By Ryan Clark
CHS Communications Director

The outlook for the College of Health Sciences looked good in the spring, Dean Scott Lephart, PhD, reported in May when all the faculty and staff gathered for their annual Year in Review meeting. 

Now, that outlook is even better, he said Thursday at the CHS Fall College Assembly.  

Faculty and staff came out to the Karpf Auditorium at the Chandler Hospital to celebrate the start of the fall semester and to hear updates on things like the College's enrollment, student success, fundraising, research and growth opportunities. 

"With opportunities, there are always challenges," Lephart said. "But you all are ready for that. You deal with that all the time."

Lephart noted that undergraduate student growth was up 87 percent since 2016, while the graduate student population remained consistent, largely due to the inability to find more space to accommodate them. 

And that led him to updates about expansion, including two projects:
 

• The Multi-Disciplinary Science Building, which will house the Center for Student Success, including the Welcome Center, OSA offices, and a 120-seat digital classroom, all scheduled to open in fall 2024.
   
• and the Health Education Building, which is set to be built on the corner of Huguelet and University Drive. The building has now been expanded to 508,000 square feet of space on nine floors. CHS will now have 85,000 gross square feet for our five professional programs (the third floor, plus space on the Garden Level, second, fourth and eighth floors).
   

Lephart explained that in order to help fulfill the mission of the College to help care for the health of the state, the University has asked that we explore new academic avenues, ones that are a necessity, including:
 

• A Doctor of Audiology (AuD), with a partnership with UKHC/ENT
   
• Radiation Sciences (Radiation Therapy BS professional program, or radiation oncology; Radiation Technology BS professional program), with a partnership with Bellarmine University/UKHC Radiation Medicine and Markey
   
• Respiratory Therapy (BS/MS professional program, MS post professional program), with a partnership with UKHC Pulmonary Medicine

In the world of research, grant expenditures are up to $8,461,429 — more than $3 million more than just two years ago, while the total value of active grant accounts is $42,133,268 — almost $9 million more than two years ago. 

And in Philanthropy, we have 38 total endowments for a total of $7.15 million. 
 

But most importantly, Lephart said, our students are succeeding — and it's illustrated by the numbers. 

• The selectivity of our graduate programs is reflected in our acceptance rate of 25 percent. 
   
• We have a 90 percent fall-to-fall retention rate, which is higher than the UK average. 
   
• Our 4-year graduation rate, 69 percent, is also about the UK average.
   
• Our graduates in the year 2022-23 were 393, up from 239 in 2014-15. 

CHS also welcomed 10 new faces to the family, including:
 

• Olivia Brown, Office of Research & Scholarship
• Sara Craig, Child Development Center of the Bluegrass
• Lesli Hall, Office of Student Affairs
• Ryan Hunton, Physician Assistant Studies
• Hannah Jaggers, Physical Therapy
• Justin Jeter, College of Health Sciences
• Nicole Maher, College of Health Sciences
• Shane Mustor, Office of Research and Scholarship
• Kimberly Tumlin, Athletic Training and Clinical Nutrition
• Kristen Weidner, Health & Clinical Sciences
   

"We've got a lot going on, folks," Lephart said. "Commit to the excellence."