Overview
- Kenni Burns filed a lawsuit against Kent State and senior officials alleging wrongful termination, breach of contract and defamation, and the university declined to comment.
- Kent State said it removed him for repeated misuse of a university purchasing card, known as a P-card, and for a conflict-of-interest tied to loans from a booster and vendor.
- Burns says he never received proper P-card training, provided receipts to investigators, and reimbursed the school with a check for more than $7,000 that the university later cashed.
- The complaint claims a 2024 contract amendment cut his potential buyout from about $2 million to about $371,000, which he argues paved the way for a cheaper firing.
- The filing says a deputy general counsel offered $371,000 for him to “quietly walk away,” while school records documented loans from booster Mike Awad, $109,000 in repayments and no evidence of a quid pro quo.