University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky,[9] the university is one of the state's two land-grant universities (the other being Kentucky State University). It is the institution with the highest enrollment in the state, with 32,710 students in the fall of 2022.[10]
Former names
Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky (1865–1908)
State University, Lexington, Kentucky (1908–1915)
State University of Kentucky (1915–1922)
"United We Stand, Divided We Fall"
February 22, 1865
$2.13 billion (2023)[1]
$5.6 billion (2022–23)[2]
Robert S. DiPaola
14,167 (2018–19)[3]
33,885 (Fall 2023)[4]
23,971 (Fall 2023)[4]
8,784 (Fall 2023)[4]
Large City, 784 acres (3.17 km2)[5]
Blue and white[6]
The institution comprises 16 colleges, a graduate school, 93 undergraduate programs, 99 master programs, 66 doctoral programs, and 4 professional programs.[11] It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity".[12] According to the National Science Foundation, Kentucky spent $476.5 million on research and development in 2022, ranking it 61st in the nation.[13]
The University of Kentucky has seven libraries on campus.[14] The largest is the William T. Young Library, a federal depository that hosts subjects related to social sciences, humanities, and life sciences collections. Since 1997, the university has focused expenditures increasingly on research, following a compact formed by the Kentucky General Assembly. The directive mandated that the university become a "Top 20" public research institution, in terms of an overall ranking to be determined by the university itself, by 2020.[15] Two alumni from the university have won Nobel Prizes.
History[edit]
University origins[edit]
In the early commonwealth of Kentucky, higher education was limited to children from prominent families, disciplined apprentices, and young men seeking entry into clerical, legal, and medical professions. As the first university in the territory that would become Kentucky, Transylvania University was the primary center for education. After a merger it became "Kentucky University".
Academic rankings
83–99
200
132
159
302
301–400
681–690
401–500
356
Thomas Hunt Morgan, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and father of modern genetics
Louise Slaughter, U.S. Congresswoman from New York, 1987 to 2018. Chair of the House Rules Committee, 2007 to 2011.
Albert “Happy” Chandler, 44th and 49th Governor of Kentucky; Commissioner of Major League Baseball, 1945 to 1951.
The university has more than 140,246 alumni in the state of Kentucky,[97] 216,737 in the United States,[98] and 1,119 internationally.[99] The University of Kentucky Alumni Association is the primary affiliation for former students and faculty, and is located at the corner of Rose Street and Euclid Avenue. The building, dedicated in 1963, is named for Helen G. King, the first permanent director of the association and a former "Miss University of Kentucky". The association also meets at Spindletop Hall, a large mansion along Iron Works Pike, which serves as a central alumni gathering point.[100]
The University of Kentucky boasts seven governors, including four former Governors of Kentucky: Steve Beshear, Ernie Fletcher, Paul E. Patton, and Albert "Happy" Chandler; Chandler was also a former U.S. Senator, and was the Commissioner of Major League Baseball from 1945 to 1951. Rounding out the other seven are the former Governor of Ohio Ted Strickland, former Governor of North Carolina Beverly Perdue, and former Governor of Arkansas Tom Jefferson Terral. Former U.S. Representative Ken Lucas from the commonwealth's fourth congressional district, and current U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell are other government officials that called the university home. Kelly Craft (née Guilfoil), former United States Ambassador to the United Nations and United States Ambassador to Canada, attended the university.
The United Methodist Bishop Alfred W. Gwinn also attended the university.
Carol Martin “Bill” Gatton, an automobile dealer executive, was the donor of the largest gift ever to the university, and is the namesake for the Gatton College of Business and Economics and the Gatton Student Center. Paul Chellgren, Chairman and CEO of Ashland Inc.,[97] also attended the university, and is the namesake for Chellgren Hall, formerly known as Woodland Glen I.
The university was also the home of Thomas Hunt Morgan, a scientist and winner of the 1933 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, and William Lipscomb, 1976 winner of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry.[16] Doris Yvonne Wilkinson was the first African American to graduate from the university as an undergraduate student in 1958, and Joyce Hamilton Berry, a former clinical psychologist, was the first female African American to earn a Ph.D. from UK in 1970. Journalist and Miss USA 2021 Elle Smith, an African American, also attended the university.[101]
Actresses such as Miss Elizabeth, Ashley Judd, and Adunni Ade also attended the university. Randall Cobb, a wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers, Josh Allen, a defensive end for the Jacksonville Jaguars, Anthony Davis, a power forward and center for Los Angeles Lakers, and Derek Bryant, a former outfielder for the Oakland Athletics from 1973 to 1981, are a few sports alumni from the university. Tyrese Maxey is a point guard for the 76ers.[102]
