List of presidents of the University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky is a public research university in Lexington, Kentucky. It was founded by John Bryan Bowman in 1865 as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky (A&M), a publicly charted department of Kentucky University (now called Transylvania University), under the Morrill Land-Grant Colleges Act.[1] James Kennedy Patterson, a professor at Kentucky University, became the first president of A&M in 1869.[1] Nine years later, amid concerns about a private religious university receiving public land-grant funding, A&M split from Kentucky University and moved to its present campus in downtown Lexington.[2][1] The institution was renamed State University, Lexington, Kentucky, upon reaching university status in 1908, and eight years later, was again renamed the University of Kentucky. Today, the university is the state's largest and its flagship.[1]

The Main Building in the foreground and the Patterson Office Tower in the background.

The office of the president is housed in the Main Building.[3] Finished in 1882, the Main Building was one of the original three State College buildings.[4] Patterson personally financed the construction of all three.[4] Maxwell Place, an Italianate villa located off Rose Street in the heart of campus, serves as the residence of the president.[5] It was originally constructed for James Hillary Mulligan and his wife Mary in 1872, and was acquired by the university in 1917 after Mulligan's death.[5][6] Frank L. McVey was the first president to reside at Maxwell Place.[5]

The president is the chief executive officer of the university.[7] The president is appointed by the Board of Trustee and can only be removed "for incompetence, neglect of or refusal to perform duties, or for immoral conduct," and then only after notice and hearing.[8][9] The president is the chair of the University Senate and an ex officio member of the Staff Senate.[7] While the Board has delegated most administrative power to the President, it retains the right to approve certain major decisions, including the annual budget and establishing academic councils.[7] In the event of a vacancy, the provost serves as president until the Board appoints an interim or new president.[7]

Twelve men have served as president of the University of Kentucky.[10] Of those, five were graduates of the university or its predecessor institutions, and another attended without graduating.[11] A. D. Kirwan served only in an interim capacity, but was retroactively named the seventh president by the Board of Trustees.[12] The twelfth and current president, Eli Capilouto, assumed the office in 2011.[13]

Presidents
James Kennedy Patterson
# Name Term begin Term end Notes References
1 James Kennedy Patterson 1869 1910 [14]
2 Henry Stites Barker 1911 1917 Attended A&M (1869–1872; did not graduate) [15]
3 Frank L. McVey 1917 1940 [16]
4 Herman Lee Donovan 1941 1956 Graduate of State University (BA 1914) [17]
5 Frank G. Dickey 1956 1963 Graduate of the University of Kentucky (MA 1942, EdD 1947) [18]
6 John W. Oswald 1963 1968 [19]
7 A. D. Kirwan 1968 1969 Graduate of the University of Kentucky (BA 1926). Only served as interim, but retroactively named the seventh President by the Board of Trustees [12]
8 Otis A. Singletary 1969 1987 [20]
9 David Roselle 1987 1989 [21]
10 Charles T. Wethington Jr. 1990 2001 Graduate of the University of Kentucky (MA 1962, PhD 1966). [22]
11 Lee T. Todd Jr. 2001 2011 Graduate of the University of Kentucky (BS 1968) [23]
12 Eli Capilouto 2011 present [13]

References
  1. "UK Chronology". University of Kentucky Special Collections Library. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  2. "Our Affiliation with the Disciples of Christ". About Transylvania. Transylvania University. Retrieved 15 March 2015.
  3. "Office of the President". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  4. "History". UK 150. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 27 October 2019.
  5. Bryant, John; Fuller Jr., Paul (1992). Maxwell Place (PDF). University of Kentucky Publishing Services. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  6. "Maxwell Place completed". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 26 October 2019.
  7. "Governing Regulation, Part III: The President of the University of Kentucky" (PDF). Office of Legal Counsel. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  8. KRS 164.220
  9. KRS 164.230
  10. "Past Presidents". Office of the President. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 21 January 2020.
  11. The five graduates were Herman Lee Donovan, Frank G. Dickey, A. D. Kirwan, Charles T. Wethington Jr., and Lee T. Todd Jr.. The attendee was Henry Stites Barker. See their individual biographies, linked in the table above.
  12. "A. D. Kirwan". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  13. "Short Bio". Office of the President. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  14. "James K. Patterson". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
  15. "Henry S. Barker". UK Librariess. University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  16. "Frank L. McVey". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  17. "Herman L. Donovan". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  18. "Frank G. Dickey". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  19. "John W. Oswald". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  20. "Otis A. Singletary". Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  21. "David P. Roselle". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  22. "Charles T. Wethington, Jr". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
  23. "Lee T. Todd, Jr". University of Kentucky. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
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