University of Louisville's next president will be announced Tuesday

UPDATE: University of Louisville names Kansas provost Neeli Bendapudi presidenet

The University of Louisville's next president is expected to be announced Tuesday afternoon.

Courier Journal has learned that the university's 18th president is not a president at another university — or an interim president. A source with knowledge of the selection, but who was not authorized to disclose the new president's identity, also said the person is not from Louisville.

The board of trustees is to make the selection at a special meeting.

The new president will succeed James Ramsey, who was forced to resign in July 2016 after he came under attack because of his lucrative compensation and a series of other embezzlement and scandals.

Read more: Greg Postel: I share U of L faculty's 'anxiety' over tenure changes

See also: Should Kentucky professors go on strike to stop tenure changes?

The new president was selected through a confidential process over the objection of faculty and staff, although faculty were added to the screening committee after protests.

Ramsey was succeeded by interim President Neville Pinto, who had been the university's provost, but when he left to head the University of Cincinnati, he was replaced in January 2017 by Dr. Greg Postel.

Postel, who was the vice president for health affairs, was a candidate for the presidency.

The new president inherits a university that is on shaky financial footing.

In the year following Ramsey’s ouster, newly pledged donations to all parts of the university, including its athletics association, dropped to $43.4 million, from $75 million in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2016, according to published reports.

That decline has continued, with only $9.4 million in pledges recorded during the second half of 2017, compared to $33 million during the same period of 2016.

Ramsey was hired in 2002 and helped transform the university from a commuter school to a major research university with most students living on campus. He also headed the foundation.

Ramsey offered his resignation at a board of trustees meeting on July 27, 2016, which was accepted, and he later also was forced to resign as foundation president.

A forensic audit in June 2017 found that Ramsey was paid $12.4 million by the university and foundation from 2010 through 2016, including $7.2 million in deferred compensation, according to the June 8 audit. The report shows Ramsey and eight other employees collected $21.8 million in deferred compensation, apparently without foundation board approval.

The audit found that the foundation's officers and directors depleted at least $42 million from the university's endowment through unsound investments and loans.

The university also had its 2013 men's basketball championship vacated because of another scandal in which players and recruits were provided strippers and prostitutes.

The new president was selected by the board of trustees, but in December, following protests by the university's chapter of the American Association of University Professors, the board allowed representatives of campus groups to meet with finalists.

The representatives were required to sign confidentiality agreements.

Chairman J. David Grissom had called for keeping the process confidential for fear of driving off qualified candidates, including presidents of other universities, who might not have applied if their names became public.

Andrew Wolfson: 502-582-7189; awolfson@courier-journal.com; Twitter: @adwolfson. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/andreww

Justin Sayers: 502-582-4252; jsayers@courier-journal.com: Twitter: @_justinsayers. Supproter strong local journalism by subscribing today: www.courier-journal.com/justins