Your University of Kentucky has embarked upon a bold new path. We have been challenged by Governor Paul Patton and the Kentucky General Assembly to become one of the top 20 public universities in the nation. With great faculty, facilities, staff and students, we are moving quickly toward that goal.
The first step on that path was announcing a $600 million fund-raising campaign, the state's largest of its kind, including $134 million available in matching funds from the Research Challenge Trust Fund. Last year alone, this partnership enabled the University to triple the number of available endowed faculty chair positions and more than double the number of endowed professorships. As these positions are filled with the world's brightest and most creative minds, the University also is building top-rate facilities in which to learn. The William T. Young Library redefines "state-of-the-art" with its information technology. The new student career and job placement center offers one of the nation's largest and most advanced technological career resource centers with video conferencing, numerous interview rooms and high-tech classrooms and labs, all to help students find the right career and eventually the right job. The Coldstream Research Campus continues to grow, adding more opportunities for students to work alongside researchers in real-world industrial settings and start-up companies.
But college is not all about classroom knowledge -- it is also about personal growth. At the University of Kentucky, students can find growth opportunities in everything from basketball games to debate teams to singing groups. They can choose to be a part of more than 300 campus organizations and, along the way, become members of our diverse campus community and add another dimension to their education. Students here hail from 115 foreign countries, all 50 states and every Kentucky county.
With its tradition of excellence and promise of continued growth, the University of Kentucky is a great place to be a student. Just ask the more than 215,000 University alumni. Among them are Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, a U.S. ambassador, an astronaut, a Hollywood actress, a screenwriter, governors, legislators, university presidents, business leaders, and numerous best-selling authors. For six generations, the University of Kentucky has served as the flagship institution of the state. Now we stand at a critical point as UK strives to greater heights. With vigilance and vigor, your university is poised to take its place among the nation's elite.
Sincerely,
President Lee T. Todd Jr.
UK grew from the vision of one man, John Bowman. In 1865, after winning financial support through the federal Morrill Land-Grant College Act and private donations, Bowman saw the realization of his dream with the opening of the state's new Agricultural and Mechanical College. The college was renamed the University of Kentucky in 1916.
The first women were admitted to the university in 1880, but they earned certificates, not degrees. In 1888, the first woman broke the barrier and graduated with a degree.
Racial integration was achieved at UK in 1948, when Lyman T. Johnson successfully sued to win access for African Americans to the graduate program.
Athletics arrived on campus in the 1890s, initiated by students who scheduled football games with neighboring colleges.
Basketball began on campus in 1902 - initially as a women's sport. The men's team was organized the following year.
Kentucky's storied basketball tradition truly began its development in 1930, when then-high school coach Adolph Rupp came to Lexington. He guided the team to four of its seven NCAA crowns (1948, 1949, 1951 and 1958). UK won its fifth championship in 1978 under Joe B. Hall, its sixth in 1996 under Rick Pitino and its seventh under current coach Orlando "Tubby" Smith in 1998, his first season.
A contender on the gridiron, the university has produced a number of professional football players, including Pro Hall of Famer George Blanda. UK's current football coach is Guy Morriss. In recent years, UK also has won three NCAA gymnastics titles thanks to the athletic ability of Jenny Hansen.
UK's Agricultural Extension Service was launched in 1910, one of the nation's first such programs and a model for the federally mandated programs required in 1914. In 1918, the university's three engineering schools were consolidated into a single college.
The Department of Education was elevated to college status in 1923. The College of Commerce, now the Carol Martin Gatton College of Business and Economics, was established in 1925. UK awarded its first doctoral degree in 1929. The colleges of Medicine and Nursing opened their doors in 1960, followed two years later by the College of Dentistry.
Today, the University of Kentucky's eleven colleges, five professional schools, the Graduate School and Lexington Community College support more than 30,000 students.
UK offers 88 bachelor's level, 93 master's level and more than 60 doctoral, specialist and professional degree programs. Students may select from programs in Agriculture, Allied Health Professions, Architecture, Arts and Sciences, Business and Economics, Communications and Information Studies, Education, Engineering, Fine Arts, Human Environmental Sciences and Social Work. In addition, many students may select from professional programs in Dentistry, Law, Medicine, Nursing and Pharmacy.
The University's colleges provide the state's best education to their students. That education also is gaining national acclaim, with many areas already recognized among the nation's best. UK is one of only 59 public universities in the country and the only one in Kentucky to be designated a Research University of the First Class by the Carnegie Foundation. To date, the University boasts 41 nationally-ranked programs including clinical laboratory sciences, pharmacy, public policy, business administration, physical therapy and economics. It is ranked as the top university for its friendliness to women, quality and value, technology, libraries and African-American student services.
As the world becomes more computer-reliant, UK is a pioneer in cyber-classrooms and electronic frontiers. The new UK Center for Networking Excellence offers leading-edge technology and high-speed computing access capable of handling 49 billion calculations per second. UK's new ResNet system offers state-of-the-art, complete rapid Internet access to students living in University residence halls and apartments. UK is helping pioneer Internet II, the newest technology in research and educational supercomputing. The University also is one of 29 partners in the Kentucky Commonwealth Virtual University, a Web-based system providing access to UK courses anytime, anywhere. All this has helped UK become one of the nation's top 100 universities for innovations in technology.
Located in the internationally famous Bluegrass region of Kentucky, the city of Lexington adds a special dimension to the UK experience. With a population of 235,000, Lexington offers a multitude of job opportunities, entertainment, dining, recreation and cultural events. The city's growing business community is a valuable resource for part-time employment, cooperative education and internship programs.
Cultural events abound in the Bluegrass. The Lexington Philharmonic Orchestra, the Lexington Ballet, the Opera House and numerous theaters all regularly offer performances. The area also enjoys unique exhibits at a number of art galleries including the nationally-accredited UK Art Museum located in the Otis A. Singletary Center for the Arts.
Lexington is known as the "horse capital of the world" and with good reason. Within a 35-mile radius of downtown, there are several hundred horse farms ranging in size from a few acres to several thousand acres. Local farms breed and trade some of the world's best Thoroughbred, Standardbred and Saddlebred horses. Famous sites in the region include the Kentucky Horse Park, Calumet Farm and Keeneland Race Track.
Tourists are also attracted to Lexington by the historic and beautiful scenery of the Bluegrass, which includes the Red River Gorge, Shakertown at Pleasant Hill and Fort Boonesborough. In addition, the vicinity offers six major malls, over 200 restaurants, 82 community parks and Rupp Arena, the 24,000-seat home of the Kentucky Wildcats.
