The Dean of the College of Dentistry has been put on administrative leave, UK spokesperson Jay Blanton told the Kernel in a statement on Wednesday.

Dr. Stephanos Kyrkanides is no longer the dean of the UK College of Dentistry, Blanton said. He will go on a one-year sabbatical and will return to the college as a faculty member. 

Larry Holloway, the current vice provost and previous interim dean of the engineering college, will assume the dentistry college’s deanship on an interim basis, Blanton said. 

UK officials have not stated a reason for the change of deans.

A federal lawsuit, reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader in August 2017, alleged that Kyrkanides previously forced Dr. Raynor Mullins, a long-time professor, out of a fellowship after Mullins publicly criticized Gov. Matt Bevin. 

Last month, the Herald-Leader reported that UK reached a settlement with Mullins which included $620,000 and a new job position with UK. 

Kyrkanides became dean of the dentistry college in 2015. According to a UKNow article announcing his hiring, Kyrkanides came from Stony Brook University.