S
ince its founding in 1865 as a land-grant
college, the University of Kentucky has applied knowledge and resources to
address the Commonwealth's economic, social and cultural needs. We must improve
the lives of Kentuckians in the areas of education; health and economic well-being;
arts and culture; community vitality and civic engagement; and the environment.
We must identify new resources and find innovative ways to use existing means
to elevate the quality of life for Kentuckians through partnerships
with communities and by expanding and amplifying the original land-grant
vision to all spheres of life.
Objectives:
- The University will engage its people and resources
in a renewed commitment to outreach. University outreach and service
bring together faculty, staff and students with practitioners, communities,
government agencies, schools, businesses, and others to address critical
quality of life problems. We must provide leadership to education, business,
technology, medicine, and other areas. We must also recognize outreach
as a means of education that transcends traditional classroom experiences.
Outreach involves the application of knowledge and discovery to societal
problems, and we must recognize and reward faculty and students for their
outreach and service learning activities, including community involvement.
- The University will lead in the delivery of specialty
care in select clinical areas. The University's clinical enterprise
is an essential component in improving the lives of Kentuckians. To be
successful, we must advance our position in local, state and national
health care markets. We must realign current faculty, staff and facility
capacities; consider new, alternative locations for hospital and faculty
practice to attract a balanced mix of patients; and ensure access to
priority programs for Kentuckians.
- The University will accelerate industry-funded
research and partnerships, technology transfer, and business development
to advance Kentucky's economy. A premier land-grant
university conducts research and supports the extension of research and
other activities in ways that enhance the state economic base. As such,
we have a dream that Kentuckians "can compete just like everyone
else." To
turn our dreams into reality, we must seize opportunities to develop
further our intellectual property, corporate relationships, and business
ventures, and we must enhance our efforts to fulfill the vision and promise
of the Coldstream Research Campus.
- The University will expand utilization of its
cooperative extension network to improve the quality of life for all
Kentuckians. The
Cooperative Extension Service has a long and successful history of serving
as a link between the counties of the Commonwealth and the University of Kentucky to
help people improve their lives. We must build upon the recent expansion
of this network as a vehicle for the effective delivery of critical educational
programs. We must promote public health education, small business
and entrepreneurial initiatives, and arts and cultural development, while
identifying additional areas of need.