The University of Kentucky stands behind its choice to lead its law school after critical comments from Gov. Andy Beshear.
He first took issue with “a new $1 million job that has no defined duties,” in an apparent reference to Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart. When Barnhart retires on June 30, he will become the first executive in residence of the UK Sport and Workforce Initiative.
Beshear also appeared to take aim at the new dean of the Rosenberg College of Law, U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove. Law school faculty did not approve the choice, Beshear said, adding that a law school dean should be approved by the UK Board of Trustees.
In a subsequent statement, UK spokesman Jay Blanton said the university respectfully disagrees with Beshear’s assessment, but only addressed the appointment of Van Tatenhove.
Van Tatenhove is a 1989 alumnus of the law school. He was appointed to the Eastern District of Kentucky by George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2005.
He was the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky from 2001 to 2006. He previously served as a legislative aide to U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky.
McConnell graduated from the UK College of Law in 1967. He's retiring after 40 years in the Senate.
Beshear said the appointment raised concerns about “certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university.”
It wasn’t clear if that criticism applied to Barnhart, who’s retiring after nearly 24 years in his current position. His current salary is $1.4 million.
Barnhart was hired in 2002 by then-president Lee Todd. He took over a UK athletic program roiled by NCAA violations in its football program under his predecessor, Larry Ivy.
In a new statement on Wednesday, Beshear said he'd received calls and messages agreeing that UK needed to reconsider.
"Kentuckians deserve a nonpartisan university that doesn't waste taxpayer dollars," he said. "We also deserve real oversight that will tell UK's administration no when it is making a mistake."
