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LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2022) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto on Friday said that record enrollment and historic graduation rates are essential components to UK’s mission to advance the Commonwealth.

The preliminary fall enrollment and graduation rates were announced during a meeting Friday of UK’s Board of Trustees.

“The future of our state — and the role we must play in advancing Kentucky — is understood most clearly in the students we prepare, not simply for jobs and careers, but for lives of meaning and purpose,” Capilouto said. “We expect the students we are educating today to be those who will create and lead a Kentucky that is healthier, wealthier and wiser tomorrow.”

Details of the preliminary enrollment report include:

• First-year preliminary fall enrollment numbers show 6,120 first-year students —** a record number**, nearly 800 more than the previous high in 2019. Similarly, overall preliminary enrollment is also a record high of nearly 33,000 students, up nearly 5% over last year.
• UK’s six-year graduation rate is now at nearly 69% —__ a record —__** and more than 10%** points higher than it was a decade ago. Four-year-and-five-year graduation rates are also at record levels. In fact, the four-year graduation rate — 55% — is 23 percentage points higher than it was in 2010.
• In 2020, less than 18% of public institutions that primarily grant bachelor’s degrees or higher had six-year graduation rates of 70% or more. “We are growing, and growing at a rate and pace, to meet the needs of the state, providing an outstanding education to Kentuckians right here in the Commonwealth,” Capilouto said.
• UK also continues to make significant strides in having a diverse and inclusive student body. Overall, preliminary enrollment for underrepresented minority students (URM —** the state’s term for students of color) is up 7%** from the previous year; students of color now represent more than 16% of the student body. First-year preliminary URM numbers are up nearly 24% over the previous year and represent 18% of the freshman class this fall.
• Almost 25% of UK’s first-year class are first-generation students, consistent with the overall student population and with numbers over the last several years.
• Finally, the number of degrees conferred by the university reached nearly 7,600 in 2021-2022 — an increase of more than 1,700 over the last 10 years and the first time UK has crossed 7,500 degrees granted. “We want, and expect, that number to continue to grow,” Capilouto said.

“What you are seeing is a testament to a community that cares; a community that is committed to students in everything that we do,” Capilouto said. “That is how we can advance Kentucky. When we help students succeed, we are laying the foundation for a more successful Commonwealth — now and far into the future.”

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion four years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" three years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for five straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 26, 2022) **— **The University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital at UK HealthCare earned the ranking of the No. 1 hospital in Kentucky and recognized in the Bluegrass Region by the 2022-23 Best Hospitals rankings and ratings from U.S. News & World Report, tied with St. Elizabeth Healthcare. This marks the seventh consecutive year UK HealthCare has received the Best Hospital ranking.

“This ranking recognizes the incredible work and dedication of our physicians, nurses and health care providers who spend every day caring for patients from across the state,” said Mark F. Newman, M.D., UK executive vice president for health affairs. “In 1962, UK’s Albert B. Chandler Medical Center first opened its doors with the goal of improving access to high-quality health care for Kentucky. Sixty years later, we continue to uphold that promise to the Commonwealth, offering world-class advanced subspecialty care for the most complex health problems for all Kentuckians.”

Additionally, the UK Markey Cancer Center moved up to No. 33 in its U.S. News Top 50 national ranking for cancer care, tied with the University of Utah Huntsman Cancer Institute. This makes the sixth consecutive year Markey has been ranked in the U.S. News Top 50. Markey has been a National Cancer Institute-designated cancer center since 2013, the only one in Kentucky and one of just 71 in the country.

“In Kentucky, we have the highest rates of cancer in the country, and this issue is especially pronounced in Eastern Kentucky and Appalachia,” said Mark Evers, M.D., director of the UK Markey Cancer Center. “Nowhere in the country is it more important for people to have access to complex and compassionate cancer care. This ranking is a testament to the hard work of Markey’s health care providers and staff, who are committed to ensuring that no patient has to travel outside the state for the care they need.”

UK HealthCare was also ranked as high-performing in two U.S. News adult specialties: Gastroenterology & GI Surgery and Geriatrics. Ten common adult procedures and conditions also received a high-performing designation: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), Colon Cancer Surgery, Heart Attack, Heart Bypass Surgery, Heart Failure, Kidney Failure, Lung Cancer Surgery, Ovarian Cancer Surgery, Pneumonia and Stroke.

The annual Best Hospitals rankings and ratings, now in their 33rd year, are designed to assist patients and their doctors in making informed decisions about where to receive care for challenging health conditions or for common elective procedures.

For the 2022-23 rankings and ratings, U.S. News evaluated more than 4,500 hospitals across 15 specialties and 20 procedures and conditions. For the first time, U.S. News rated eligible hospitals in Ovarian Cancer Surgery, Prostate Cancer Surgery and Uterine Cancer Surgery. In the 15 specialties, 164 hospitals were ranked in at least one specialty. State and metro area rankings reflect the highest performing hospitals in the area across multiple areas of care.

U.S. News evaluated each hospital’s performance using a variety of measures such as survival rates, complication rates, patient experience and level of nursing care. The Best Hospitals methodology factors in data from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, American Hospital Association, professional organizations and medical specialists.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion four years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" three years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for five straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.

**LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 17, 2022) – **Reflecting the growing health care needs and population trends of the community, this morning UK HealthCare announced plans to enter a purchase agreement to initially acquire about 27 acres of property for approximately $20.3 million in the Hamburg development along I-75. The purchase agreement includes a right of first refusal on additional acres of land and is subject to University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approval this afternoon.

The property is anticipated to be a future home for a medical campus that could include a regional hospital facility, a medical office building and/or other clinical facilities.

The Hamburg area of Lexington-Fayette County is a fast-growing area of the Bluegrass region. As part of its 2025 strategic plan, UK HealthCare is focusing on not only providing more health care access to Kentuckians, but ensuring that this access is more conveniently located for patients.

“In 1962, UK’s Albert B. Chandler Medical Center first opened its doors, beginning a new era of health care in Kentucky,” said Mark F. Newman, UK executive vice president for health affairs. “As we celebrate our 60th anniversary by honoring those who came before us, we are also looking to the future. We recognize the need to make health care more geographically accessible for our patients in Lexington as well as across central and eastern Kentucky. Not only will this location be more convenient for many of our patients, it will support our continued growth in outpatient services and create more capacity for essential clinical programs.”

The proposed community medical campus will provide acute care services to complement UK HealthCare’s main medical center facilities, UK Chandler Hospital and UK Kentucky Clinic.

UK HealthCare currently offers outpatient services at several other medical facilities across Lexington, including Kentucky Children’s Hospital’s pediatric clinics, the Good Samaritan Professional Arts Center, UK HealthCare-Turfland, the Lexington Surgery Center, Kentucky Clinic South, Polk-Dalton Clinic, the UK HealthCare offices at Fountain Court, and Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital.

Last December, UK HealthCare also announced plans for a new cancer center/ambulatory facility across South Limestone from UK Chandler Hospital – the future home for the UK Markey Cancer Center.

“Our mission is to advance Kentucky in everything that we do. A healthier state, one where more people have greater access to the quality of care we provide, is a critical part of that mission,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “This purchase and potential development is another critical step to ensure we have the capacity to treat more patients in our community and region as we continue to focus on transforming Kentucky into a state that is healthier, wealthier and wiser.”

UK will complete property due diligence and planning activities in accordance with the development agreement. Following a successful due diligence period and with additional approval from the UK Board of Trustees and Kentucky’s Secretary of Finance and Administration, UK will complete purchase of the property.

Newman said at the time of the final purchase, trustees will be briefed on more details of plans for the medical campus when UK HealthCare presents a master facility plan, which will focus on creating new access sites across the Bluegrass and in underserved areas of Fayette County. 

“We want to treat patients where they are – as close to home as possible with the best of care as possible,” Newman said. “That’s what people in the community and region expect from UK HealthCare, whether at our centrally located hospitals and clinics or in the clinics and hospitals we partner with throughout Fayette County and the Commonwealth. That’s the goal of this initiative as well – to create greater access, closer to home, for more people in the area to the best possible primary and specialty care.”