WKU Sisterhood must ‘diversify or disaffiliate,’ university says

Editor’s Note: The WKU Sisterhood awarded WKU Student Publications a grant of $32,900 in 2022 that went to upgrade audiovisual equipment for the College Heights Herald, the Talisman and Cherry Creative.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated with a statement from University Spokesperson Jace Lux.

The WKU Sisterhood, a foundation that has awarded more than $900,000 towards student and university organizations, was told by an email from the university Tuesday that it must “diversify or disaffiliate” from WKU as a result of House Bill 4. 

The Sisterhood, founded in 2009 by Julie Ransdell, the wife of former WKU President Gary Ransdell, and Kristen Miller, former WKU student body president, is an all-women member group. Each member donates $1,000 a year, which the group awards to organizations that compete for grants.

In an email from WKU Assistant Director of Donor Experience Aarika Gunn, the sisterhood was given two options: to become “inclusive of all genders” or to “operate independently.”

The inclusivity option states that the Sisterhood would have to diversify membership, change its name, and not award funding “based on race, religion, sex, color or national origin of the beneficiaries.”

The option to operate independently states that the Sisterhood would have to “operate without … (WKU Alumni Association)/WKU resources and clearly state that they are not affiliated with WKU.”

“HB4 (House Bill 4) prohibits programs/scholarships with identity-based performance/alignment,” according to the email. 

House Bill 4, which was enacted by the Kentucky General Assembly on March 28, prohibits Kentucky’s public universities from providing a difference in treatments or benefits based on “religion, race, sex, color or national origin.”

“We are aware that the university is evaluating many of the programs and organizations it supports in an effort to comply with House Bill 4, which went into effect a few weeks ago. The WKU Sisterhood has been informed that we are one of the university-affiliated organizations that is under evaluation,” WKU Sisterhood leadership said in an email statement to the Herald. 

“We fully believe that our mission — funding a wide spectrum of university projects through the power of our collective private financial resources — is fully compliant under current Kentucky law. We are awaiting official WKU response to our questions regarding the situation before we can comment further.”

“Recent legislation in Kentucky requires public universities to review certain processes, structures and programs to ensure that membership and decision-making are not limited by characteristics such as race, national origin, religion, color or sex. The requirements of this legislation also extend to affiliate organizations that receive university support, including alumni groups,” University Spokesperson Jace Lux said in an email to the Herald.

“While members of our university community may hold differing views on this legislation and the adjustments it may necessitate, the university is obligated to comply with local, state and federal law. When the Office of General Counsel determined that changes were required for compliance, the appropriate campus offices communicated directly with the affected individuals and organizations.”

The Herald reached out to Gunn, who requested questions to be sent by email. The Herald is waiting on a response from Gunn.