Well-known KY federal judge one of four finalists for UK College of Law dean
The University of Kentucky has named four finalists for the dean of the College of Law, including one federal judge who is based in Kentucky.
The J. David Rosenberg College of Law has been without a permanent dean since 2023, when Mary Davis announced she was stepping down from the position after three years. Paul Salamanca was named the interim dean in 2024, and the university has conducted on-campus interviews to fill the position since then. James C. Duff has been the interim dean since July 2025.
The finalists for the position are:
- Michael Higdon, associate dean for academic affairs and law professor at the University of Tennessee
- Mary Graw Leary, law professor at The Catholic University of America
- Milena Sterio, law professor at Cleveland State University
- Gregory Van Tatenhove, U.S. District Judge, Eastern District of Kentucky
The finalists were on campus in recent days for open forums. UK spokesperson Kristi Willett said there is not yet a set date for when the new dean is expected to be named.
Van Tatenhove is a former legislative aide for Senator Mitch McConnell, who nominated him to fill the seat on the U.S. District Court in Kentucky in 2005.
While working as a federal judge, he oversaw cases such as the 2018 lawsuit where he ruled that Gov. Matt Bevin did not violate the First Amendment when he blocked people on Facebook and Twitter over their political beliefs, and the 2020 ruling that churches could hold in-person services during the COVID pandemic, which was later overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.
Van Tatenhove has been an adjunct professor in the UK College of Law since 2017, according to UK’s website. His undergraduate degree is from Asbury College, and his juris doctor is from UK.
Other finalists for dean
Higdon has been a longtime law professor at UT, where he joined the faculty in 2009. His juris doctor is from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he was also previously a professor, according to UT’s website.
Graw Leary is a former federal prosecutor who has been a professor since 2006, according to her LinkedIn profile. She has a bachelor’s degree and juris doctor from Georgetown University.
Milena Sterio has been a professor in the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law since 2011. She previously taught at Cornell Law School as an adjunct professor. She has a bachelor’s degree from Rutgers College, a master’s degree and French law degree from the University Paris I-Pantheon-Sorbonne and a juris doctor from Cornell Law School, according to Cleveland State’s website.