped for, for Kentucky State,” Cowan said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do, but we started into some of the work on site that’s able to help us really serve our students well.”
Marcus Bernard, the dean of the College of Agriculture, Health Sciences and Natural Resources, and director of land grant programs, said he also wants to see a floor or space dedicated to nutrition.
“In that health and nutrition space, we’ll focus on health education nutrition programs that will also be connected to our mobile health units that are now funded to be in the eastern part of the state, West Louisville, and to also have one that’s moving across the state,” he said.
The mobile units in Eastern Kentucky and West Louisville — both areas where poverty is common — “focus on nutrition education, metabolic testing for chronic diseases, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension,” he said. Kentucky State University officials address a legislative committee, from left, Marcus Bernard; Wendy Dixie, vice president of information technology and special assistant to the president, and Wayne Cowan, July 9, 2025 in Frankfort. (Screenshot)
Other pitches
KSU was one of a slew of public colleges and universities that presented their needs to the legislature’s Capital Planning Advisory Board. The panel is fielding budget pitches ahead of the 2026 legislative session, during which the General Assembly will pass a new two-year budget.
Other likely education requests for 2026 include:
- Eastern Kentucky University: $330 million for a Center for Health Innovation; $50 million for accreditation escrow for a doctor of osteopathic medicine program; $10 million for Air Traffic Control & Aircraft; $75 million for asset preservation.
- Kentucky Community and Technical College System: $30 million in safety and security; $320 million in asset preservation.
- Morehead State University: $79 million for a new applied science building; $31 million for a new agricultural science building; $24 million for a new space science and emerging technology building; $20 million for a new Health Science Center.
- Murray State University: $100 million for the E&G Building Systems Improvement Pool; $49 million for an emergency veterinary and teaching Clinic; $60 million to construct a UofL Medical Sciences building partnership.
- University of Kentucky: $500 million for a science research facility; $250 million for asset preservation; $300 million for a data center.
- University of Louisville: $142 million for a STEM academic center; $75 million for an artificial intelligence center; $40 million for a student health center.
- Northern Kentucky University: $300 million to renovate the Business Academic Center and for asset preservation.
- Western Kentucky University: $280 million for the Potter College of Arts & Letters facility; $250 million for an environmental science and technology facility; $250 million to renovate the Ogden College of Science and Engineering.
This article is republished under a Creative Commons license from Kentucky Lantern, which is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kentucky Lantern maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Jamie Lucke for questions: info@kentuckylantern.com. Follow Kentucky Lantern on Facebook and Twitter.
Sarah Ladd is a Louisville-based journalist and Kentuckian. She has covered everything from crime to higher education. In 2020, she started reporting on the COVID-19 pandemic and has covered health ever since.
