ORIGIN, PURPOSES, AND ACCREDITATION
The University of Kentucky, a state-supported institution, is located at
Lexington, an urban community of over 100,000 population. The Board of
Trustees includes the Governor, the Superintendent of Public Instruction, and
the Commissioner of Agriculture, ex officio, and twelve members appointed by
the Govemor, three of whom are alumni of the University. The University is
one of a number of institutions known as land-grant colleges, which were
established by the Morrill Act of 1862, and which have continued to receive
federal assistance under provisions of this and subsequent laws relating to
the teaching of agriculture and the mechanic arts and the provision of agri-
cultural experiment stations and extension services in agriculture and home
economics.
The University of Kentucky began as a part of Kentucky University under
a cooperative plan authorized by the legislature in 1865. The purpose of this
plan was to unite sectarian and public education under one organization. This
experiment was tried for a number of years. In the meantime. the federal ftmds
authorized under the Morrill Act were used to develop agriculture and mechanic
arts in Kentucky University. In 1878, when the people of Kentucky decided to
establish a state institution of higher leaming, the College of Agriculture and
Mechanic Arts was separated from Kentucky University and reestablished on
land given by the City of Lexington and the County of Fayette. Thirty years
later the legislature changed the name of the institution to the State University
of Kentucky, and gave it additional financial support. In 1916 the name was
again changed, this time to the present title, and additional maintenance was
arranged by legislative act.
The major function of the University is that of instruction. For the per-
formance of this ftmction it is organized into the College of Arts and Sciences,
the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, the College of Engineering,
the College of Law, the College of Education, the College of Commerce, the
College of Pharmacy, the College of Medicine, the College of Nursing, the
College of Dentistry, the Graduate School, and Extended Programs.
In addition to giving instruction to its student body, the University con-
tributes to the welfare of the state through research, experimentation, and pub-
lic service. While all departments make important contributions along these
lines, certain divisions and bureaus have been established specifically for these
purposes. Included in this group are the Experiment Station and the Extension
Division of the College of Agriculture and Home Economics, the Bureau of
Business Research, the Bureau of Government Research, the Bureau of School
Service, the University and Educational Archives, the University Placement
Service, the Radio Studios, the Home Study Program, the Extension
Class Program, the Evening Class Program, the University Centers, Com-
munity Services, the Audio Visual Services, the Department of Public Relations,
the Engineering Experiment Station, the Child Guidance Service, the Indusuial
Psychological Service, the Social Research Consultation Service, the Medical
Center to include the University Hospital and related services, the Bureau of
Community Service, and Workshops and Conferences.
The University of Kentucky is a member of the Southem Association of
Colleges and Secondary Schools and the Kentucky Association of Colleges and
Secondary Schools. It is accredited in its respective colleges or departments by
the Association of American Law Schools, the American Bar Association, the
American Association of Collegiate Schools of Business, the American Associa-