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By Liz Demoran
Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
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  ecember 9 at 12:0] a.m. University of Kentucky
F alumnus Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher , P .
became the first person to be sworn in as gover-   s . _
nor of Kentucky in the 2lst century and the new mil- y      
V lennium. His inauguration also marked the beginning   _   J3. ·- V  
of the first Republican administration in Kentucky in t _»  ·
more than three decades. "'_ i  
y Fletcher received a B.S. degree from the University "` H _  
f of Kentucky College of Engineering in l974 and was a » _    ii
f 1984 graduate of the University of Kentucky College  ·-  if  
of Medicine. He joins a list of UK graduates who have /
held the chief executive post, with the most recent pre- ·\_; 
decessors being Paul E. Patton (1995-2003), John Y. ` 
_ Brown Jr. (1983-l987) and Martha Layne Collins 'J  . 
i ( 1979-1983).  
ln his inaugural address Fletcher said that his ad-   ijfi 
ministration will build upon the successes Kentucky '  
education has seen in recent years. "Whatever success    ‘
Kentucky has in the future will be achieved only by  . ._  i  i C
citizens who receive a complete and vigorous educa-
y tion. And that includes higher education," he said. "ln X
the new. knowledge-based economy, higher education _ T·+j;·~ M,
is absolutely necessary. We want to have outstanding *    ` “t'   __ ·  ·— · , _  
regional and research universities. and we will work to ..,_   ·" _    + _  E ‘
place a university among the top 20 research institu-   »    ` _y_y    
tions in America."       K §
Only days after his inauguration, Fletcher was one ~       y  _ g
ofthe dignitaries at groundbreaking ceremonies for V   Q    .`i“‘  . t \ g
the U K College of Pharmacy`s Center for Pharmaceu— ‘   'i“,y f   E
tical Science and Technology at UK`s Coldstream Re- i { — ·  in  r   5
10 Kr;N’ruci