Dear Colleagues,

Kentucky’s Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE) recently held its 2025 Student Success Summit at UK. Its focus on leadership and collaboration reinforced for me the depth of expertise and talent that UK’s faculty represent. 

As we move toward midterms, I encourage you to continue building your skills and developing your passions. Our work as a university and institution of higher learning depends on our faculty, and one of our most important roles is to support you in that work.

The Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT) provides numerous opportunities for instructors, colleagues and leaders, such as workshops and support for grants and research endeavors. Your experiences as members of a world-class faculty are invaluable, and CELT will help you leverage those to further expand your skillset. 

Similarly, the Office for Faculty Advancement (OFA) exists to support faculty at UK as you evolve through different stages of your careers. I encourage you to use their resources, such as their various academies and development programs, to discover or deepen your passion for leadership. Your growth as professionals is paramount to UK’s mission to advance Kentucky in new and innovative ways. 

As always, it is also vital to consider your personal well-being as individuals as well as your professional growth. UK HR Work-life and Well-being provides personalized support for your overall well-being. Taking care of ourselves is important in ensuring we can approach our work with purpose and intention every day. 

I encourage each of you to utilize these resources — and ensure that your students utilize their resources, too. The Office for Student Success offers numerous academic and well-being services to support our students throughout their time at UK. 

This spring semester, continue finding ways to uplift yourselves and one another — I remain deeply grateful for the expertise and ingenuity you bring to UK. Thank you for continuing to advance UK and our Commonwealth. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

When the Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation (IMPACT) Awards initiative launched two years ago, our goal was to drive innovation and collaboration within and between colleges. The groundbreaking work performed by faculty and staff each day at UK has the power to transform lives, and the IMPACT Awards initiative celebrates that. 

Now, two years after its launch, the IMPACT Awards initiative has helped generate numerous opportunities for partnerships across campus and beyond.

This spring semester, we will again highlight the invaluable and inspiring teaching, research and service conducted by the second cohort of IMPACT Awards projects on UKNow. I encourage you to read their stories and learn how they are impacting our university and our communities.

Your creativity and innovation are why the University of Kentucky is able to continue serving our Commonwealth. By sharing stories of our work with each other, we can continue inspiring not only those we serve, but our colleagues as well. 

I am profoundly grateful for your help in growing our impact as a university — thank you for continually reimagining how UK can advance Kentucky.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

It continues to be an exciting time to be a member of the University of Kentucky community — over the last year, we made significant strides in our efforts to advance our Commonwealth, and our momentum has not slowed.

Most especially, you — our faculty and instructors — have played an integral role in UK’s work of improving the lives of all our community members.

You helped us grow enrollment to record levels and graduate more students than ever before — in the fall semester, we enrolled nearly 36,000 students and conferred nearly 2,000 degrees for our December commencement. In 2024, we also welcomed new degrees and programs, such as the Bachelor of Science in Statistics and Data Science and the undergraduate certificate in Arts Emergency Management.

You also served our communities through excellence in research — from using innovative gaming to address opioid misuse among teenagers with the support of a $1.9 million grant from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, to helping improve health outcomes by addressing food insecurity through the Food as Health Alliance.

You helped heal our community members and earned UK Chandler Hospital recognition as the No. 1 hospital in the state by U.S. News & World Report for the ninth year in a row, as well as a top oncology ranking from Becker’s Hospital Review for Markey Cancer Center. Your groundbreaking work for our patients helps pave the way for even greater breakthroughs in healing and care. 

In the last year, we have grown and accomplished even more. You represent a world-class faculty body driving discoveries to improve the lives of countless individuals and communities around the world.

The momentum of your successes in 2024 carries us into the new spring semester, and I know you will continue inspiring your colleagues, students and communities to do even more in 2025.

Thank you for inspiring us all to do more and be more for Kentucky.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

I hope that you have had a wonderful and rejuvenating winter break — time that can help us recharge for the semester ahead. While we prepare for the start of classes, here are some reminders and updates to help you. 

Earlier this week, you received an email from the Academic Ombud regarding the Spring 2025 Academic Reminders. These reminders are important information to review as you prepare for your first classes of the spring semester next week, as they contain details pertaining to course syllabi, attendance, academic integrityand other topics. Please ensure that you review these reminders and share them with any colleagues who teach.

The Office of the Provost is committed to supporting our incredible community of instructors at UK, and a major component of that commitment is ensuring you have the resources necessary to guide our students. The new Instructor Resources webpage contains important information for all instructors, including the updated syllabus guidance. 

Please contact the Office of the Provost or the Office of the Academic Ombud if you encounter any questions.

I am profoundly grateful for all the hard work and time you devoted to our university and our students leading up to and during the fall semester. And I am confident that, together, we will make this spring semester equally successful.

Thank you for continuing to make UK an amazing community for learning and discovery. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

Our December commencement ceremonies will be held tomorrow in Rupp Arena, marking an important milestone in many of our students’ lives. Commencement signifies the end of this academic journey, the culmination of countless hours of hard work and dedication.

I have always enjoyed watching our students mark this milestone with their friends, family and other members of their support systems. You can find more details about attending tomorrow’s ceremonies here. 

It also is a testament to the hard work and dedication that you, our faculty, have put into each one of your students. It is your encouragement, insight and mentorship that inspire your students to reach beyond what they once believed possible and achieve their dreams.

They will go on to change the world through their creative genius, their skillful artistry — abilities you helped them discover and develop here at UK. 

You have guided your students to this precipice, and now it is time to watch them soar. 

I am incredibly proud of our students, and I am equally proud of the care and commitment you demonstrate for them.

On behalf of the University of Kentucky, thank you for helping create this moment and this memory for our students. I hope you find time over this winter break to rest so that we can approach the spring refreshed and reinvigorated.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues,

I am pleased to announce the reappointment of Dr. Danelle Stevens-Watkins as the acting dean of the College of Education, effective Jan. 1, 2025. She will serve in this role for either one year or until the new dean begins.

Dr. Stevens-Watkins has helped lead the College of Education through various milestones in the last year, such as the college’s 100th anniversary. The College of Education has launched new programs and certificates, including a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sport Leadership and an undergraduate certificate in Esport Athlete Performance and Management. 

Serving as acting dean of the College of Education since January 2023, Dr. Stevens-Watkins is also an accomplished researcher and educator in the Department of Educational, School and Counseling Psychology. Under her leadership, the college has seen continued growth and development as an outstanding innovator in teaching and learning through scholarship and practical application of research.

The search for the new dean of the College of Education is ongoing and proceeding as scheduled. The goal is to have a new dean starting by July 1, 2025, and I want to thank the search advisory committee for their hard work and dedication. 

I also want to thank Dr. Stevens-Watkins for her continued leadership during this era of expansion for the College of Education. I am eager to see what milestones the college achieves next. 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Dear Colleagues, 

As we wind down the semester and enter a new holiday season, I want to express my deepest gratitude for all you have done and continue to do for our students, for our university and for each other.   

This year has undoubtedly been marked with challenges we have had to face — challenges we faced as a united front. We came together to chart a new path forward.  

For example, you helped convene the Consortium for Understanding and Reducing Infectious Diseases in Kentucky (CURE-KY) to help our state address urgent health issues. This transdisciplinary effort is marked by collaborations from clinicians, epidemiologists, behavioral researchers and basic scientists — working as one to effect change in our communities and their health.  

If our goal is to advance Kentucky in all that we do, we must help prepare the next generation to continue that mission. Educating our students happens in your classrooms, your research spaces and your studios. It takes place during your office hours, review sessions and in tutoring centers.  

But guiding them to realize their full potential — that is an effort each one of you put forth every day in concert with your colleagues, peers and partners across UK. 

I see that effort in the partnerships you create with each other. I see it in the ways you mentor and guide your students. I see it in the care and dedication you devote to your patients.   

I see each of you, and I am profoundly grateful for all you have done and continue to do — together.   

If there is one thing I have come to realize in my career working with faculty, staff and students, it’s that our impact is magnified when we work together to reach a shared goal. 

This year, you came together to build new bridges and connections. Next year, I hope we reach even greater heights — united in our mission to advance Kentucky. 

I want to extend my deepest thanks to you for inspiring each other — and me — to be our best selves.  

I hope you have a wonderful holiday season. 

Warmest regards, 

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D.  
Provost  

Dear Colleagues,

Throughout the year, I have been honored and privileged to speak at events in your areas and colleges. These have ranged from ceremonies honoring your graduating students to orientations welcoming new faculty to the university. 

The highlight of all these events, though, is always the people — you.

One of the greatest strengths of UK is that we are a community made of many people who each have their own perspectives. I see that in every interaction I have with our faculty, staff and students.

We come together at different points in our respective paths. But despite the differences in our journeys, we have each arrived here, at UK, to create change, advance our communities and make an impact on Kentucky. 

The greatest reward of any role is making a positive impact, knowing you have contributed to the betterment of your community. 

My work — of supporting you — is even more meaningful because of the work that you do. I witness the blazing of new paths and the unraveling of mysteries at UK every day. 

As a community, we learn from each other and share our varied experiences — and we are stronger for it. 

That is what makes UK such a powerful place. And you are what makes my role worthwhile. 

Thank you for everything you have done — and continue to do — on behalf of our university and our state.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost

Campus Community,

We are very pleased to announce that Laura Stephenson has agreed to assume the critical leadership positions of vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Martin-Gatton CAFE).

Dean Stephenson will assume her new duties in mid-January. Currently, she serves as associate vice president for land-grant engagement and associate dean and director of extension. 

Dean Stephenson succeeds Nancy Cox, who, as so many of you know, has served as dean for more than a decade and as UK’s inaugural vice president for land-grant engagement. This leadership position is a recognition of our aspiration to embed our founding mission into every aspect of what we do.

Stephenson knows Kentucky well and has deep roots in our state and the college through her decades of work and leadership in Cooperative Extension. She has served in extension at both UK and the University of Tennessee. 

She has also served as a department chair, is the co-author of many journal articles and publications and is a leader on millions of dollars in grant awards around issues such as workforce training, nutrition, community building and health. At UK, she led a substantial reorganization of Cooperative Extension to ensure more efficient delivery of services and communication.

She is recognized and admired across the state, region and country for her leadership role in extension and agriculture.

Her appointments come at an inflection point for our university. Our Board of Trustees has directed us to focus even more intently on how we can advance the overall health of our state, working with partners and communities across Kentucky. 

Extension already plays a critical role in these efforts. That role will only expand and deepen under this initiative — what we are calling the Advancing Kentucky Together Network. Dean Stephenson is particularly well-positioned to help lead and support these efforts.

We also want to thank Dean Cox for her decades of service and leadership in agriculture and at the University of Kentucky. She is deeply admired across Kentucky — in agricultural circles, legislative hearing rooms and anywhere there is an understanding of the vital roles farming and agribusiness play in the life and health of our Commonwealth.

We know you join us in congratulating her as she assumes these new critical leadership capacities at UK.

Her appointment underscores the deep base of talent, expertise and commitment that exists on our campus. We are grateful to serve at a place where so many can do so much to advance the state that we all serve.

Eli Capilouto, President 
Robert DiPaola, Provost

Dear Colleagues,

Entering the holiday season and winter months is a different experience for all of us in so many ways, filled with different emotions.

One emotion I want to reflect on is gratitude, especially for all you do here, day in and day out. November comes quicker than anticipated after the early rush of the beginning of the academic year — while it is no less busy, I want to pause and reflect on what makes me thankful to work at UK. 

I am grateful for you, my colleagues — for showing up every day, dedicated to helping our students, caring for our patients and advancing our state. Throughout this semester, I have continually seen firsthand how committed our faculty, staff and students are to the mission and purpose of UK. 

I have seen your excellence in research and scholarship help build stronger communities in our state. 

I have seen how you prepare students to give back and impact other people’s lives.

I have seen how you use the arts to inspire passions and tell important stories. 

And I have seen how you care for our patients in need.

I am thankful that you continue to use your voices and your impact to help grow UK and its people. Our community of faculty, staff and students is central to our mission to advance Kentucky through teaching, research, service and care. 

As we begin to enter the holiday season, I hope we can take time to pause and reflect on the positive impact we have had on our students, our patients, our communities, our university — and on ourselves. While UK continues to build momentum in advancing Kentucky, the progress and change we make as individuals is no less exciting, no less worthy of celebration.

Thank you for continuing to make UK a great place to work — and thank you for building a community that uplifts one another.

Robert S. DiPaola, M.D. 
Provost