Longtime UK journalism professor to receive $500K in lawsuits against school
The University of Kentucky will pay $500,000 as part of a settlement for two yearslong lawsuits filed by a journalism professor who claimed he was defamed by the school.
Buck Ryan, a tenured faculty member in UK’s School of Journalism and Media, filed a civil lawsuit in December 2019 in Fayette Circuit Court against the school’s then-provost, David Blackwell, and Joseph Reed, the chief audit executive. Ryan claimed he was defamed by school leaders when they said he exploited his faculty position for financial gain by requiring students to purchase a book he wrote.
Ryan filed a second, separate defamation lawsuit, also in December 2019, against the school’s board of trustees and a student who filed a Title IX complaint with the university’s office of equal opportunity.
University officials moved forward with proceedings to terminate Ryan’s employment. As part of the settlement, the university is required to drop the investigation.
Ryan has remained on UK’s payroll for the past six years while the lawsuits were pending. While he was not in a teaching position, he did shift to administrative roles, according to his attorney, Robert Abell, who worked with attorney Bethany Baxter in the lawsuit.
He made $123,210 during the 2024-2025 school year, records show. Ryan is retired, and will soon received professor emeritus status at the university.
“He feels pleased and vindicated by how the process played out,” Abell told the Herald-Leader.
Jay Blanton, the university spokesperson, said the school was pleased the lawsuits were finally resolved.
