What to make of UofL's sudden leadership change

The city got some surprising news this week with the announcement that Kim Schatzel was out as president of the University of Louisville.

What started as a Tuesday night rumor quickly evolved into a close-door meeting of the University of Louisville Board of Trustees on Wednesday. Louisville Business First reporter Michael Jones was at that meeting and shares his insights on the situation on this week's Access Louisville podcast. 

Perhaps most surprising was that Schatzel's departure was followed by the quick appointment of Gerry Bradley to replace her. Bradley is the third president in five years. UofL has experienced a rotating cast of leaders since longtime president James Ramsey resigned in 2016.

Also on this week's show, we discuss the former Highland United Methodist, which recently hit the market. Star Auerbach and her father Rob Auerbach, co-founder of Rainbow Blossom Natural Food Market, had purchased this property in 2023 and were considering a boutique hotel for the space. But after Rob Auerbach passed away in 2024, Star says she's no longer able to do the project on her own — though she would still like to see someone else pick it up.

Further, we talk about some recent Downtown property sales including Advocacy Plaza near the courthouse and the former MPI Printing building on Jefferson Street. We chat about development near Lynn Family Stadium and we've got an interesting story involving two bars in NuLu, both of which are named Taj.

There's also some content from our sponsors at Baird. LBF’s Lisa Benson has an interview with investment strategist Ross Mayfield — they’re talking market volatility, tariffs, bourbon and other economic news.

Access Louisville, sponsored by Baird, is a weekly podcast from Louisville Business First. It's available on popular podcast services including Apple Podcasts and Spotify (which are linked above.)