Tom Eblen of the Herald-Leader has an exit interview with University of Kentucky president Lee Todd, who officially steps down next week after a decade in his position.
Here is an excerpt:
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Todd said he also is proud of UK Athletics, which has become competitive across the board and avoided major NCAA rules violations on his watch. “Our athletic program is one of the few that’s self-supporting,” he said. “It really gives money back. They pay for everything they get now.”
Early in his presidency, Todd hired Mitch Barnhart as athletics director after forcing out his predecessor, Larry Ivy, who had been given a raise and a one-year contract extension by former President Charles Wethington on Wethington’s way out the door.
Many people were surprised when, after announcing his retirement, Todd extended Barnhart’s contract to 2019 and gave him a $125,000 annual raise. Should that have been a decision for President-elect Eli Capilouto to make?
“In my mind it shouldn’t be, because we have had nine years of outstanding progress since he’s been here, integrity since he’s been here, competitiveness since he’s been here,” Todd said of Barnhart.
“I should have done it earlier than I did,” he said. “I did it too close to the end. We could have communicated it better to people that I was going to do it. But I think I did a service for the next president, and the more he gets to know Mitch, the more he will believe that. I don’t have any problem with having done that.”
Barnhart’s big raise fueled faculty criticism that Todd has focused too much on athletics and the medical school to the detriment of core academics. His response?
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[URL=”http://www.kentucky.com/2011/06/26/1789310/tom-eblen-an-exit-interview-with.html”]Complete Article[/URL]
