THE UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY JOURNAL OF UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP
THE CHELLGREN CENTER FOR UNDERGRADUATE EXCELLENCE
A Beacon of Excellence ...
"The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence [www.uky.edu/'1 chellgrencenter] affords students and faculty unique opportunities to enrich the undergraduate experience at the University of Kentucky.
The Mission of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excel-lence is to advance and represent the University's commitment to excellence in undergraduate education. By creating a federation of some of the University's most successful and prestigious programs, the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence provides a framework by which to foster greater collaboration among the programs, participating faculty, and students. Specifically, the Center strengthens each participating program; inspires and guides creative and progressive reform of the undergraduate experience at UK; attracts excellent students to UK from across the nation and the world; encourages faculty to share best educational practices and teaching innovation; and provides students with exceptional learning and mentoring opportunities.
Initially, the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence includes the Honors Program, The Gaines Center for the Humanities, the Discovery Seminar Program, eUreKa!, the Office of External Scholarships, the Living-Learning Communities, the Office of Study Abroad, and Intercollegiate Debate. Each of these programs has its own director and budget and retains operational autonomy and its individual identity.
The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence establishes a framework with which to foster greater collaboration and func-
tional connections among the programs. As such, the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence functions as a federation with the following goals:
(1) Recruit outstanding students to the University and its special programs for undergraduates
(2) Promote undergraduate scholarship, creativity, and research
(3) Enable UK undergraduates to compete successfully for external scholarships
(4) Recruit senior faculty into programs and initiatives designed to promote excellence in undergraduate education
(5) Promote opportunities for student participation in living-learning communities and study abroad programs.
The benefactors of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence are Paul W. Chellgren and his family. A UK graduate, Mr. Chellgren was an Honors Program student and star intercollegiate debater. He subsequently earned a Harvard MBA and a D.D.E. from Oxford University, where he has been named an Honorary Fellow. In addition to a celebrated career in business, one that included service as the CEO of Ashland Inc., Mr, Chellgren has been a very active UK alumnus, having served for eleven years on the UK Board of Trustees. The generous gift from Mr. Chellgren and his family has helped establish the Chellgren Endowed Chair and five named professorships as part of the Center.