Lexington
Located in the center of Kentucky 's Bluegrass region, Lexington has been ranked as one of America 's top 20 places to live and work and was recently declared one of the 10 "brainiest" U.S. cities based on the percentage of citizens holding college degrees - coming in just behind San Diego and ahead of Denver.
With a city population of more than 250,000 people (about half a million in the urban area), Lexington supports myriad cultural attractions, including an opera, a ballet, Broadway theater productions and a philharmonic orchestra. The city is alive with talented bluegrass, country, jazz, blues and rock musicians. Sports fans are blessed with extensive University of Kentucky offerings - Wildcat basketball, the most winning college team in history, and football; local fare, like the Lexington Legends minor league baseball team; and the professional Bengals and Reds in nearby Cincinnati.
Surrounded by rolling hills and horse farms, Lexington is known for its natural beauty and moderate weather year round. The area offers a particularly wide variety of activities for outdoor enthusiasts, ranging from spending an afternoon at Keeneland Race Track and canoeing on the nearby Kentucky River to hiking in the famous Red River Gorge.
In addition to being the world center for the thoroughbred industry, central Kentucky is home to major corporations such as Toyota USA, bioscience giant Alltech, and Lexmark International. Nevertheless, the city maintains the ambience and charm of a university town, with the offerings of a much larger city. Overall, Lexington is a great place to live and learn.
University of Kentucky
Founded in 1865, UK is Kentucky’s flagship academic institution. The university has about 19,000 undergraduate students and 8,000 graduate students. The main campus encompasses over 700 acres near historic downtown Lexington, including a large arboretum. The W.T. Young Library is renown for its superb architecture, holdings and endowment. Academic support facilities are significant, as are athletic facilities available for student use.
Patterson School students are able to take advantage of UK’s wide range of academic programs and offerings. Kentucky is one of only a few universities to house on a single campus colleges of Agriculture, Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics, Communications and Information Studies, Design, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Law, Medicine, Pharmacy, Public Health and Social Work.
UK is in the midst of a strategic effort to become one of the nation’s top 20 public research universities. In 2007, the university completed a billion dollar fund raising campaign to ensure its facilities can support programs able to meet the challenges of the 21st century. The Patterson School is integral to that effort, educating future global leaders determined to make a difference.