https://www.facebook.com/Save-Dr-Kearney-1039697039481791/
HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND TO ALL
AND A SPECIAL THANKS TO THOSE WHO HAVE OR ARE SERVING IN THE MILITARY
Below I provide an interesting recent University email discussion of the Buck Ryan incident. This discussion is between a retired University of Kentucky professor, Michael Kennedy, and the University of Kentucky General Counsel, Professor/Adjunct Instructor William Thro. This email discussion was shared with faculty colleagues by Professor Davy Jones. This is worth reading because it clearly illustrates the lengths the University of Kentucky administration and its lawyers are willing to go to silence faculty and manipulate due process.
From: "Jones, Davy" <djones@uky.edu>
Date: May 25, 2018 at 3:36:07 PM EDT
Subject: University Environment of Faculty Communication
Dear University Faculty Colleagues,
We feel that it is very important to forward to you the information below from former Faculty Trustee Michael Kennedy, concerning the current UK General Counsel Bill Thro's statement that appears intended to limit access of the current Faculty Trustees Lee Blonder and Robert Grossman to input from faculty constituents on an important University matter.
As former Faculty Trustees ourselves, we note that every Board of Trustees meeting contains recommendations of the President's viewpoint on matters for final voting action of the Board, including terminal reappointment, promotion, tenure, resignation, etc. of faculty and administrators. In our experience, former UK General Counsels never described to Faculty Trustees that it was inappropriate for Faculty Trustees to read communications from our faculty constituents on any of these matters, or any University matter. Indeed, the free flow of communications between faculty trustees and their constituents would seem to be critical to these representatives doing their business in an informed and democratic manner.
We share the concern of Michael Kennedy regarding the apparent effort of UK General Counsel Bill Thro to limit the access of Faculty Trustees to the opinions of our University Faculty.
Davy Jones, Former Faculty Trustee (2003-2004 )
Ernie Yanarella, Former Faculty Trustee (2006-2010)
John Wilson, Former Faculty Trustee (2011-2016)
cc: UK Board of Trustees
From: Kennedy, Michael
Sent: Friday, May 25, 2018 10:32 AM
To: Thro, William
Cc: Blonder, Lee; Grossman, Robert; Brion, Gail; Bird-Pollan, Jennifer; Cross, Al; Osterhage, Jennifer; McCormick, Katherine; Schroeder, Margaret; Spear, Brett; Tagavi, Kaveh; Wood, C; Jones, Davy; President, University of Kentucky; Provost, University of Kentucky; Lauersdorf, Mark; Jackson, Brian A; Minier, Jenny; Isaacs, Steven G; Harders, Faith; Hatton-Kolpek, Jimmi; Marshall, Robert C; McKenzie, Robert; Butler, Karen; Ruble, Lisa; Silverstein, David; Smith, Gregory; Williamson, Thomas; Adams, Katherine; Deaton, Marcy; Iler, Cliff; Luna, Shea; Stamper, Shannan
Subject: RE: Your communications with the President and Faculty Trustees concerning Faculty Termination Proceegins
Dear Mr. Thro:
I received the following email from you.
From: William Thro--UK <William.Thro@uky.edu>
Sent: Thursday, May 24, 2018 11:27 AM
To: Kennedy, Michael <kennedy@uky.edu>
Cc: Blonder, Lee <lxblond@uky.edu>; Grossman, Robert <robert.grossman@uky.edu>
Subject: Your communications with the President and Faculty Trustees concerning Faculty Termination Proceegins (sic)
Dear Dr. Kennedy,
Recently, you sent communications to the President and the Faculty Trustees concerning the Faculty Termination proceedings against Professor Ryan.
Because the Senate Advisory Committee on Privlege (sic) and Tenure will be sending a recommendation to the President, the President will not be reviewing or responding to your e-mails.
Similarly, because this matter may eventually come before the Board of Trustees, it is inappropriate for Trustee Blonder or Trusee (sic) Grossman to review or respond to your e-mails.
Thank you
William E. Thro
General Counsel
University of Kentucky
I will have no complaint if President Capilouto does not respond to my email. If he chooses not to review my email (or if someone blocks him from seeing it) that will likely be to his great disadvantage in terms of his relationship with the faculty, and his presidency in general. The Ryan matter – attempting to terminate the appointment of a respected, effective, tenured professor on very flimsy grounds, with the concomitant chilling effect on academic freedom – is probably the most explosive internal issue to come before this university in many years.
Regarding your suggestion that it would be “inappropriate” for our elected faculty trustees to “review” my email: That is doubtless the most ignorant statement I have ever seen from a UK official in my five plus decades at the University. And I use the term “ignorant” as an accurate descriptor, not as an insult.
Ignorant: You apparently do not understand the function of an elected faculty trustee. You are suggesting that the faculty trustees, who are intended by Kentucky law, as part of their functions, to serve as an information conduit between the faculty and the Board, should be prevented from hearing faculty opinions? Seriously? Would you like to attempt to defend your statement by citing some law or regulation? You don’t seem to know why the KRS authorize elected faculty trustees. You are seemingly not aware that the faculty make up the constituency of said trustees, and that they encourage opinion and feedback from other faculty.
Having worked (in my time on the UK Board, the Senate Council, the Senate, and the AAUP) with excellent and effective UK General Counsels, I find your performance, in this instance and in others I have been made aware of, shockingly inept.
Most sincerely,
Michael Kennedy
Assoc. Prof. Emeritus
Treasurer, Kentucky State Conference of the
American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
Member, UK Senate; President, UK Assoc. of Emeriti Faculty
kennedy@uky.edu
https://geography.as.uky.edu/users/kennedy
P.S. For any future correspondence my title is “Prof.” not “Dr.”.
Copies: Faculty Trustees; University Senate Council; Committee on Privilege and Tenure; UK President, UK Provost, UK Legal Staff
So there you have it. Just another reflection of the total disregard the University administration and its lawyers have towards faculty and due process. As we have noted throughout the blog, it is perhaps the arrogance of the General Counsel that has brought us here, including his threat of 'take the deal or I will ruin your career' to Dr. Kearney, the many lawsuits initiated by his office to prevent access to what KMSF is doing with the hospital revenue, the lawsuits against the State's Attorney General's office and the school newspaper over open records requests, etc, etc. Even his propensity to misrepresent himself to the public by declaring himself a College of Law "Professor" rather than the title of "Adjunct Instructor" that he truly is suggests that this is someone more than willing to manipulate the truth. I hate to even think of the time, treasure and talent he has cost the University.