The
U • C i
é NIVERSITY i
of Kemrucky t
° I1 ° A
By almost every standard of measurement, To the extent that this institution has been
the decade of the Seventies has been one of solid able to cope with the economic exigencies of the era,
achievement for the University of Kentucky. In and at the same time to record substantial academic
numbers of students, in growth of faculty, in progress, we are likewise indebted to many persons. I
expansion of the academic program, in public would include, certainly, the students who have had
services offered, in development of physical facilities, to contend with increasingly larger classes and higher
I there have been substantial gains. These successes, admission fees; the faculty and staff members whose
which would have been gratifying in any responsibilities have mounted while their living
circumstances, must be rated nothing less than standards were being eroded by the pressures of
remarkable in view of the fact they were realized in inflation; the alumni and other supporters whose
times that were especially difficult. generous monetary gifts have significantly brightened
Universities, along with the nation at large, have the financial picture; the three governors who have
been hobbled by the relentless inflation that has served this Commonwealth during the Seventies, and
gripped the U.S. economy throughout the 1970s. In the members of the General Assembly during this
Kentucky the economic situation during this period period, all of whom have been encouragingly sensitive
has been tightened further by the addition of two to the University’s needs.
universities to the state’s system of public higher As I have noted many times during the past ten
education. years, the University belongs to all Kentuckians—and
Particularly during the first half of the decade, its achievements are rightfully theirs.
universities also were painfully affected by the social Although the University has grown in size and
and political unrest that swept the country. For complexity during the period under review, its basic
reasons too complex to be detailed in this report, purpose—the betterment of human welfare—remains
I large segments of the population lost confidence in unchanged. To fulfill this design, the University
\ their institutions, not excluding those of higher contributes to improving the society of which it is a
education. As a consequence, college and university part, and to the personal growth and development of
governing boards, administrators and faculty those individuals who work, study and learn within its
members were compelled to expend much of their halls. This purpose is achieved through the
time and energy in efforts aimed at restoring quiet to fundamental functions of teaching, research and
F their campuses and to regaining public confidence. service.
T That this has been done successfully at the University While its purpose and functions remain essentially
of Kentucky is one of the institution’s major constant, the University’s goals may undergo more or
_ achievements of the Seventies—one that must be less frequent alteration in response to the changing
credited in large part to the cooperative efforts of our needs of its constituency. Insofar as the University is
students, faculty, trustees and alumni. concerned, this constituency embraces the entire