In September, UK launched the philanthropy campaign “Kentucky Can” to shape higher education in Kentucky and the future of our many students.

Our college has a great start in this effort. An education from the UK College of Health Sciences is powerful, and you have helped make this possible. As a team, College faculty and staff have helped shape the lives of students who are passionate about helping people attain the highest level of health possible.

But, there is still more work to do. During the Fall College Meeting, leadership, faculty, and staff talked specifically about the need to address retention – particularly for CHS students who have more than $5000 in unmet need. These students are likely to drop out with loan payments due and no diploma in hand. The college’s work as part of this campaign will focus, in large part, on need-based scholarships to help address retention.

CHS already has programs in place to foster giving. The newly created Dean’s Circle encourages giving $1000 annually for five years to a program scholarship fund. Planned gifts will also play a big role in shaping the future of our ability to help students. Opportunities for annual giving—where the focus is on participation of many rather than a single individual making a large gift—include Giving Day in November, One Day One UK (planned for this spring), employee giving and Network for Good.

In his letter announcing the campaign to the UK family, President Eli Capilouto wrote, “This campaign is rooted in our willingness to put in the time, give a little more of ourselves, and make the most of our institution's extraordinary talent. Because we know we have the ability to improve lives. We have the power to tackle the problems that challenge us.”

The college is grateful for the many generous, supportive faculty and staff who have made a difference through philanthropy. We hope that you will find an opportunity to make a difference during this campaign.

• To make a gift through payroll deduction, go to your MyUK account, select “Employee Self Service” In the right column for “Most Frequently Used,” select “UK Gift – Payroll Deduction.”
• For more information about making a planned gift or philanthropy in general, please email Loralyn Cecil at laceci2@uky.edu.