I Presidential Conversation
A farewell   but not goodbye
Ten years ago, when I was announced as president of my alma mater, a reporter asked me a seemingly simple  
question; “ Today is your Hrst day as president ofthe University of Kentucky. What would you want to be said   .
about you on your last day?” ‘ " . 7: . -
I hadn’t thought about it before that moment, but the answer that quickly came to my mind was that “if it "1   ‘ ’
could be said that during my tenure, UK did more for its state than any other land-grant institution, I could be TM
satished with that.” I _ _ T`-
Then, as novy I think it’s the right goal. It’s the right goal for UK. It’s the right goal for Kentucky.  
To be sure, looking back at I0 years, I suppose it’s impossible to know whether we’ve achieved such a lofty and ~ p r
ambitious aspiration. The needs of our state are great; the challenges are large.
And the mission of this institution — our alma mater — is sprawling. We do so much in so many places, and in   Y
every corner ofthe state, that it is virtually impossible, it seems, to track all of it, much less measure the progress. _
It will take some time before we see the full impact of our current work. A O`; V
That said, I am conhdent that over the last I0 years the progress we’ve made as an institution is directly beneht- ` “*·””
ing the state in profound ways. Our mandate to become a Top 20 public research institution — and the Business Plan we created to help track our progress
— have changed the culture and the outlook of our institution.
We are enrolling record ntunbers of students and retaining and graduating more of them. The quality of our students has improved with each year and,
with it, so have their ambitions and dreams for themselves, their families, and their commtmities.
Our research growth — some $3 67 million last year — is at its highest level in our institution’s history and more of it is focused on the health care, eco-
nomic and educational challenges confronting Kentucky.
And we are doing more to serve this state — making our environment cleaner and our commtmities stronger in a multitude of ways and reaching out to
hospitals in Western and Eastern Kentucky to help them take care of patients closer to home.
I think novy more than at any other time, we believe we not only deserve a preeminent, nationally and internationally regarded Lmiversity. Novy we believe
that we are on the path to building one.
And we Lmderstand, deeply that there’s a direct connection between our progress as a university and our progress as a state. In fact, we know that the future
of both are inextricably linked and botmd together.
We are the University of Kentucky   not of one commtmity or one region of our state, but the Lmiversity for the entire Commonwealth.
As such, we have a Lmique mission for a Lmique state and unique people. And I’m proud of what we have done in the last 10 years to represent this state. As
fellow alums, you’ve been an important part of our eHforts and our progress.
You’ve greeted Patsy and me when we came to your alumni club meetings or appeared at Rotary Clubs and other events. You helped us plan tours ofthe
state, coming out to show your support for this institution from Paducah to Prestonsburg. You are the Lmiversity’s life-blood, pulsing through every part of
our state.
You’ve sent notes of encouragement during challenges and you’ve given to our university through your time and your money whenever asked.
The growth of our alma mater during the past 10 years has been nothing short of incredible and you have been with us at every step.
Many people look at a new $570 million hospital that opened in May or the new pharmacy and research buildings nearby and remark that the campus is
not recognizable from when they were students many years ago.
That’s true. We’ve grown. And in some profotmdly important ways, we’ve changed.
But what hasn’t changed — what makes it special and so vital — is its people   students, faculty and staHf and, ofcourse, ahunni like you. You make the
University of Kentucky the special place that it is — the one place that is indispensible for our state and for its future.
So, while this column is my last letter to you as president of our alma mater, it is not goodbye. Patsy and I will still be strong supporters of UK as we have
been since we were yotmg students on this campus so many years ago. We will still see you at ballgames and, from time to time, on campus. Well see you in
your communities as Kentucky is and always will be our home.
But it is time now for us to write the next chapter in our lives. You have been part of making this chapter so special and so meaningful.
I’m excited to read what will be written on these pages about the continued progress of UK.
Like the last 10 years, I know they will be times of incredible ambition and advance for that is what Kentucky needs from — and requires of- us.
I look forward to watching you and our alma mater make it happen.
Sincerely
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L¢¢T·T¤dd»J¤ S G G U Gu
President _ _
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