October 21, 2003

Mr. Edward B. Hatchett, Jr.
Auditor of Public Accounts
144 Capitol Annex
Frankfort, KY 40601-3448

Dear Ed:

I am in receipt of your letter dated October 14, 2003, requesting our assistance in arranging for your office to perform the following procedures:

1. Interview University of Louisville auditors Dave Barker and Cheri Jones, and
2. Review all work papers and records associated with the audit reports dated September 25, 2003, University of Louisville Audit Services Reports.

Ed, you know I have the greatest respect for you, your many efforts as part of state government over time and your professionalism, so I know that your work will be thorough and professional. You know that I attempt to be as open and honest as possible in all that I do, as well. You have our commitment that we will cooperate with your office in every way possible.

We are happy to meet your request regarding the audit of the University of Louisville and its statutorily affiliated corporation, the University of Louisville Research Foundation. You will find Dave Barker and Cheri Jones, if you do not know them already, to be of the highest integrity and very professional—we are fortunate to have them as public servants of the University of Louisville and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

Ed, I would request that we be afforded the opportunity to discuss the scope of your review and timetable with you or the individual you assign to this project before you begin. Also, upon the completion of your review, we ask for the opportunity, as is typically the case, for management to receive a finding of results prior to public release of information. This allows us to keep our Board of Trustees fully informed of the status of your review throughout the process.

You have also requested to perform the same procedures with respect to the audit performed at the request of the University of Louisville Foundation, Inc. The U of L Foundation is a private entity and not a statutorily affiliated corporation of the University of Louisville. Nonetheless, the U of L Foundation previously made voluntary disclosure of the audit performed at its request and also made available for inspection the credit card records associated with the audit report. With the understanding that its disclosure is voluntary, the foundation will make those records as well as the work papers of its audit available for your review.

Please call Vicky Hibbs (852-5420) at your earliest convenience to schedule a time for us to meet.

Sincerely,

James R. Ramsey
President
University of Louisville