The selection of U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove as dean of the J. David Rosenberg College of Law has drawn objections from faculty, trustees, and Beshear — who suggested partisan or outside influence may have played a role.
UK President Eli Capilouto and UK Provost Robert DiPaola defended the choice at last Friday's board meeting, citing "extraordinary circumstances" that warranted an outside-the-box choice for the position.
Thursday, Beshear elaborated on his concerns, saying changes to the governing regulations in 2024 that shifted more power on appointments from the UK Board of Trustees to UK President Eli Capilouto were not in the best interest of the university as a whole.
"I believe in strong oversight," he said. "No, you shouldn't say that a president can make all the decisions on all the deans and all the rest. If someone is leading well, they should be able to show all they're doing in a transparent way to trustees and every now and then even the best leader is going to make a mistake."
Last week, UK spokesman Jay Blanton said the school appreciates Beshear's comments, but defended the regulatory overhaul as one that "created more efficiency."
"The board at times was looking at hundreds and hundreds of appointments that no one could be expected to know all the details of," Blanton added.
Blanton said the administration is open to conversations about the regulations.
Trustee Jim Gray successfully pushed for a collaborative group, including faculty, to review the changes, but did not offer any immediate details on the timeline.