University of Kentucky's board of trustees changes rules after controversial law dean pick
The University of Kentucky J. David Rosenberg College of Law in July 2022. (Photo by LawAnalyzer40526, CC-BY-SA-4.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
After the University of Kentucky’s appointment of a Kentucky federal judge as the dean of its J. David Rosenberg College of Law, the university’s board of trustees voted Tuesday to change a policy that restores its authority to appoint deans.
It follows the concerns of faculty and Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear, a Democrat, about the qualifications of U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky, who will retire from the bench later this month to become the law school’s dean. Beshear has gone before Van Tatenhove in court.
U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove of the Eastern District of Kentucky. (Photo by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Cincinnati, PD US Courts, via Wikimedia Commons)
Van Tatenhove’s appointment was announced in March but was pending approval from the board of trustees. But because he was not considered for a tenure-track position, the university’s leadership later decided that the alumnus of the law school—who already works as an adjunct professor—no longer needed trustee approval, according to the Lexington Herald Leader.
After the pushback, the university’s board of trustees voted Tuesday to return the authority of appointing deans to the board, not the university administration, the Lexington Herald Leader reported, but this will not impact Van Tatenhove’s appointment.
Law360 has the story.
Write a letter to the editor, share a story tip or update, or report an error.
