LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — The appointment of federal judge Greg Van Tatenhove as the new dean of the University of Kentucky's J. David Rosenberg College of Law is drawing pushback from students, faculty and even Gov. Andy Beshear.
Provost Robert DiPaola named Van Tatenhove to the position last month.
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Beshear went public this week with his loss of confidence in university leadership, questioning whether outside donor influence is driving major decisions at the state's flagship university. On Tuesday, the governor publicly questioned the appointment.
"I worry that these actions are related to certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university," Beshear said.
On Wednesday, the governor doubled down and called on the university to reconsider the appointment.
"The fact that a political party defended the law school dean's appointment is telling. Kentuckians deserve a nonpartisan university that doesn't waste taxpayer dollars," Beshear said.
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Van Tatenhove is a 1989 alumnus of the law school and has served as a district judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky for more than two decades.
Several law school students said there has been chatter around the building since learning of the appointment. Students were privy to the candidates' qualifications and questioned why a candidate without a background in academia was chosen.
"I was really really upset to hear about the new dean choice, because there were three other really qualified academic administrators, and I think they would have come in and righted our ship and made us back into the institution we should be, and I just don't think a sitting federal judge without real academic administration experience is the one to do the job," a law student told LEX 18.
The student requested not to be named but went on to say, "Some of the other candidates were associate deans at other law schools across the country, and there's also a scholarship aspect that's really important from the faculty as part of their selection, and those candidates had the experience in the administration level and they had the scholarship experience as well."
Buzz English is the chair of the law school's visiting committee and one of the few people outside the university who met with the candidates. He believes the judge's different background is an asset.
"Judge Van Tatenhove has been a U.S. district court judge, and in that position he's required to draft and come up with decisions on complicated legal issues across the gamut, I also feel his administrative experience is something that will be an asset to the law school," English said. "I know there have been accusations of partisanship, and frankly, none of that played a role, at least from what I saw," English said.
University spokesperson Jay Blanton said DiPaola followed the same selection process used for all dean searches. The process included empaneling an advisory group that included faculty, meeting with finalists and gathering feedback before making a decision.
The university said while some faculty concerns were raised, faculty were described as almost uniformly positive about the selection and said they would support leadership's choice.
However, according to reporting by the Courier Journal, law faculty told university officials that a "substantial majority" of their peers felt Van Tatenhove was "unacceptable" for the role.
"The process we follow does not imply unanimity. It does imply feedback, dialogue, consideration and transparency. Those principles were honored," Blanton said.
The Board of Trustees meets on Thursday.
