Kevin Gardner, formerly executive vice president for research and innovation at the University of Louisville, has stepped down from his position, according to a letter sent out by UofL President Kim Schatzel on Jan. 5.
While a search for Gardner’s permanent replacement takes place, he will be replaced in the interim by Dr. Jon Klein, who has been serving a variety of roles at UofL’s School of Medicine, including the James Graham Brown Foundation Chair in Proteomics, vice dean for research at the school and the director of the Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute. According to his LinkedIn profile, Klein has been at the UofL for a little more than 39 years.
Gardner will be returning to his faculty position as a professor of civil and environmental engineering in the Speed School of Engineering, according to Schatzel’s letter. The move was effective as of Jan. 25.
In an interview with Louisville Business First, Gardner said he found out about the decision in early January.
“This was not my choice. I had a four-year contract, and that was coming up for renewal,” he said, “and [Schatzel] told me she was not going to renew it — and she didn’t give me a reason, so that’s what I know.”
Gardner arrived at UofL in Jan. 2020 following a 20-plus-year tenure at the University of New Hampshire, where his last position was that of vice provost of research and director of strategic initiatives, according to his LinkedIn profile.
“I'm open to lots of different types of opportunities,” Gardner said. “Being a professor is something that's very important to me. I just feel like I'm a better vice president for research than I am a professor and I can do more good in the world if I continue that type of role.”
In the letter, Schatzel — who took over as UofL’s president last February — commended Gardner’s “record $230 million in research expenditures last year.” Schatzel also mentions how he has “led to improve university/industry partnerships in Louisville and throughout Kentucky.” Furthermore, she credited Gardner with bringing the Kentucky Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) to the university, which is projected to generate $150-$200 million in annual economic growth within the state.
The university declined to provide additional comment on the situation, a part from what had been shared in Schatzel’s letter.
As reported by Senior Reporter Joel Stinnett in December in the latest edition of our “Opportunity Louisville” series, the MEP had created or retained 1,124 jobs and generated $70.7 million in new sales across the commonwealth from the second quarter of 2022 to the same period in 2023.
'This office is going to do fine'
That same article referenced that UofL ranked No. 124 when it came to research and development (R&D) expenditures in 2021, according to the National Science Foundation. That year, UofL had $200.4 million in expenditures. In 2022, the university’s ranking jumped up to No. 118 with $229.6 million.
For a comparison, the University of Kentucky was at No. 64 in 2021 ($429.2 million) and No. 61 in 2022 ($476.5 million). UofL and UK are the only schools in the commonwealth designated as R-1 research institutions, denoting “very high research activity” per the guidelines established by the Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education.
When asked what he thought his biggest accomplishments were in the role, he listed several items. At the top of the list was building up the fabric of the Office and Research and Innovation itself.
“This office is going to do fine with my departure, and I'm really proud of that. … Part of building that office is building the functionality that serves the business community well — and we’ve really done that in spades,” said Gardner, who also mentioned the MEP.
As far as an accomplishment on the innovation side, Gardner listed helping create the UofL New Ventures program, which provides resources for university-borne startups.
“As a top-tier research institution, UofL plays a key role in driving groundbreaking work that improves lives and strengthens our commonwealth,” Klein said in a statement. “I’m proud to support that work as interim executive vice president for research and innovation and to further advance the reputation of the UofL research enterprise.”
“I think one of his real strengths is that he listens to other people, and he takes peoples’ advice and evaluates that, so that's a critical skill set for someone like him to have to step into this kind of role,” Gardner said of Klein. He added that Klein "has probably been as big of a supporter of mine as there has been.”
