News briefs from around Kentucky at 4:58 p.m. EST

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The University of Louisville's foundation granted a $200,000 no-bid contract to an advertising firm whose CEO is on the school's board of trustees, a move the university president has since called a mistake.

Creative Alliance, a firm headed by university trustee Debbie Scoppechio, received the contract last summer. University of Louisville President James R. Ramsey, who also serves as president of U of L's nonprofit foundation, told The Lexington Herald-Leader that the foundation's board has since begun drafting a tighter contract approval process and oversight policy.

"The procedures were too vague," Ramsey said. "... We didn't have a way to catch what happened."

The university's vice president of finance and the foundation treasurer, Michael Curtin, said Creative Alliance handled the school's "It's Happening Here" TV ad campaign.

University foundations allow schools to negotiate around strict rules for handling gifts and donations. For instance, a foundation doesn't have to seek offers from several different firms before granting a contract.

"There's no doubt a foundation can be a very effective means to take care of a university in a more businesslike way, in a nimble way," said Jessica Loving, a former U of L trustee. "But it has a downside as well — the administrative side and trying to coordinate the foundation with the statutorily controlled administration of the university."

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