$202 Million and Counting

More than $202 million in gifts to UK have been matched through the Endowment Match Program of the Research Challenge Trust Fund (RCTF). RCTF was developed in 1997 with the passage of HB1, the Kentucky Postsecondary Education Improvement Act for strategic investment at the University of Kentucky, the University of Louisville and Kentucky’s six regional universities. Administered by the Council on Postsecondary Education, the program is designed to advance the economic success of Kentucky and its citizens through education and research.

RCTF provides Kentucky’s universities support for ongoing efforts to attract and retain renowned faculty and researchers. An additional $33.3 million was allocated for UK by the General Assembly under House Bill 406 for the 2008–10 bienniums. This new allocation includes funds for the newly–created Capital Match Program which matches gifts for research–related construction.

Recent gifts approved for submission by the Board of Trustees to be matched by RCTF include $8.3 million in capital match funds for the construction of the next phase of the Digital Village. This project will provide the campus with a high–tech research center in visualization, computer science, and electrical and computer engineering. Additional capital match submissions approved by the Board of Trustees include: more than $135,000 toward a bio–safety lab in the College of Agriculture. Over $385,000 was given for the Pharmacy Building. A gift of $500,000 will fund the Martha Reynolds Rotating Professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences. When combined with the match, each of these gifts will be worth twice as much.

Still other gifts include funds for research chairs, professorships and fellowships and mission support–all necessary components of a solid research institution. The combination of private support and state money helps UK realize its mission as the commonwealth’s flagship, land grant university.