By Dan Adkins

Steve Reed of Louisville, left, begins his tenure as chairperson of the UK Board of Trustees, alongside President Lee T. Todd Jr.

"We aspire for greatness each day, nothing less and nothing else... We're going to move UK to even greater heights."

-- Steven S. Reed,
chairperson,
UK Board of Trustees

To listen to Steve Reed's comments on becoming chairperson of the UK Board of Trustees, click here.

Sept. 17, 2002 (Lexington, Ky.) -- The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees today elected Steven S. Reed of Louisville as chairperson. Reed, a member of the board since 1994, has served as vice chairperson since 1999 and succeeds Billy Joe Miles.

Reed promised a vigorous tenure as board chairman. "We aspire for greatness each day, nothing less and nothing else," he said. "We're going to move UK to even greater heights."

An alumnus of the UK College of Law, Reed is a partner in Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, a Louisville law firm. He is a former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Kentucky.

The board also elected JoEtta Wickliffe of Harrodsburg as vice chairperson and Russ Williams of Lexington as board secretary. Wickliffe, a Mercer County banker, was appointed to the board by Gov. Paul E. Patton in 1997. Williams, a senior trainer in the UK Human Resources Department, is the UK staff representative on the board, having been elected to that post in 1998. UK legal counsel Paul Vanbooven was elected assistant secretary.

The board also appointed the executive committee for the 2002-2003 fiscal year. The members are Reed, chairperson, Robert Merriwether of Paducah, Paul Chellgren of Covington, Marianne Smith Edge of Owensboro and faculty representative Claire Pomeroy.

In other actions, the board:

-- Accepted a gift of 2.679 acres at the southeast corner of High Street and Harrison Avenue from C.M. "Bill" and Leigh Gatton of Bristol, Tenn. The property, formerly the site of the L.R. Cooke Chevrolet dealership, was donated for a building that will include an executive MBA program.

The property has a market value of $2,050,000.

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. noted the Gattons stand among the university's most generous supporters. In 1996, the board of trustees named the Gatton College of Business and Economics for C.M. Gatton. He also is a member of the college's Alumni Hall of Fame.

"The generosity of Bill and Leigh Gatton helps the Gatton College take the first step toward realizing its comprehensive plan for a business and economics campus. It also helps UK advance its goal for the college-town concept by providing a location for a new Professional Development Center that will be a resource for the business community," Todd said.

Todd said preliminary drawings for the center will be reviewed next week for a proposed 30,000-square-foot, two-story building on the site.

-- Established the Gloria W. Singletary Chair in Women's Health Research as the first endowment of the UK Women's Health Center. The fund honors Singletary, former first lady of UK and a champion of women's health issues. Singletary made the cornerstone donation that began the fund-raising efforts for the UK Women's Health Center in 2000.

The endowment effort began in late spring as a mission to establish a professorship in women's health research, to provide funding for vital studies and to attract a new director for the center.

Over several months, numerous calls have been made to Singletary's friends, as well as to members of the Women's Health Advisory Council, and the fund grew at a rapid pace.

With private donations and matching money from the state's Research Challenge Trust Fund, the endowment reached endowed chair status in mid-September.

Singletary has always been extremely interested in the health of women in the commonwealth. She wants to see treatment and facilities available so that Kentucky women may adequately have their special health care needs met.

Otis Singletary, former UK president, expressed both pride and pleasure in this recognition of his wife. "Gloria worked long and hard for UK, and we are both so pleased with this very real honor," he said.

The endowed chair is a fitting honor for Singletary, and an assurance of a women's health research presence for the women of Kentucky.

-- Accepted a pledge of $750,000 by the Delta Dental Plan of Kentucky of Louisville to create and endow the Delta Dental Plan of Kentucky Clinical Research Center Endowment in the College of Dentistry.

-- Accepted a gift of $291,579 from Philip Morris Inc. to the College of Agriculture.

-- Accepted a resolution proposed by W. Grady Stumbo that the Board direct the President to conduct a thorough review of the Robinson Forest, including an assessment of the resources of the forest and prepare a comprehensive report for presentation to the Board. The resolution gives the President authority to engage the services of engineers, geologists, and other professional consultants as are necessary to gather information to prepare the report for the Board.