Eli Capilouto (born August 22, 1949, in

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...

) is the twelfth president of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

. He previously had been the provost of the

University of Alabama at Birmingham The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a Public university#United States, public List of research universities in the United States, research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established i ...

(UAB).

Early life

Capilouto is a native of

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

, and is Jewish. He received most of his education in Alabama, and has spent much of his career within the state. Capilouto obtained his

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

from the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

(Tuscaloosa). His

Doctor of Dental Medicine Doctor or The Doctor may refer to: Personal titles * Doctor (title), the holder of an accredited academic degree * A medical practitioner, including: ** Physician ** Surgeon ** Dentist ** Veterinary physician ** Optometrist *Other roles ** ...

and

master's A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

degrees in epidemiology came from UAB. He joined the UAB faculty in 1975. In 1991, he received a

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

in health policy and management from

Harvard School of Public Health The Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health is the public health school of Harvard University, located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. The school grew out of the Harvard-MIT School for Health Officers, the nation's first ...

. He is married to Mary Lynne Capilouto, who is also a

dentist A dentist, also known as a dental surgeon, is a health care professional who specializes in dentistry (the diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases and conditions of the mouth, oral cavity and other aspects of the craniofaci ...

and former dean of the School of Dentistry at UAB. The couple has one daughter.

Academic and administrative career

Capilouto served as

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the UAB School of Public Health from 1994 to 2001 before he returned to his research and faculty appointment as

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

. He was named Acting Provost in 2002, and assumed the post permanently in 2005. On May 4, 2011, Capilouto was selected to succeed

Lee Todd, Jr. Lee Trover Todd Jr. (born May 6, 1946 in Earlington, Kentucky) was the 11th president of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, Kentucky. Early life and education Todd was born in 1946 in Earlington, Kentucky, a small town close to Madison ...

, the eleventh president of the University of Kentucky. He was hired under a five-year contract with a base annual salary of $500,000 plus $125,000 in benefits and a possible bonus of up to $50,000. In a letter to the Board of Trustees, Capilouto proposed giving 10 percent of his salary for the 2020-21 academic year to the employee assistance fund set up by UK's Department of Human Resources. The fund was established to help the 1,700 UK employees furloughed during the coronavirus pandemic. Under his administration, the University of Kentucky sued the university's student newspaper to appeal an open records dispute with the Kentucky Attorney General regarding a sexual harassment case involving students and a faculty member. The judge upheld the appeal, stating that the student records in the case are protected under the Federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). The newspaper plans to appeal the decision. The situation has created substantial controversy.

Controversy

Although his 2018 salary and compensation totaled over $1,500,000, Capilouto refused to take a pay cut despite the

furloughing 1500 healthcare workers during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

References

External links

President's page at uky.edu
{{DEFAULTSORT:Capilouto, Eli Living people 1949 births Presidents of the University of Kentucky People from Montgomery, Alabama University of Alabama at Birmingham faculty American dentistry academics Harvard School of Public Health alumni University of Alabama alumni Jewish American academics Jews and Judaism in Alabama