I had reached the sit-around-and-do-nothing stage on Monday evening, relieved that I wouldn’t have to witness the Mets lose their 12th game in a row (it was their off day; they achieved that dubious distinction on Tuesday), when I received a call from a very polite young woman representing the University of Kentucky, who noted that I had donated to the school in the past and was wondering if I cared to do so again.
I was polite, probably more polite than I usually am to someone reaching for my wallet, but blunt, explaining, “I won’t give another penny to the university as long as Capilouto remains as president.’’ She thanked me and we quickly parted company.
Capilouto is Eli Capilouto, who has served as president of the University of Kentucky for going on 15 years. Current controversies resulting from his tenure, along with past transgressions, indicate Capilouto, age 76, has remained in office well past his sell-by date, sort of like that seven-year-old carton of yogurt that has turned green in the back of the fridge.
A lot of folks, including a wannabe president of a completely different sort, Gov. Andy Beshear, are beginning to reach a similar conclusion. Beshear earlier this week, without specifically citing Capilouto, issued a lengthy statement that began. “I am losing confidence and growing increasingly concerned with the management and decision-making at the University of Kentucky.’’
Beshear cited two specifics – the appointment of an unqualified dean at the J. David Rosenberg College of Law that risks the school’s accreditation, and the bestowing of a $950,000 a year job to the retiring athletics director, a middling talent, without any specified duties.
“I worry that these actions are related to certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university,’’ Beshear said.
That former AD, Mitch Barnhart, announced Thursday morning that he would not accept the proffered job. One issue gone.
Let’s agree that running an organization as big as the University of Kentucky is no picnic. I was on campus a couple weeks ago and, I must say, it’s a lot spiffier than when I was around skipping classes 51 years ago. And it appears Capilouto is performing the most important task facing a university president these days – raising money.
By any standard, Capilouto is very well paid – a total compensation package of $1,830,986 in 2024, according to Eric Eng, founder/CEO of AdmissionSight. Although it is still significantly less than the $9.2 million earned that year by football coach Mark Stoops.
That same report identifies Capilouto as the nation’s ninth highest paid university president, public or private. Currently, according to U.S. News and World Report, the University of Kentucky ranks 74th among the nation’s 225 public universities. Indiana, bordering to the north, has two rated above Kentucky. Virginia has three. Despite the great compensation, Capilouto, despite plenty of cases going his way, hasn’t managed to transform Big Blue into the Harvard of the Ohio River Valley.
Kentucky history shows governors getting involved in the management of the state universities is not unheard of, though often to the Commonwealth’s detriment. In 1990, Gov. Wallace Wilkinson, through his appointments to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees, sought the ouster of President David Roselle, primarily because Roselle cooperated with an investigation of the school’s scandal-fraught athletics department and moved to clean house.
Wilkinson, who wasn’t what you would call a proponent of clean government, also wanted to place his ally, Charles Wethington, atop the state’s flagship institution. Roselle resigned to take the helm at the University of Delaware (I criticized him at the time, maintaining he should have fought it out for the sake of academic freedom) and Wethington got the job, presiding over 11 years of mediocrity.
More recently there was our boy, Gov. Matt Bevin, who, in 2016, ousted the entire University of Louisville Board of Trustees to give the school’s president of 14 years, James Ramsey, the heave-ho. Ramsey ultimately resigned, accepting a check for $690,000 on his way out. It should be noted that Ramsey performed a terrific job shaping the modern UofL, but the school was infested with controversies during the latter portion of his tenure. His departure was well taken.
In this instance. Beshear has taken no action to force Capilouto’s exit and he’s unlikely to do anything rash during the twilight of his administration. He did urge “students, faculty, trustees, and the community (to) attend this week’s board meetings and ask the tough questions that should be answered.’’
Beshear’s remarks gained pushback from from numerous critics, mostly Republicans, including House Speaker David Osborne (R-Prospect).
“Whatever is driving this disagreement, seeing it play out on social media represents a troubling departure from the restraint that should guide interactions between the executive branch and independent institutions,” Osbourne said.”This is not about politics. It is about principle. Strong institutions require clear boundaries, mutual respect, and the space to function without interference. The University of Kentucky has been well-served by its leadership, and it deserves continued support – not disruption.”
At this point I should note that, as a UK alumnus (don’t believe them if they claim I’ve never so much as set foot on campus) I am not a Capilouto supporter for, at least partially, personal reasons. Some years back he attempted to bully a dear friend of mine, a professor at the school, into doing something that professor considered unethical. My friend told me he was left fearing for his job and felt threatened. It blew over eventually but the incident brought insight into Capilouto’s style, which I obviously found wanting.
There were other steps along the way. In 2016 he filed suit against the school’s independent newspaper, the Kentucky Kernel (yes, I worked there) regarding sexual misconduct accusations against a faculty member who resigned before any charges could be instigated. The Kernel sought to gain access to the investigatory documents, but Capilouto refused and ignored a state attorney general’s opinion telling him to comply.
Back in the old days we called this a cover-up. The Kernel ultimately gained the information from another source.
During the whole rigamoral, Capilouto accused Kernel staff members of being “salacious.’’ Remember, these were his own students he was talking about.
In 2024, Capilouto proved to be one of the most influential voices opposing legislative efforts to kill diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives on campus.
“Across this campus, staff and faculty work to support students of color and from underrepresented backgrounds,” Capilouto wrote. “We should value and support that work, not diminish it.
“We should embrace that change and harness the opportunities it presents, not shrink from it,’’ he added.
Then, I noted in a Sept. 6, 2024 Trib column, he shrank. With bigoted and racist lawmakers threatening to cut funding, he gave in and abandoned DEI initiatives. While that’s understandable — he is obligated to protect the school from all attacks — he could have expressed his opposition to the legislative threats and a reluctance to comply. Instead, he reacted like Uriah Heap and skulked away, refusing to answer questions from reporters.
And there was the power play in 2024 to abolish the University Senate, robbing the faculty of its authority over academic decisions, a move ultimately approved by the Board of Trustees. That move resulted in a no-confidence vote for Capilouto and his policies.
The Mitch Barnhart issue appears to be settled, at least for the time being. But there remains the appointment of former U.S. District Judge Greg Van Tatenhove as the law school dean over the objections of “a substantial majority’’ of the law school faculty who consider him “unacceptable,’’ according to records obtained by the Louisville Courier Journal.
Van Tatenhove was the only candidate, according to reports, who was considered unqualified for the job because he lacked any academic or managerial experience. Writing in the Courier Journal, Ramsi A. Woodcock, a professor of law at the university, warned that Van Tatenhove’s hiring might place the school’s accreditation with the American Bar Association in jeopardy for several reasons, including violation of an ABA guideline that maintains a dean should not be appointed over the objection of most faculty members “except in circumstances demonstrating good cause.”
The selection of Van Tatenhove, hinted at in an article by Austin Horn of the Lexington Herald-Leader, may have been the result of friends in high places, thus explaining Beshear’s concern that appointments are being made as a result of “certain donors pushing partisan and undue outside influence onto the university.’’
According to Horn:
“The judge has a documented relationship with the family of Kelly and Joe Craft, a Kentucky philanthropist and coal magnate worth more than $1 billion. Together, they are some of the biggest Republican donors in the country, recently leading a Republican National Committee effort to raise money for President Donald Trump in 2024.’’
It also happens that the Crafts are the largest donors to the university’s athletic department and rank among the top donors to the College of Engineering and in the health care space.
The Van Tatenhove hiring didn’t require Board of Trustees approval, although Beshear claims he was informed otherwise. At any rate, it’s a done deal and shows the low regard Capilouto and his crew have for the faculty, the heart of the university.
See how long the number 74 rating lasts.
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Written by Bill Straub, a member of the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame. Cross-posted from the NKY Tribune.
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