Professor alleges UK leadership muted him, ignored misdeeds. He attempts another lawsuit
A University of Kentucky professor is suing the institution’s president and other officials over alleged improprieties two years after he lost a separate lawsuit filed against UK.
Dr. Stephanos Kyrkanides, a tenured professor in UK’s College of Dentistry, alleges in his new lawsuit that UK officials violated his First Amendment rights. He also alleges he was instructed to perform duties for which he wasn’t licensed and could have broken the law if he had followed the orders.
Kyrkanides is a former dean in the College of Dentistry. He was removed from the position but returned to UK as a professor after a year of administrative leave. Kyrkanides sued the university in federal court over the demotion in March 2019, alleging UK retaliated against him.
A federal judge ruled that UK didn’t breach contract but suggested other complaints made by Kyrkanides should be handled in state court. Kyrkanides subsequently in 2019 filed a still pending Fayette Circuit Court whistleblower lawsuit, alleging that UK retaliated against him by removing him from the dean position.
The defendants in Kyrkanides’ newest lawsuit include UK President Eli Capilouto, Dr. G. Thomas Kluemper, Dr. Jeffrey P. Okeson and William E. Thro. Kluemper is a professor and division chief of the College of Dentistry. Okeson is the dean of the College of Dentistry. Thro is general counsel for UK.
UK: Professor’s latest lawsuit is ‘meritless’
UK on Monday told the Herald-Leader that Kyrkanides’ latest lawsuit is “filled with baseless claims.”
“Here are the facts: Dr. Kyrkanides was removed as Dean of Dentistry by the Provost in 2019,” UK spokesman Jay Blanton said in a statement. “Since then, he has filed three separate lawsuits in both state and federal courts and filed countless bad faith complaints with both internal and external agencies. We look forward to defending these individuals and the institution against this meritless lawsuit.”
Kyrkanides’ attorney, H. Wayne Roberts, objected to UK’s “blatant mischaracterizations” of the cases. Kyrkanides was exposing the wrongful taking of millions of dollars over several years, Roberts said.
In the new federal case, Kyrkanides alleges his First Amendment rights were violated because Okeson muted him on a Zoom call while Kyrkanides was trying to talk about concerns he had with the College of Dentistry wasting public money.
Kyrkanides argued that the university meeting counted as a public meeting and he was speaking on a public issue since the university is partially funded by the government. Thus, he argued Okeson wasn’t allowed to mute him.
Emails attached in the lawsuit indicate Kluemper ordered Kyrkanides to stop participating in orthodontic faculty and staff meetings “in response to recent complaints from several staff and faculty members regarding” Kyrkanides’ behavior.
“Your angry, intimidating, and even threatening disruptive participation is now causing both faculty and staff members to refuse from speaking for fear of misinterpretation and retaliation from you,” Kluemper wrote in an email to Kyrkanides sent in January.
Kluemper said he didn’t decide to bar Kyrkanides from meetings on his own but did so after “thoughtful consultation with others within the division, college and university,” according to court records.
UK professor worried his supervisors asked him to break law
Kyrkanides also alleged in his lawsuit that his supervisors told him to conduct clinical instruction that he wasn’t properly licensed to do. Kyrkanides was also told not to enter treatment notes into electronic health records, he said in his lawsuit.
Kyrkanides was worried he’d face “significant legal liability and far-reaching implications” if he followed the directions of his supervisor, according to the lawsuit. Kyrkanides raised those legal concerns with the state Medicaid office, Humana and the Kentucky State Board of Dentistry, according to the lawsuit.
State Medicaid officials notified Kyrkanides in August 2020 they had referred his concerns to the Fraud and Abuse Department, according to the lawsuit.
Humana also investigated Kyrkanides’ concerns, according to the lawsuit, and took “appropriate action.” Humana didn’t reveal the details of the action, according to the lawsuit.
Kyrkanides has asked a federal court to order UK officials to let him participate in employee meetings again. He’s also asked for damages “for embarrassment and humiliation and emotional distress.” Kyrkanides alleged he lost income due to UK officials’ actions because he couldn’t complete clinical work. He also wants a jury trial and additional compensation.
Whistleblower case remains after federal judge tosses claim
Kyrkanides was ousted as dean after he was accused of illegally firing another professor, Raynor Mullins, who criticized former Gov. Matt Bevin’s proposed changes to Medicaid.
UK paid Mullins more than $620,000 and gave him a new position. A few weeks later, UK announced that Kyrkanides was out as dean but would return as a tenured faculty member after a one-year sabbatical.
UK did not give a reason for the demotion at the time. But Kyrkanides’ previous federal lawsuit didn’t claim that his removal from the dean’s position had anything to do with Mullins’ case.
Kyrkanides instead alleged he was retaliated against for reporting problems in the College of Dentistry. Kyrkanides said he called attention to a departmental deficit of almost $2 million. The deficit accrued because clinical faculty were being paid salary supplements based on gross revenue from clinical services, not net revenue.
The first lawsuit alleged that former Provost David Blackwell and other officials did nothing to address the dean’s concerns.
Kyrkanides forwarded to Blackwell allegations that College of Dentistry employees were stealing gold crowns and selling them or converting them to gold coins. An internal investigation confirmed the theft, the lawsuit said, but the provost’s office did not address it.
Kyrkanides also argued he was retaliated against because he supported minority students who said some faculty members discriminated against them. Kyrkanides filed a complaint with the UK Office of Institutional Equity and Equal Opportunity against Blackwell for harassment, according to the lawsuit.
Kyrkanides alleged that UK breached his contract and asked to be reinstated as dean of the college. He also wanted millions of dollars in relief for humiliation and punitive damages.
A federal district judge ruled against Kyrkanides in part of his 2019 lawsuit, saying UK didn’t breach his contract because Kyrkanides’ employment agreement indicated he served at the discretion of the provost. There weren’t any specific conditions that had to be met to dismiss him from the dean’s position. The Sixth Circuit appellate court upheld the district judge’s decision.
But the federal court ruling indicated that Kyrkanides had whistleblower claims — about faculty getting bonuses and taking gold crowns they weren’t entitled to — against UK that should be heard in state court. Kyrkanides’ attorney, H. Wayne Roberts, filed a new lawsuit in state court at that point.
Also still pending in the state lawsuit in Fayette County court is Kyrkanides’ claim that he was retaliated against for supporting minorities.
The whistle-blower count regarding faculty getting paid thousands of dollars that they were not legally entitled to remains,” Roberts told the Herald-Leader. “The whistle-blower count alleging faculty members were taking gold crowns that they were not legally entitled to, also remains. The count that Dr. Kyrkanides was retaliated against because he supported underrepresented minorities remains.
“These facts are pending in Fayette Circuit Court, and I assure you that I and my client are looking forward to our day before a jury.”
That case, which seeks Kyrkanides’ reinstatement as dean plus payment of damages, should go to trial next fall, Roberts said.
In a letter written to the Herald-Leader, Roberts said Kyrkanides was exposing the wrongful taking of millions of dollars over several years.
This story was originally published November 2, 2021 at 1:05 PM.
CORRECTION: Kyrkanides still has an active whistleblower lawsuit in Fayette Circuit Court. This information was unclear in a previous version of this story.