Suspended UK professor sues to block controversial law school dean appointment
A suspended University of Kentucky law professor has filed a federal lawsuit for a judge to remove the law school’s recent dean appointee, claiming the university is prioritizing politics and donations over scholarship and academia.
Ramsi Woodcock, who was placed on leave in July 2025 for circulating a petition calling for war on Israel, is asking a federal judge to block UK from installing Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove as the dean of Rosenberg College of Law. Woodcock is suing Van Tatenhove, UK President Eli Capiluto and provost Robert DiPaola.
Woodcock claims Van Tatenhove’s appointment violates his expressive-association First Amendment rights — the right to join with others to promote a shared message — and breaches his employment contract.
He also claims that the three men conspired to violate Constitutional rights when they went against the faculty’s suggestion to not appoint Van Tatenhove as the head of the state’s largest law school.
Woodcock was suspended from the university July 18, 2025, for comments he made about Israel that Capiluto called “hateful and repugnant.” Woodcock is still a member of faculty, but is currently barred from entering the law school or teaching.
He has an additional lawsuit pending with the court of appeals against the university in attempts to resume teaching at the law school.
But in the newest lawsuit, filed Tuesday, Woodcock claims the university has violated their end of his employment contract by appointing Van Tatenhove as the new dean.
UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said Van Tatenhove’s hiring process was as extensive as other dean selections, involving feedback from stakeholders, alumni, a college advisory group, faculty and leadership.
“The result is an outstanding new Dean who has been a proven leader and is excited about helping lead a talented group of faculty, staff and students forward,” Blanton said in a statement to the Herald-Leader. “That is where our focus is and where it will remain. Interestingly, if Professor Woodcock had spent his time responding to the serious allegations regarding his conduct in a timely manner, rather than filing frivolous lawsuits without merit, his case would have long since been resolved.”
Van Tatenhove’s appointment
A longtime federal judge, Van Tatenhove was appointed to serve as dean of the law school in March. It was an announcement met with mixed reviews.
Van Tatenhove is a veteran of the state’s federal bench. He has served as a district judge for the Eastern District of Kentucky since 2006. Prior to that role, Van Tatenhove served as the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky and chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Ron Lewis, a Republican.
Law school faculty objected to Van Tatenhove’s appointment when he was announced as a finalist. Despite their input, he was appointed anyway, according to Woodcock’s lawsuit.
Woodcock says this violates his employment contract, which says both parties have to abide by accreditation standards. Under the standards of the American Bar Association, a law school dean must be tenured faculty at the university. Van Tatenhove is neither faculty nor tenured as he begins in the role Wednesday with a salary of more than $400,000.
Woodcock also claims in the suit he has a right to be evaluated as a professor by someone who is qualified to do so. He and his attorneys argue Van Tatenhove is not qualified as a scholar to make determinations about other faculty because he does not have academic experience and is not peer-reviewed.
Instead, they claim that the appointment is caused by a recent increase in top-down governance at UK, which also includes the dissolution of the faculty senate and prior tensions over faculty speech — including Woodcock’s.
Van Tatenhove’s appointment received public backlash and concerns from Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear who said the university should remain non-partisan.
Shortly after Van Tatenhove’s appointment, Beshear expressed concerns about the “management and decision-making at the University of Kentucky,” fearing partisan politics were swaying UK officials. He also criticized the university for its plans to move retiring athletic director Mitch Barnhart into a $950,000 role, which Barnhart later stepped away from.
Beshear doubled down a day after his initial comments, saying that UK should be a “nonpartisan university that doesn’t waste taxpayer dollars.” University leadership defended the selection of Van Tatenhove, saying he was the right choice selected through “an exacting process.”
The university’s board of trustees has since changed its policy, and will now require the board to approve dean selections and academic hires above assistant professors.
The case is awaiting a judge assignment before it can proceed.
This story was originally published July 14, 2026 at 2:56 PM.
