Spring 2026 Kentucky Alumni Magazine

Pediatric Health Care Receives

Transformational Gift

ON THE COVER

Dr. Scottie Day ‘96 CC, ‘98 AS, ‘02 MED talks with children who have received care from Golisano Children’s at UK, one of the nation’s fastest-growing children’s hospitals.

Photo by Tim Webb

The UK Alumni Association recognizes the 2026 Great Teachers. 14

RaShaun West is a part of the place that saved his life.

20

College of Fine Arts reacts with tears of joy to new proposed Arts District.

26

A $50 million gift will transform pediatric health care in Kentucky. 46

From the UK baseball diamond to the latest baseball trend.

Happy 161st birthday to UK!

THE 2026 GREAT TEACHERS

Six University of Kentucky faculty were recognized as 2026 Great Teacher Award recipients on the floor of Rupp Arena Feb. 17. The University of Kentucky Alumni Association began recognizing teaching excellence with the award in 1961. From left to right are Paul Priyesh, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; Robin Cooper, College of Arts and Sciences; Mark Prendergast, College of Arts and Sciences; Patrick Lee Lucas, College of Design; Zach Agioutantis, Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering; ToniMarie Marchioni, College of Fine Arts with Thomas K. Mathews, president of the UK Alumni Association and Chad D. Polk, chair of the awards committee, UK Alumni Association.

From the President

The University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth — to improve lives through education, discovery, creativity and care. It’s a promise we have upheld with deep fidelity for more than 160 years, and it shows up every day in the people we serve, the ideas we pursue and the ways we invest in Kentucky’s future.

You’ll see that spirit reflected throughout this issue of Kentucky Alumni magazine. It is present in the extraordinary generosity that is expanding care for our Commonwealth’s children and families. It appears in the journeys of alumni whose paths — from medicine to athletics — remind us that a UK education equips people not only for success, but for impact. And it’s visible in the creativity and vision shaping the next chapter of our campus, including new spaces that will elevate the arts as a vital part of our university and our state.

Advancing Kentucky means investing in people at every stage of life — supporting students as they discover their purpose, faculty and staff as they push boundaries of knowledge and service, and alumni as they strengthen communities across the Commonwealth and far beyond. It means recognizing that health, education and creativity are deeply connected, and that progress depends on bringing them together in thoughtful, meaningful ways.

We also remain grounded in gratitude and responsibility. In celebrating great teachers and honoring the university’s founders, we recognize that today’s momentum is built on decades of commitment, leadership and care. Our task is to steward that legacy while preparing the university — and the state we serve — for what comes next.

As you read the stories captured in this magazine, I hope you feel the energy of your university moving forward with purpose, partnership and confidence. No matter where you are, you remain part of this mission.

Together, we continue to advance Kentucky — and the lives of the people who call it home.

Sincerely,

Eli Capilouto President

While he couldn’t be there in person, President Eli Capilouto still shared in the celebration. Appearing on the Rupp Arena jumbotron as December graduates prepared to cross the stage, Capilouto introduced the newest member of his family — his first grandchild — whom he was welcoming at the same time. A milestone moment for UK’s Class of December and for the Capilouto family, too.

CREDITS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jill Holloway Smith ‘05 BE, ‘11 AFE: Associate Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Executive Director of the UK Alumni Association

EDITORS

Meredith Weber: Director of Marketing and Communications

Sally Scherer: Managing Editor

DESIGNER

Whitney Stamper: Graphic Designer, Alumni

CONTACT US

King Alumni House

400 Rose St. Lexington, KY 40506

859-257-8905

800-269-ALUM

Fax: 859-323-1063

Email: ukalumni@uky.edu

Web: www.ukalumni.net

ukalumni

@kentuckyalumni

@kentucky_alumni

ukalumni.net/linkedin

@kentuckyalumni

Kentucky Alumni (ISSN 732-6297) is published quarterly by the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, Lexington, Kentucky, for its members.

© 2026 University of Kentucky Alumni Association, except where noted. Views and opinions expressed in Kentucky Alumni do not necessarily represent the opinions of its editors, the UK Alumni Association nor the University of Kentucky.

Wondering why you received Kentucky Alumni magazine?

All current Life and Active Members of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association automatically receive the Kentucky Alumni magazine quarterly. All who give $75 or more ($25 for recent graduates) to any UK fund, including UK Athletics/K Fund and DanceBlue, are recognized as Active Members regardless of alumni status.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LEADERSHIP ADVISORY COUNCIL

Officers

Thomas K. Mathews ‘93 AS: President

Kelly Sullivan Holland ’93 AS, ’98 ED: Presidentelect

Quentin R. Tyler ’02 ’05 AFE, ’11 AS: Treasurer

Jill Holloway Smith ’05 BE, ’11 AFE: Secretary

In-State Representatives

Michelle Bishop Allen ’06 ’10 BE

Christopher J. Crumrine ‘08 CI, ‘10 GS, ‘23 AS

Donna G. Dutton ‘87 BE

Emmanuel Dhemby Moussabou ‘24 HS

James F. Gilles, III ’10 AFE

Lee Jackson ’73 AS

Frank Kendrick ’90 ’92 DE

Scott Mason ‘94 AS, ’03 LAW

Maegan McDowell Mansfield ‘11 ‘13 EN

Michelle McDonald ‘84 AFE, ‘92 ED

Jennifer A. Parks ‘81 AS

Michaela R. Sheppard ‘19 HS, ‘23 LAW, ‘23 PH

Robin Simpson Smith ‘79 BE, ‘82 LAW

Sarah W. Smith ’05 CI

Anthony Thornton ’05 BE

Rachel Watts Webb ‘05 CI

Blake Broadbent Willoughby ‘11 ‘12 ‘12 BE

Out-of-State Representatives

Shane T. Carlin ‘95 AFE

Shiela D. Corley ‘94 AS, ‘95 AFE

Michael L. Hawks ’80 AS, ’85 DE

Anthony G. Hester ‘86 EN

Vincent M. Holloway ‘83 EN

Mark A. Ison ’99 FA

Susan L. Liszeski ‘84 AFE

Beatty London ’00 BE

Carlos Phillips ‘90 CI

Chad D. Polk ‘94 DES

Ronald Sampson ‘83 EN

Nicole M. Segneri ’91 CI

Tanner W. Thompson ‘23 BE

Winn F. Williams ‘71 AS

Dominique Renee Wright ‘08 EN

Stephanie D. Wurth ‘05 CI

Alumni Trustees

Brenda B. Gosney ‘70 HS, ‘75 ED

Hannah M. Myers ‘93 ED

Paula L. Pope ‘73 ‘75 ED

Living Past Presidents

Richard A. Bean ’69 BE

Michael A. Burleson ’74 PHA

Bruce K. Davis ‘71 LAW

Scott E. Davis ‘73 BE

Robert “Rob” L. Crady III ’94 BE Marianne Smith Edge ’77 AFE

Franklin H. Farris Jr. ’72 BE

William G. Francis ’68 AS, ’73 LAW

Dan Gipson ’69 EN

Brenda B. Gosney ’70 HS, ’75 ED

Cammie DeShields Grant ’77 LCC, ’79 ED

John R. Guthrie ’63 CI

Antoine Huffman ’05 CI

Diane M. Massie ’79 CI

Janie McKenzie-Wells ’83 AS, ’86 LAW

Robert E. Miller

Susan V. Mustian ’84 BE

Hannah M. Myers ’93 ED

John C. Nichols II ’53 BE

Sandra Bugie Patterson ’68 AS

Taunya Phillips ’87 EN, ’04 BE

Robert F. Pickard ’57 ’61 EN

Paula L. Pope ’73 ’75 ED

David B. Ratterman ’68 EN

G. David Ravencraft ’59 BE

William Schuetze ’72 LAW

Mary L. Shelman ’81 EN

David L. Shelton ’66 BE

J. Fritz Skeen ’72 ’73 BE

J. Tim Skinner ’80 DES

Hank B. Thompson Jr. ’71 CI

Elaine A. Wilson ‘68 ‘23 SW

Leadership Advisory Council

In-State Representatives

Jacob Broderick ’05 BE

John S. Cain ‘86 BE

Kevin L. Collins ’84 EN

Emily C. Henderson ’01 PHA

LuAnn Holmes ‘79 DES

Shelia Key ’91 PHA

Julia Little ‘19 ED

Jason Marcus ‘ 24 AS

Kent Mills ’83 BE

Tonya B. Parsons ’91 AS

Jonell Tobin ‘69 ‘70 ‘95 ED

Kendra Wadsworth ’06 ED

Lori E. Wells ’96 BE

Allen O. Wilson ’03 AFE, ’06 LAW

Out-of-State Representatives

Nicole Blackwelder ’86 AS, ‘87 PHA

R. Michael Gray ‘80 ‘81 BE

James F. Hardymon Jr. ‘87 BE

Erin Carr Logan ’06 BE

Michael McNeely ’98 AS, ’03 PH

Peter T. Shattuck ‘86 ED

College Representatives

Will Nash ‘06 AS: College of Arts & Sciences

Jeffrey L. Ashley ’89 CI: College of Communication and Information

Dr. J. Clifford Lowdenback ’99 AS, ’03 DE: College of Dentistry

Regina Summers ‘94 DES: College of Design

Cathy Crum Bell ’76 ED: College Education

Joel W. Lovan ’77 FA: College of Fine Arts

Deana Paradis ‘03 ‘03 BE: Gatton College of Business and Economics

Kathy Panther ‘76 HS: College of Health Sciences

La Tasha A. Buckner ‘97 AS, ‘00 LAW: Lewis Honors College

Michaela Mineer Steverson ‘18 CI, ‘18 AFE, ‘21 GS: Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Dr. Debra J. Sowell ’82 MED: College of Medicine

Tukea L. Talbert ‘89 ‘94 ‘06 NUR: College of Nursing

Dr. Joseph R. Mashni ‘91 ‘92 PHA: College of Pharmacy

Amna Al-Jumaily ‘19 EN: Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering

Emily Clear ‘06 ED, ‘09 ‘13 PH: College of Public Health

Shaye Page Johnson ‘02 AS, ‘05 LAW: J. David Rosenberg College of Law

Cheryl Talbert ‘95 ‘00 ‘23 SW: College of Social Work

Constituency Group Representatives

James R. Aaron ’04 CI: PrideCats

Lillian Bland ‘83 CC: Lyman T. Johnson Alumni Constituency Group

Caroline Sumner ‘24 AS; DanceBlue

Katie Caccavari ’87, ’90 ED: Alumni Band

Natalee Feese ’89 ’92 ED: Alumni Band

Appointed

Jackson Baird: Student Government Association

Dr. Michael A. Christian ’76 AS, ’80 DE: Honorary

Jo Hern Curris ’63 AS, ’75 LAW: Honorary

Katie Eiserman ’01 ED: Athletics

Thomas W. Harris ‘82 AS: Honorary

Stan R. Key ’72 ED: Honorary

Jake Lemon: Office of Philanthropy

D. Michael Richey ’74 ’79 AFE: Honorary

Marian Moore Sims ’72 ’76 ED: Honorary

Pride in Blue

In my last letter, I shared how larger-than-ever incoming first-year classes are resulting in more graduates each December and May. As a result, our global alumni community is rapidly expanding and we couldn’t be more thrilled.

At the UK Alumni Association, we constantly strive to create a stronger community for Wildcats of all ages. I’d like to share with you some of the ways we’re welcoming the newest members of our alumni family and helping them start their career paths with not only our encouragement, but with underlying support.

One of those efforts is the Alumni Ambassadors program. This group of remarkable undergraduates serves as the official student hosts of the University of Kentucky. During a recent visit to Lexington, I had the opportunity to meet the current class through a speednetworking event designed to facilitate relationships with members of our Board of Directors and Leadership Advisory Council. I can’t say enough about how bright, energetic and enthusiastic these students are. They are composed, articulate and deeply engaged — many of them native Kentuckians representing all regions of our Commonwealth. They asked thoughtful questions and were eager to learn about potential career opportunities. I’m proud to say that several of our previous Alumni Ambassadors have found their way back to greater involvement with the association through local clubs and at the national level. That’s very gratifying.

Another one of our key efforts is expanding Wildcat Network, an online platform designed as a resource for professional networking. It’s a wonderful place to find other alumni by geographical area or identify those who work in a particular industry. Whether you’re seeking your first job — or your 10th! — or perhaps you are an employer looking for a qualified UK alum to join your team, the Wildcat Network embodies the spirit of “Wildcats helping Wildcats,” something we proudly encourage and celebrate.

We’ve also expended significant effort in improving our social media presence, one of the primary ways we all stay connected. We’re engaging alumni and friends online by sharing stories, celebrating milestones, unlocking memories and having a little bit of fun to keep Big Blue Nation connected to UK. As our strategic plan states, we thrive: “to create opportunities that connect alumni and friends, foster loyalty to the university and enhance the lifelong UK experience while preserving the university’s history.”

University of Kentucky Alumni Association President Thomas Mathews fully embraced the theme of “Good Chemistry” at our winter board meeting donning lab goggles and gloves to prove that when the right elements come together, great things happen.

Lastly, when I consider the concept of true strength — relative to real-world industrial applications — I’m reminded of one of my favorite elements on the periodic table: titanium. (Yes, everyone should have a favorite element.) What I find so compelling about this low-density, non-magnetic metal isn’t just its stunning tensile strength, but the fact that it’s incredibly light. Furthermore, research shows that titanium is extremely resistant to cracks, fatigue and corrosion. It’s a brilliant, useful material in every capacity.

I’m convinced that these are the same kinds of human qualities that we possess as UK alumni. We remain durable and resilient in all conditions, and undeniably strong through community.

Please join us as we continue our efforts to grow the next generation.

For Kentucky,

Thomas K. Mathews UK Alumni Association President

THE PHARMACIST WHO PUT RESCUE IN RESEARCH

Daniel Wermeling ’83 ’85 PHA saw a critical game in the late 1990s and early 2000s when he was a faculty member at the College of Pharmacy. Heroin and fentanyl began infiltrating the illicit drug market and overdose rates climbed. People were dying not because the overdose reversal drug naloxone didn’t work, but because it was out of reach.

“If you have someone collapsing in front of you, you do not have time to assemble a syringe,” Wermeling said. “You need something anyone can use.”

He decided naloxone needed to be needle-free, stable, easy to use and available fast. The result was AntiOp Inc., the startup he founded in 2009 to build a nasal spray version of naloxone.

In 2015, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the first prescription intranasal naloxone. In 2023, the first over-the-counter version was released.

Today, naloxone nasal spray is stocked next to epinephrine and insulin pens. It sits in glove compartments, dorm rooms and kitchen drawers.

“Naloxone used to be something an EMT carried,” Wermeling said. “Now it’s something you might find in your mother’s purse.”

The data bears this out. Americans filled more than 2.1 million naloxone prescriptions in 2023, not including over-the-counter purchases. Community programs have documented tens of thousands of overdose

one of the highest per capita in the country. Public health researchers estimate that many thousands more survived because naloxone was available.

Naloxone is a reprieve. A second chance. And in the opioid crisis, second chances are precious.

Kentucky pharmacists now lead harm reduction and public health efforts across the state. First-year pharmacy students learn about naloxone as part of their standard skill set.

All of it traces back to the basic impulse that guided Wermeling’s work. Start at the end and work your way back. What does someone with only seconds to spare need? A stable, single-use, needle-free product requiring no mixing or measurement. And what does a nation facing a drug overdose epidemic need? Providers empowered to deliver it without barriers. ■

UK OFFERS STATE’S FIRST BACHELOR’S DEGREE IN AI

The Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering has launched the Commonwealth’s first Bachelor of Science in AI. The undergraduate degree program, housed in the Department of Computer Science, will welcome its first class in fall 2026.

AI and machine learning specialists are projected to be the third fastest-growing occupation globally from 2025 to 2030.

“In order to not only meet the talent demand but develop experts who will advance science and mitigate unintended consequences, we knew we needed to provide a dedicated degree program in this area,” said Rudy Buchheit, Rebecca Burchett Liebert Dean of the Pigman College of Engineering.

The program is designed to prepare graduates with the technical skills, ethical grounding and real-world experience needed to use AI effectively and responsibly across a variety of industries. ■

TWO BUSINESSES JOIN ONEUK

Lockheed Martin and Turner Construction Co. are the newest partners in UK’s strategic collaboration program OneUK.

OneUK provides a long-term, coordinated and holistic engagement experience between the university and select businesses through a mutual commitment to broaden and deepen their collaboration with UK.

OneUK is part of the university’s Advancing Kentucky Together Network, a statewide framework that unites UK with partners across education, health care, business, government and community sectors. The network is committed to working with and alongside communities to improve conditions in all 120 Kentucky counties. ■

NIH AWARDS $11 MILLION FOR DIABETES PREVENTION RESEARCH

Researchers were awarded a Centers of Biomedical Research Excellence grant that will bolster diabetes prevention research.

The five-year, $11 million grant from the National Institute for General Medical Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health, will fund the UK Diabetes Prevention COBRE. With this grant, the UK-DPC will expand and modernize diabetes-focused infrastructure across campus and throughout the Commonwealth.

“At UK, our researchers are advancing the promise of innovative diabetes research to improve the lives of Kentuckians — they are, as always, turning discovery into hope,” said UK President Eli Capilouto.

Dr. Simon Fisher, director of the Barnstable Brown Diabetes Center and chief of the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism, said, “Ongoing research, clinical programs and outreach at the University of Kentucky have advanced our understanding and treatment of diabetes. This grant will allow us to expand that work and help build a healthier state now and in

CENTER FOR REAL ESTATE LAUNCHES

As student interest in real estate careers continues to grow, the Gatton College of Business and Economics has launched the new Center for Real Estate, an initiative designed to bring structure and real-world context to an increasingly popular field of study.

The Center serves as a hub for coursework, experiential learning, alumni engagement and industry partnerships, connecting pieces that previously existed across the college but lacked a unified framework. For students, that means clearer pathways, stronger preparation and more intentional exposure to the many careers that exist within real estate.

“Interest was clearly there, but the experience was fragmented,” said Shaun Sanders ’21 BE, director of the Center for Real Estate and finance lecturer at Gatton. “Students were taking courses, joining clubs, attending workshops, and connecting with alumni, but navigating it on their own. The Center brings those elements together into a more coherent, intentional experience.”

Real estate is an inherently applied field, and the Center reflects that reality. While academic rigor remains foundational, the Center places a strong emphasis on context, helping students understand how theory translates into professional decision-making. ■

NEW WEBSITE SHARES UNIVERSITY TRANSPARENCY

UK is introducing its UK PURPOSE plan to update UK’s campus and community based on five principles, most notably, transparency.

UK President Eli Capilouto said the new UK PURPOSE website will bring “together key information about the business operations of our institution in one accessible, easy-to navigate place.”

The website includes three years of travel records and costs from UK’s senior administrative members and will be updated on a quarterly basis.

“There have been more than 160 trips in that time period at a total cost of $292,000,” Capilouto wrote. “The bottom line is these trips have helped secure tens of millions of dollars in partnerships and donations that directly benefit our students and employees, millions more in investments in infrastructure, improvements across our campus and still others that offer the potential of improved access to learning and health care for people throughout Kentucky.”

According to the email, the mission of the Advancing Kentucky Together Network functions alongside UK’s Board of Trustees to provide partnerships and advancements for UK and Kentucky.

Updates regarding these partnerships and travel costs to maintain them will be updated on the UK PURPOSE website to provide transparency. ■

TRANSPLANT CENTER CELEBRATES ANOTHER RECORD YEAR OF TRANSPLANTS

The University of Kentucky Transplant Center performed 234 organ transplants in 2025, surpassing 2024’s record of 224 transplants. Nationally, the UK Transplant Center is in the top third of transplant centers based on volume.

Transplant teams performed 119 kidney transplants — 38 of which were from living donors — 80 liver transplants, 20 heart transplants, 14 lung transplants and one combination kidney/pancreas transplant. All organ groups saw an increase in procedures from 2024.

“What we’re seeing, year after year, is a transplant program that continues to grow, reflecting our dedication to helping our patients get a second chance at life,” said Dr. Roberto Gedaly, director of the UK Transplant Center. “We’re expanding our team, our capacity and our outreach to ensure that all Kentuckians have access to life-saving organ transplants.”

The liver transplant team performed a record 80 liver transplants, the most ever done at UK HealthCare and in Kentucky in one year. Since the program began in 1995, more than 1,300 people have received a lifesaving liver transplant.

Said Dr. Malay Shah, surgical director to the liver transplant program, “It’s not about just doing a record number of transplants. We’ve got to have good outcomes. Any transplant center can do bunch of liver transplants or kidney transplants, but at the end of the day, it’s about selecting a good organ that’s going to work well, and that the patient is going to do well.

And I think we’re doing a good job with that.” ■

ARBORETUM RECEIVES GLOBAL ACCREDITATION

The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky at the University of Kentucky, has been recognized for its achievements and dedication to horticulture and native plant conservation — receiving accreditation by the ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum.

ArbNet is an interactive, collaborative, international community of arboreta and the only global initiative to officially recognize arboreta based on a set of professional standards.

“ArbNet Accreditation highlights The Arboretum’s commitment to horticulture and conservation, and our commitment to serve the people and communities of Kentucky through our mission,” said Scott Smith, The Arboretum director at the Martin-Gatton

College of Agriculture, Food and Environment. “Accreditation is a significant step on our path to excellence and distinction at The Arboretum. It is worth noting that accreditation is not only about great botanical collections but is also based on excellence in community education and programming.”

The Arboretum began in 1991 as a joint effort between the University of Kentucky and the LexingtonFayette Urban County Government. In March 2000, The Arboretum was named the Official State Botanical Garden for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It welcomes more than 200,000 visitors annually. ■

WE ARE

THE BIG BLUE NATION.

From ICU Patient to Alumnus:

‘This

By Charla Hamilton

Wis Attainable’

hen RaShaun West ’26 CI stepped onto the commencement stage last December, he was carrying more than a diploma. He was carrying a story that weaves city streets and church pulpits, late nights in hospital beds and early mornings writing papers, the quiet work of recovery and the visible honor of serving as a voice of inspiration for his classmates.

As a patient

West was born in Cincinnati and spent the latter part of his childhood in Los Angeles. His early years were shaped by frequent moves and circumstances that could have easily set his life on a different trajectory. “No, I wasn’t a military kid,” he joked. “Just what some might’ve called a troubled youth.”

Raised primarily by his single mother, he relocated to L.A. as a teenager shortly after she developed breast cancer and finished high school while living with his godfather.

A chance meeting at a church convention in the early 2000s brought him to Lexington, Kentucky, where he met the woman who would become his wife. “Church brought me to Kentucky, and love made me stay,” he said. “And now I can’t imagine being anywhere else.”

Eight years ago, however, West’s life hit a hard and unexpected pause. He developed persistent, escalating pain after several car accidents. It was attributed to occipital neuralgia, a headache disorder that can cause sudden, sharp pain in the head and upper neck. An MRI later revealed a pituitary adenoma, a type of brain tumor. When a year of medication at a nearby hospital failed to shrink the tumor, he was referred to University of Kentucky HealthCare for surgery.

by

RaShaun West acknowledged the unwavering support of his wife, Jessica West '07 AS, and their children during his address at graduation.

He still remembers the relief of meeting Dr. Justin Fraser, associate professor of cerebrovascular, endovascular and skull base surgery in the UK College of Medicine.

“Dr. Fraser explained everything to me in a way I could understand,” West said. “I just instantly felt safe with him.”

Recovery was long and complicated. Three days after surgery, West lost partial vision, required an additional procedure to remove a blood clot and spent six days in the Intensive Care Unit. Radiation treatments followed because part of the tumor was too close to his carotid artery to be removed safely.

“It was a pretty long recovery process,” he said. “And I was completely disabled by it all. I was unable to work for six years.”

Through every setback, faith remained West’s anchor. The scriptures he returned to — Colossians 3:23 and Isaiah 26:3 — had been with him since childhood, but during his recovery, they became lifelines. “God has always been constant in my life,” he said. “He’s allowed me to take my story and share it with others, even the hard parts.”

West fondly remembers the people who helped him through that stage of life: nurses who treated him with unwavering kindness, a church acquaintance he bonded with during radiation and a wife who taped scripture to the hospital walls so he would always have something hopeful to look toward.

“My experience with UK was honestly amazing … all the nurses, doctors, everyone I met, they were just so nice,” he shared.

As an employee

When West was finally ready to return to work, a former colleague helped reconnect him to the university in a different way. What began as a simple request for résumé feedback quickly opened the door to something more. He joined UK Human Resources as an employment consultant, supporting the College of Medicine, and found himself doing work that combined his people skills with institutional purpose.

The West family portraits were taken at UK's Maxwell Place. Children left to right are Rashaun II, Jeneva and Jasmine.

“To go from being in a UK hospital bed to working at the College of Medicine, it’s humbling,” he said. “Now I get to be part of the place that helped save my life.”

Today, West serves as faculty recruitment manager, helping the college bring exceptional faculty to campus. He also facilitates chair searches, and when candidates visit campus, he is often the person they lean on. At times, the dean will ask for his insights during the search process. And West doesn’t take that responsibility lightly. He knows what bedside manner feels like from the other side, and it shapes what he looks for in clinician leaders: not just technical skills but the capacity to comfort, to teach and to steward patients’ trust.

As a student

Returning to school at nearly 40 years old required a different kind of resilience. West balanced full-time work, ministry responsibilities (he is a youth pastor), fatherhood and lingering health challenges, all while pursuing his Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the UK College of Communication and Information.

His dedication not only carried him through but propelled him to graduate magna cum laude, a testament to his discipline, perseverance and passion for excellence.

The degree represents years of early mornings, late nights and weekends traded for slow, steady progress — sacrifices he described with gratitude rather than regret. He hopes to use his communication degree to grow his career in higher education leadership, strengthen his ministry work and continue mentoring others who are navigating challenges of their own.

The title of his commencement speech centered on a simple refrain: “We made it.”

For West, that phrase captures the heart of his journey. He remembers writing summer papers on airplanes, his wife proofreading every essay, his children serving as photography models for a class project and even being tutored in statistics at the dining room table.

On commencement day, West offered a message that mirrored his own lived experience: success isn’t always loud. Sometimes it looks like showing up when it would be easier not to. Sometimes it looks like finishing something simply because you refused to give up on it.

“I want my kids to see that this is attainable,” he said. “Not just for me — for them.” ■

BUILT FOR WHERE YOU’RE HEADED

Gatton’s Part-Time MBA is designed for working professionals from all backgrounds and industries. Whether you’re in healthcare, engineering, government or business, our program helps you build the leadership and strategic skills employers look for as roles expand and responsibilities grow.

Our students don’t step away from their careers — they add to them. Gatton’s Part-Time MBA signals advanced expertise to your employer, helping you move forward no matter where you start.

“It’s going to teach you new ways to lead, teach you new ways to think about the operations within an organization, and be another opportunity for you to say, ‘I have this experience and this knowledge that not everybody does, and it makes me a unique candidate.’”

-Griffin Nemeth

Part-Time

MBA student, Pharm.D. student

PART-TIME MBA:

The MBA That Fits Your Life

SCAN

At Long Last

Fine Arts dreams move closer to reality thanks to the late Bill Gatton’s $150 million gift

By Laney Harris

As drawings and renderings of envisioned buildings and landscapes line the walls of UK Fine Arts Dean Mark Shanda’s office, long-held dreams are steadily becoming reality.

On Dec. 2, 2025, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees accepted a $150 million gift from The Bill Gatton Foundation to construct a new arts district, including a new College of Fine Arts building and a several-hundred-seat theater. This gift is the single largest in UK’s history.

What

do the plans include?

The new arts district, set along South Broadway, will anchor an arts and innovation corridor adjacent to the Gray Design Building, near the School of Art and Visual Studies and within a short distance of Lexington’s cultural hot spots, including Gatton Park at Town Branch, Rupp Arena and the Distillery District.

The $150 million gift surpasses any previous donation in UK’s history and will fund:

• Relocation and construction of a new College of Fine Arts building

• A state-of-the-art performance theater with seating for several hundred, designed to host music, dance and theatrical productions

• A sculpture-lined pavilion and public greenspace that will stitch together blocks of campus and city streets, blurring boundaries between learning and livelihood

State leaders have lauded the gift as a catalyst for broad community impact.

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear emphasized the district’s potential to invigorate the state’s cultural economy, workforce and civic life. “Education and the arts fuel our economy and our workforce,” he said. “Investments like these are how we keep working to build a bright future for generations.”

Legislative approval is required before construction can begin, as UK must secure authorization to issue bonds. Discussions with state lawmakers were underway ahead of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly session. Construction planners are targeting completion around 2030. ■

Shanda knew the announcement of the amazing gift was near last December but had to keep the news from his faculty and staff until the official announcement.

It wasn’t easy.

“I wanted it to be a major announcement from the Office of the President, which was great,” Shanda said. “But we also were asked to get faculty and staff to attend the board meeting, and we had performers that sang ‘My Old Kentucky Home’ there in honor of Bill Gatton.”

“So how do you get performers there without telling them why they’re supposed to be there, right? So, I did have to break my silence a little bit and talk to Dr. McCorvey (Everett McCorvey, director of the UK Opera Theatre) to arrange singers," Shanda explained.

A video that featured UK President Eli Capilouto reflecting on Gatton’s life was shown at the meeting. Capilouto acknowledged that while Gatton was an accomplished businessman, the arts were what profoundly moved him. And then, Capilouto announced the gift to the College of Fine Arts.

“I’m telling you, I was just almost in tears when I saw the video,” said McCorvey.

“My Old Kentucky Home” is not only a staple in Kentucky, but it was also one of Gatton’s favorite songs. Given the song’s deep local roots and personal significance to Gatton, it was only fitting that the choir perform it.

“I told them (group of vocal students), there’s going to be a big announcement, your jaw is going to drop, and after your jaw drops, you still have to sing ‘My Old Kentucky Home,’” McCorvey said.

The silence as the video played was followed by audible gasps that filled the room when the announcement was made. Within seconds, phones were out, calls were made to colleagues and loved ones and cameras captured the reactions to preserve the historic moment.

Some faculty teared up. Others hugged the person next to them. The joyful reaction was a response to what this gift would mean for them, and the students they teach.

“It is a resounding message about the importance that the arts play in human development, creativity and quality of life,” said ToniMarie Marchioni, professor of oboe. “It is a day I will never forget, and I have never been more grateful or proud to be part of the UK and Lexington community,”

Melanie Turner, lecturer in the Department of Arts Administration as well as internship coordinator, agreed.

“The arts can sometimes be viewed as secondary to other disciplines, but this gift sends a clear message that creative fields are essential, impactful and worthy of major investment. It validates the work our students, staff and faculty have always known matters, work that shapes culture, community and the way people understand the world.”

The gift has the potential to shift what’s possible for the College of Fine Arts.

“Updated spaces and purpose-built facilities don’t just improve logistics, they expand imagination. When students have environments designed for creative work, they can take bigger risks, collaborate more deeply and produce work that reflects their full potential,” Turner added.

Shanda said the gift will serve as a shift in what is possible for faculty and students. He hopes that UK will see a boom in Fine Arts enrollment.

“Any college or university that has built a new arts facility has seen a significant enrollment increase. So that's very exciting,” Shanda said.

Faculty members describe the Fine Arts program at UK as a powerhouse, fueled by exceptional staff and even more extraordinary students. What would bring them even greater fulfillment, they say, is the ability to expand opportunities.

“When we audition people who are coming, we will hear from 200 or 300 students who want to come here. Of those, we’re able to take about 10% because we don’t have the space in the facilities or the staff. We could very easily up that number to taking 20% to 30% of those students, and even more, if we had the facilities and the faculty," McCorvey said.

The arts district will be more than buildings and performance halls. It will represent the value UK places on creativity’s role in education and society.

UK’s College of Fine Arts, nationally recognized for excellence in opera, theater, music, dance and visual arts, has long outgrown its current outdated facilities.

“We have to continue growing. We have to continue developing. This is a wonderful gift, but that does not mean that we stop doing all the things that we have been doing for the past 30 years. We have to continue to be aggressive, we have to continue to be competitive, we have to continue to go out and recruit the finest talent possible to bring back to our wonderful university," McCorvey said.

The new space will not only cultivate talent but draw students and audiences from across Kentucky and beyond.

“As a double alum who now works in the College of Fine Arts, I’ve seen firsthand how much our students, staff and faculty accomplish with limited space and aging facilities. Learning about this gift felt like someone finally saying, ‘We see you. We believe in what you do,’ It was overwhelming in the best possible way,” Turner said.

Several buildings on campus have been given facelifts in recent years, but most of the long-standing Fine Arts buildings remain untouched.

“We have had a significant arts presence, and when I came nine years ago, part of the reason I came was, and I've described it many times as an ‘embarrassment of riches’ when it came to the talent of the faculty and the students. But the facilities have been a real battle or challenge,” Shanda said, adding that the college is in multiple buildings across campus, one of which is nearly 80 years old.

As Lexington stands on the brink of its next cultural chapter, UK’s arts district is poised not merely to house performances and classrooms, but to forge a legacy, one where art, education and community gather under brighter lights.

“At long last. I think it’s been a long time coming, and what a great future,” Shanda added. ■

OH THE PLACES YOU WILL GO…

5 INCREDIBLE JOURNEYS STILL AHEAD IN 2026

NATIONAL PARKS AND LODGES OF THE OLD WEST

Aug. 14 – 22

Journey through America’s most captivating landscapes — Custer State Park, Yellowstone and Grand Teton — where wildlife roams and Old West legends come alive.

Nov. 7 – 15

SEPT.

TORONTO TO VANCOUVER BY RAIL

Sept. 22 – 28

Spend four unforgettable days and nights in Prestige Class aboard The Canadian, experiencing the nostalgic elegance of transcontinental train travel.

Journey through Iceland’s dramatic landscapes on this 8-night Northern Lights adventure, with guided evening excursions to chase the aurora borealis dancing across the sky.

DEC.

OCT.

SCOTLAND: HIGHLAND AND ISLAND

Oct. 3 – 14

Travel from loch to glen on this 12-day Highland adventure limited to 24 travelers, exploring Scotland’s stunning natural beauty and welcoming clans.

Dec. 3 – 11

Delight in twinkling lights, handcrafted treasures and timeless Advent traditions while exploring imperial monuments, 900-yearold Melk Abbey and the legendary Spanish Riding School.

Don’t miss your chance to explore the world with fellow Wildcats. These intimate journeys fill quickly. Reserve your spot today.

Watch the most exciting two minutes in sports at a Kentucky Derby party on May 2 with your local alumni club. Experience the thrill of the race with your UK family – a winning ticket for a fun time!

Come back to campus for an unforgettable week of festivities. Enjoy more than 70 events, featuring cherished traditions and exciting new experiences. Remember, Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat! 4 - 11

Join us for the 35th annual Lyman T. Johnson Awards Luncheon honoring alumni and students for outstanding achievements, academic excellence and impact on others.

The University of Kentucky Alumni Association is hitting the road to Oklahoma for the first time and we want you to come along for the ride! Don’t miss this opportunity to soak up the game day atmosphere, explore a new city and create lasting memories with your UK family. 16 - 17 OCT.

Let the UK Alumni Association be your guide to year-round fun with your Wildcat family. If you are missing the UK spirit, come join us!

Taken by Surprise

By Sally Scherer

The announcement came on an ordinary Tuesday in October.

But the news was anything but ordinary.

A crowd of healthcare and campus professionals gathered that day in the Michael A. Karpf Auditorium at the University of Kentucky Albert B. Chandler Hospital to watch a live video stream from Rochester, New York.

As the large screen on the stage lit up, viewers at Chandler could see another gathering taking place hundreds of miles away. UK President Eli Capilouto and Dr. Scottie Day, vice president of children’s health at UK HealthCare and physician-in-chief of Golisano Children’s at UK, were there.

After brief introductions, Tom Golisano walked to the podium on the stage in Rochester and shared the news: a historic $50 million gift to the University of Kentucky.

While the news itself and the size of the gift were remarkable, the biggest surprise was that the largest gift in the history of UK HealthCare — with the goal to transform pediatric health care in Kentucky — didn’t come from a native Kentuckian or alumnus.

It came from a New York billionaire businessman and philanthropist who wants to use his business success to give back, specifically in the areas of children’s healthcare, education and animal welfare.

Golisano describes himself as a self-made man — the son of a macaroni salesman and a seamstress. In 1971, he founded Paychex, Inc., which grew into the nation’s largest payroll processing and human resource company for small- to medium-sized businesses. He served as Paychex’s president and chief executive officer until October 2004 and as chairman of the board until his retirement in December 2021.

Those who know Golisano describe him as a problem solver: decisive, efficient and direct, with a strong sense of urgency and a clear call to action to get to work. He is also a fierce advocate for dignity and inclusion, believing the key to success is building relationships and bringing others along.

Golisano began giving away his fortune in the mid1980s. During the gift announcement this past October, he explained his philosophy with candor.

“I applied for immortality and didn’t get it,” Golisano said with a grin to the crowd. “So, I decided that rather than waiting for me to kick the bucket, I would advance the money ahead of time. Why make them wait?”

How — and why — was UK selected for such a monumental gift from someone unfamiliar with UK and the children’s hospital?

Golisano said he and his staff are methodical and strategic about the groups that receive gifts. He treats his donations much like investments in startups.

Erica Dayton, executive director of the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation, said UK was selected as part of an initial outreach process from the Golisano team that looked at unnamed children’s hospitals.

The early research gathered by the foundation about the children’s hospitals included overall notability, rural populations served, ability to expand services, potential community impact and demonstrated need. Based on that review, UK stood out as a “strong fit,” Dayton said.

“We do a very serious amount of due diligence," Golisano said in a recent article in Florida’s “Business Observer.” “It has actually been harder to give away the money than it was to make it.”

The initial letter from Golisano, received on June 6, 2025, seemed “too good to be true,” said Jenni Decker, assistant vice president of philanthropy for Golisano Children’s at UK.

The letter invited UK officials to reach out to Dayton to talk about philanthropic opportunities.

Professional roles: Entrepreneur, philanthropist and civic leader

Founder: Paychex, Inc., a payroll and human resource services company

Early life and education:

• Born in Irondequoit, New York

• Graduated from Alfred State College in 1962 with an associate degree in general business management

Entrepreneurial career:

• Conceived the idea for Paychex while working in sales for a payroll processing company

• Challenged the prevailing belief that outsourced payroll services were viable only for large companies

• Founded Paychex in 1971

• Served as president and CEO 1971-2004, retiring as chairman of the board in 2021

• Paychex went public in 1983

• Paychex has grown into a leading human capital management solutions company serving over 800,000 clients

Publications:

• Built, Not Born: A Self-Made Billionaire’s No-Nonsense Guide for Entrepreneurs (2020)

• The Italian Kid Did It (2022), which also discusses his political aspirations, including his runs for governor of New York

Personal motivation:

• Driven in part by a desire to support his family and ensure lifelong care for his developmentally disabled son

Philanthropy:

• Founded the B. Thomas Golisano Foundation in 1985

• The foundation is one of the world’s largest private grant makers supporting organizations that serve individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities

• Personal and foundation giving exceeds $1 billion to hospitals, educational institutions and other organizations

If philanthropy can help level the playing field for kids and families, then it’s a smart investment and one I’m proud to make .

Gift Timeline:

Transformational gifts such as the $50 million given by philanthropist Tom Golisano don’t just happen overnight. In fact, it’s not unusual for a gift of this size to take years to come to fruition.

The Golisano gift to the University of Kentucky stands out for several reasons, one being the incredibly quick timetable in which the gift was introduced, applied for and received. From start to finish, it was about five months. UK Philanthropy officials refer to it as “magical.”

June 6, 2025

Jenni Decker, who at the time was executive director for philanthropy at the UK College of Medicine and Kentucky Children’s Hospital, receives a letter in the mail from the Golisano Foundation.

July 1, 2025

Golisano Foundation staff and officials from the Kentucky Children’s Hospital meet via Zoom.

“We were certainly not confident the letter would lead to a next step, but we reached out to Erica Dayton the same day,” Decker said. “Twenty weeks later, President Capilouto accepted a $50 million gift.”

What stood out to Golisano about Kentucky Children’s Hospital was the hospital’s need and its commitment, Golisano said.

“Kentucky has one of the highest rates of children facing serious health challenges, and families in rural and underserved areas often have to travel far for specialized care.

“At the same time, UK demonstrated a clear dedication to changing that reality. I was impressed by the leadership, the medical expertise already in place and the hospital’s willingness to think big about what pediatric care could look like for the entire region.”

He also felt a personal connection with Day.

“I relate to Dr. Day,” Golisano said. “I’m proud of my working-class roots and the lessons they taught me early on: work hard, take responsibility and don’t quit.

“For me, philanthropy isn’t about charity — it’s about responsibility. When you’ve had the opportunities I’ve had, you’re in a position to help create real change. For me, investing in children’s health, education and opportunity is one of the most effective ways to do that.

“If philanthropy can help level the playing field for kids and families, then

July 11, 2025

The proposal is submitted.

it’s a smart investment and one I’m proud to make.”

The Golisano gift includes naming rights — the Kentucky Children’s Hospital is now Golisano Children’s at UK — and the hospital became part of the Golisano Children’s Alliance, which was started in 2025. The alliance, a collaboration among 12 children’s hospitals bearing the Golisano name, is dedicated to elevating pediatric care by expanding services, strengthening collaboration and ensuring children have access to the highest-quality medical services close to home.

The $50 million gift is unrestricted and can be used at the discretion of the hospital.

“An unrestricted gift of this magnitude is almost unheard of, and will transform access to care in Kentucky,” said Decker.

"There are themes in the gift proposal to guide hospital leadership in making decisions about how the gift is used," she said, adding that the themes include expanding access to services so that families can receive care as close to home as possible, providing specialty services so children don't have to leave Kentucky for care and providing support that heals children physically and emotionally.

“This gift provides an investment beyond just UK,” said Day. “It’s an investment in the health of Kentucky. To me, this isn’t even absorbable because it’s such a huge thing.” ■

Aug. 25, 2025

Executive director of the Golisano Foundation visits Kentucky Children’s Hospital.

Sept. 29, 2025

Representatives from the University of Kentucky present proposal to Tom Golisano in Rochester, New York.

There are now 12 children’s hospitals in the Golisano Children’s Alliance.

These children’s hospitals received gifts that were announced on October 28, 2025:

• Golisano Children’s at UK ($50 million)

• Golisano Medical Center at Connecticut Children’s ($50 million)

• Penn State Health Golisano Children’s Hospital ($50 million)

• University of Maryland Golisano Children’s Hospital ($50 million)

• WVU Medicine Golisano Children’s ($28 million)

• Golisano Children’s Hospital at University of Vermont Health ($25 million)

These children’s hospitals received gifts that were announced on December 29, 2025:

• Arkansas Children’s Golisano Campus ($50 million)

• Wellstar Golisano Children’s Hospital of Georgia ($50 million)

There are now 12 children’s hospitals in the Golisano Children’s Alliance. The others include:

• Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida ($20 million)

• Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo ($50 million)

• Golisano Children’s Hospital at the University of Rochester Medical Center ($36 million)

• Upstate Golisano Children's Hospital at SUNY Upstate Medical University ($16 million)

Oct. 28, 2025

The historic $50 million Golisano Foundation gift is announced.

by Tim

From the coal mines of Eastern Kentucky to leading one of the nation's fastest-growing children's hospitals, alumnus Scottie Day '96 CC, '98 AS, '02 MED reminds Kentucky's children — and everyone around him — to

‘Reach

for the Sky’

By Dan Knapp

An easygoing cowboy ambles from room to room, guitar in hand, strumming as he goes. Yellow shirt, cowhide vest, scarlet bandana, tan hat — sartorial choices unmistakable to even the youngest patients. When the kids see him, when parents catch on, something shifts in the fluores cent-lit corridors of Golisano Children’s at UK. Faces light up. Spirits lift. It’s a small magic, but the kind that matters here.

Every October, the Golisano Children’s at UK staff — doc tors, nurses, everyone — become someone else. They parade through in costume, bringing trick-or-treat excitement to chil dren who can’t leave their beds to find it themselves, kids who’d rather be out with classmates collecting copious amounts of fun-sized treats instead of hooked up to tubes and machines.

Dr. Scottie Day never misses it. The vice president of children’s health at UK HealthCare and physician-in-chief of Golisano Children’s at UK, has dressed as Sulley (from “Monster’s Inc.”), a Minion, even the tooth fairy over the years. But there’s something about Day dressed as Woody from the “Toy Story” franchise that feels like the elixir for aches you can’t treat with medicine alone.

He could’ve just as easily dressed as Buzz Lightyear, but Woody just feels, for lack of a better word, correct. It’s not the costume itself. Woody doesn’t wear corrective lenses or carry a stethoscope in his pocket. It’s the Woody-ness Day embodies. Like Woody, Day carries quiet authority, guiding his team with steady hands and a clear head, even when the hospital floor's a blur of alarms, movement and emotion. When a problem arises, he’s already thinking two steps ahead, finding solutions with calm creativity that keeps children safe and par-

describes them, “the creeks and hollers” with his cousins. He watched his father work 40-plus years underground, and learned early what it meant to show up and serve your community.

“Statistically speaking, I shouldn’t be here today,” he reflects. “I shouldn’t be here for many reasons, but here I am, having an opportunity to lead a great organization and give back to the state that made me.”

He recalls an interview with country music icon Dolly Parton about how her family kept her grounded after being honored with a statue in their hometown.

“Her father said, ‘Just remember, to every pigeon down at the courthouse, you’re just another outhouse,’” Day laughs. “His point was, ‘Don’t forget your humble beginnings. Don’t forget the people who made you who you are.’”

That same awareness guides Day in a life removed from celebrity, measured not in statues or spotlights but in the fragile moments when families place their children in his care.

Day One

Day’s story, like most good books, is divided into chapters — sections that trace where he’s been, what shaped him and why he serves the way he does. If it were an actual book, it’d be a wild amalgamation of “Grey’s Anatomy,” a well-worn Bible and an Appalachian songbook — a blend of science, faith and melody he grew up with in Leslie County.

One of the ways Day reaches even his most fearful patients is through music. He’s long understood how a song can slip past a child’s defenses, how a familiar tune can reach kids who are shut down or scared in ways words alone cannot.

Medical resources were scarce in Cutshin, a reality Day noticed even as a child. Even then, he believed he could make a difference in Kentucky and relate to the people there, sensing early that his future lay in medicine. His musical talents, however, were often at odds with his medical aspirations. He learned piano first, then picked up any instrument he could find. Guitar, piano, organ, mandolin, ukulele, drums — even marimba and xylophone — came with a fluency of someone who can't remember a time when music wasn't part of him.

As a teenager, Day began making a name as a musician. At 14, he formed a band. He stood out in his high school marching band, advancing to state competitions for drumming, and traveled from his blink-or-you’ll-miss-it slice of Eastern Kentucky to bring his brand of homespun music to cities like Cincinnati and Philadelphia. His talent carried him to The Nashville Network, where he appeared in music videos and took part in recording sessions.

“I was going full blast music,” Day says with a note of nostalgia. “It’s almost like a completely other life.”

When he wanted to learn a new instrument, he didn’t wait for permission or instruction — he simply made it happen.

“I couldn't travel with a piano," Day laughs, "so I sat down on the front porch and played until my fingers bled, because I knew if I could get calluses, then I would eventually play the guitar.”

“The only instrument I can’t play that you’d think I would is banjo,” Day adds with a sly smile. “I don’t play banjo.”

After slapping paint onto a white Hyundai at a “Hope on Wheels” fundraiser, a young patient leaves her mark — literally — on Dr. Scottie Day’s lab coat, who laughs along. Moments like this are part of the connection he works to create with every child.

“I wasn't some grandiose, superstar academic achiever in high school,” Day laughingly admits. “I had good grades, but I wasn't valedictorian. I wasn’t the guy who got up and gave the academic speech; I was the guy at graduation who sang ‘Standing Outside the Fire.’”

(That may explain why his impersonation of Woody sounds less like Tom Hanks and more like Garth Brooks.)

After earning an associate degree from Hazard Community College, Day faced a pivotal choice. He’d been accepted to Belmont University to pursue music, but his lifelong interest in medicine, caring for his community, kept calling him back. He wrestled with the decision.

“I was like, ‘Am I gonna do music or am I gonna do medicine?’”

A mentor later put it plainly: it would be nearly impossible to do both at the level Day demanded of himself. Ultimately, he chose against a life defined by performance and tucked his musical aspirations away. He followed his older brother, Mike EN ’92, to UK, studying on the prestigious Otis A. Singletary Scholarship. He earned degrees in biology and medicine.

“The only thing to say is that I chose medicine and I came here [to UK] and it was the best decision I ever made,” Day says.

After earning his medical degree, he completed a residency at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health, Indianapolis, and a fellowship in critical care at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. Following a year in Hawaii, where he was actively involved in the development of the Pediatric Early Warning System at Kaiser Permanente Moanalua Medical Center, he returned to his alma mater in 2011.

by Carter Skaggs

Music, however, never left him.

“During my most stressful times, I spend time playing music,” he reveals.

He still plays keys at Southland Christian Church every few weeks, still brings his guitar into patient rooms and serenades them when the moment calls for it, still understands that sometimes a song can communicate care and presence better than any medical intervention.

It’s a balance he’s learned to strike — the weight of leadership, the demands of practicing medicine and the need to remain present for the most difficult moments.

“Sometimes the hardest things to do are the most meaningful, Day admits. “The hardest thing to do is to sit and tell a parent, ‘We’ll do everything possible, but I don’t think your child’s going to survive.’ While extremely challenging, it’s also an honor to serve a family during that period of time.”

Fortunately, as Day is quick to point out, those instances are rare — and becoming fewer and far between.

Golisano Children's at UK Outreach

There are mor e than 40 clinical relationships in Kentucky and West Virginia counties.

Day Job

Even in a specialty where pay is comparatively lower and doctors are scarce, Day has recruited more than 100 pediatricians in five years — always focused on the kids.

“It shouldn’t matter whether you come from Eastern Kentucky or from a big city. It shouldn’t matter your wealth to determine what kind of access you have to healthcare,” Day says firmly.

Under his leadership, UK has expanded pediatric mental health services, built a developmental pediatrics facility in partnership with Easterseals and created an affiliate network of hospitals across the Commonwealth, all working to keep kids close to home.

“We’re one of the fastest growing children’s hospitals in the country,” Day notes. “We’re serving more kids than we’ve ever served before.”

But he’s quick to redirect credit: “I’ve not done a single thing by myself, and I’ll never be successful by myself. It’s frontline people who keep all this going.”

He still practices medicine alongside his administrative duties — something rare for someone in his position. On many nights, he can be found walking the halls with the nurses and residents, just another doctor on call, sometimes with a guitar around his neck.

“A lot of people in my position probably wouldn’t practice medicine anymore,” he acknowledges. But for Day, it’s non-negotiable. “I can’t imagine not doing it.”

He says that the musical interludes he sometimes offers patients and their families “gives a humanistic side of things that people don’t often see” while interacting with a physician.

“Some of my fondest memories here have been just playing in front of the patients — and the patients love it,” Day says. “They'll dance, or they'll come out in the hallways and have fun.”

He says these moments help to break down barriers.

“At the end of the day, I’ll always be a father, a husband and a physician,” Day says. “I can’t separate that.”

Day’s personal faith threads through how he approaches both life and work. He’s preached at funerals for patients, been there for families in their darkest moments and tries to see the humanity in everyone he encounters.

“Faith, family, friends and purpose,” he lists. “Those are the four things that guide my life.”

He pauses, then adds a warning he gives to students: “Don’t forget to live life while you’re on your way to your destination.”

It’s advice from someone who admits he struggled with “destination addiction,” always pushing toward the next goal without pausing to appreciate the present. Therapy and time have taught him balance, though the drive remains.

He met his wife, Kristi AS ’97, MED ’02 — also a physician and UK medical school alumna — “over a spinal cord in a cadaver lab.” Hardly the basis for a romance novel, but it’s brought a lifelong partnership, a family and a home that reflects the balance he values. The couple married in 2002 and now have four children ranging from 13 to 20. They live on a small farm in Nicholasville, just outside of Lexington, though Day is quick to clarify with a grin, “Farm’s a strong stretch” for their five acres.

Family is central to who he is. He loves time together — whether traveling somewhere new or playing soccer in the yard. Alongside his wife, he has built a home that welcomes all children, from evening worship nights to dinners gathered around the table.

Golisano Children’s at UK

At a Glance

Facility size and capacity

• 188 licensed beds

• 90 Level IV neonatal intensive care unit beds

• 12 pediatric intensive care unit beds

• 4 pediatric cardiac intensive care unit beds

• 12 progressive care unit beds

• 8 bed pediatric extended recovery unit

• 53 acute care beds

• 8 bed observational unit

• 26 normal newborn nursery bassinets

• 17 adolescent psychiatry beds

• Children’s sedation and procedural unit

• Dedicated pediatric endoscopy suite

• 3 playrooms, a tech lounge and a library with books and movies

• 3 consult rooms

• 4 sleep rooms for parents of children in the ICU

• Golisano Children's at UK - Richmond Road features pediatric specialty clinics providing a range of services for infants, children and adolescents with complex medical and behavioral needs, collectively serving approximately 12,611 patients each year.

Patient volume

• 85,476 unique patients per year

• >5,000 pediatric patient transfers/ year

• 7,370 inpatient admissions/year

• 172,629 outpatient visits/year

Sometimes the hardest things to

New Day

After the $50 million Golisano gift was announced, Day was characteristically humble and even a little emotional.

“When I thought about the gift –- and honestly, it happened so quickly that it's still been difficult to absorb -- I was a little bit in tears when we were sitting around the room and Mr. Golisano told us. I was just in shock,” Day admits. “Even now, I'm still in shock!”

“I never thought I’d be here for the naming of this children’s hospital,” he says. “I’d have never imagined we’d be where we are today.”

He thinks of the people who came before him, particularly Dr. Jacqueline Noonan, the pediatric cardiologist whose name graces his endowed chair.

“When I think about it, I bet they’d never have imagined we’d be where we are today either,” he adds.

The gift represents something beyond money — it’s validation of a vision.

“Someone saying we believe in the vision of this institution, and I get to be a part of carrying that vision... it’s unbelievable,” Day says.

The emotion is still raw in his voice.

And he thinks of what’s next: expanded mental health services, better care for children with autism and complex needs, programs that will reach every corner of Kentucky.

“If we don’t do it, it doesn’t happen,” Day says of Kentucky’s only comprehen-

“Some would say it’s a huge burden, but it’s a huge opportunity,” Day philoso-

As long as he feels purpose, Day says he plans to stay put at UK. The coal miner’s hat on his wall reminds him daily of how far he’s come and why the work matters. The guitars in his office remind him that healing takes many forms. And the children in the hospital beds — some of whom will go home tomorrow, some of whom won’t — remind him why none of the titles or accolades mean anything

Halloween is still months away — a lifetime for the youngest patients under Day’s care. Whether he becomes Bluey, Grogu or his favorite Avenger, it’s doubtful any costume will ever feel as perfectly him as Day in his cowhide vest, ambling through the halls, lifting spirits, Woody's familiar words drifting ahead of him:

“…There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you / We stick together and we see it

Photo by Tim Webb

In Superman socks and a loosely knotted tie, Day performs a shaky impromptu cartwheel for former patients Lennox and Berkley Frey, now thriving in gymnastics and cheer after battling heart defects. Staying connected doesn’t require perfect form — just a willingness to see the world from their perspective.

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Wildcats EVERYWHERE

Wildcats are gathering and celebrating across the country — and we love seeing it. If you or your alumni group have a photo to share, send it ukalumni@uky.edu and you might see it featured here next issue!

Dallas-Ft. Worth UK Alumni Club went to a Dallas Mavericks game in November and watched former UK men’s basketball player PJ Washington.

Former Kentucky football player Nate Northington (center) along with teammate Wilbur Hackett (right) and track and field athlete Jim Green (left) shared their experiences and trailblazing legacy at UK in the late 1960s and early 1970s at the November event in Louisville. Northington signed his book, “Still Running: My Life as the First Black Football Player in the SEC.”

In its third year, Strikes for Scholars, the Fayette County UK Alumni Club fundraiser, brought together 108 bowlers and 28 sponsors for a fun afternoon. Public address announcer and “Voice of Kroger Field” Carl Nathe served as master of ceremonies, while teams showed off with creative names like Alley Oops, Split Happens (winner of the most original name), Pin Pals, Gutter Boys and the Bowling Stones. The event raised more than $9,500 for the scholarship endowment fund.

Members of the Lyman T. Johnson Constituent Group attended the Wildcat Tipoff Luncheon at Churchill Downs in Louisville Kentucky in October. There were more than 500 University of Kentucky alumni in attendance and they snapped a photo with Jack “Goose” Givens.

Jackie Jordan ’77 AFE took Flat Wildcat with her when she traveled to Palma de Mallorca in Spain in October 2025.

The Sarasota Suncoast UK Alumni Club enjoyed a busy December. A group of volunteers took part in the “Cats for A Cause” service project at Crowley Museum & Nature Center clearing property affected by recent hurricanes. UK basketball greats Kyle Macy and Rob Lock joined the club for its North Carolina Central Game Watch Party on and held a halftime question and answer session. Lock was given a 1986 UK men’s basketball program with his photograph on the cover. On December 20, Big Blue Santa made his annual appearance at the St John’s Game Watch Party. Eddie and Kelli Huffman got their picture taken with Big Blue Santa.

Wildcats EVERYWHERE

GAME WATCH PARTY EDITION

From coast to coast, UK alumni and fans are coming together for game watch parties to cheer on the Wildcats. Find a club or constituent group near you and join the next watch party at ukalumni.net/GameWatchParties.

More than 300 tickets were sold for the Christian County UK Alumni Club Watch Party for the UK men’s basketball game against Alabama. The event was held in at the Alhambra Theatre in downtown Hopkinsville, Kentucky.

At the event, club members recognized Christian County’s Dr. Tommy Porter who played three years of varsity basketball for Coach Adolph Rupp. In his sophomore season, the Rupp’s Runts team, with no starter over 6 feet-5 inches tall, went 15-1 in the SEC, and were named SEC champions. The team made it to the NCAA tournament, as the #1 team in the country, and reached the national championship game in an historical game versus Texas Western College. The team, celebrating its 60th anniversary, was recognized on the floor of Rupp Arena in January during the Mississippi State game.

Members of the Kansas City UK Alumni Club and fellow UK fans got together at a watch party for the UK vs. St. John’s men’s basketball game on Dec. 20, at Johnny’s Tavern in the Power & Light District, across from T-Mobile Arena.

Johnny’s Tavern served as the official UK fan headquarters during the NCAA Volleyball National Championship in Kansas City. The alumni pictured were part of the Big Blue festivities throughout the weekend, including pep rallies before the UK volleyball games held on Dec. 18 and 21.

CONNECTIONS

Sports

NEW FOOTBALL COACH BRINGS NEW APPROACH

Will Stein, former University of Oregon offensive coordinator, was named new football coach at the University of Kentucky in early December.

For Kentucky native Stein, 36, the roots in Kroger Field soil run deep. He is the son of UK alumni – father Matt ’85 AFE played football at UK and mother Debbie ’84 ED is an avid fan. He inherited their passion as he grew up watching the Wildcats in the thenCommonwealth Stadium, section 128, row 13 to be exact. He later competed in the stadium as a collegiate quarterback and assistant coach for the University of Louisville Cardinals.

“Will Stein brings an outstanding track record of developing elite quarterbacks and leading some of the most dynamic and successful offenses in college football,” said UK Director of Athletics Mitch Barnhart upon Stein’s hiring. “ We are thrilled to have him leading the Wildcats onto the field next fall.”

One of the many attributes that sets Stein apart is his ability to tailor his offense to his players’ strengths. Stein’s Heisman finalists, quarterbacks Bo Nix and

Dillon Gabriel, have gone on to start multiple games in the NFL in their rookie years as well.

The coach is excited to seek similar success with the Wildcats.

“I’m honored and excited to become the next head coach at Kentucky,” Stein said. “Growing up in Kentucky and sitting in the stands at UK games as a kid, I could only dream of one day leading the Wildcats. This is truly a dream come true. My goal is to lead with purpose and help young men grow on and off the field.”

A native of Louisville, Stein has football heritage, as his father, was a defensive end for the Wildcats under Coach Jerry Claiborne. Matt was a two-year letterman in 1983 and 1984, playing for UK’s teams that made consecutive appearances in the Hall of Fame Bowl.

Will Stein played his high school ball at Trinity High School, where he was a three-time state champion and set the single-season school record for touchdown passes with 54.

Stein played at the University of Louisville from 2008-2012, then moved to the coaching staff as a graduate assistant in 2013 (quarterbacks) and quality control coach in 2014 (wide receivers). He earned a bachelor’s degree in sport administration from Louisville in 2011, and a master’s in business

MORE CHANGES COMING TO KROGER FIELD

Changes to Kroger Field were reviewed by the Champions Blue LLC Board of Governors in January. The plan centers on multiple targeted upgrades that will increase premium inventory and elevate game day and event day experiences, including:

• North and South Upper Deck seatbacks to enhance comfort and expand chairback availability.

• Loge Club and club seat infill to meet rising demand for elevated hospitality.

• New terrace-style “back-of-bowl” seating to create flexible, social viewing areas.

• Scoreboard Patio Clubs adding standingroom-only premium space and new sponsorship inventory.

• A West End Zone Field Club offering a modern membership-driven experience with year-round potential. In total, the projects are expected to generate nearly $4 million in incremental, new annual revenue before debt service, with work staged alongside planned stadium maintenance to reduce operational disruption. ■

ALUMNA NAMED USA SWIMMING BOARD CHAIR

The USA Swimming Foundation, the philanthropic arm of USA Swimming and U.S. Masters Swimming, announced the election of UK alumna Anne Berry ’86 AS as chair of the foundation’s board of directors.

Berry is a lifelong participant in the sport and brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in corporate and government relations. Her engagement across all levels of swimming, from athlete and coach to Masters swimmer and advocate, reflects her deep commitment to water safety and expanding swimming opportunities for children nationwide.

Berry began her collegiate swim career as a club swimmer at UK. She was then moved to a part of the very first women’s swimming program for the Wildcats in 1986. She will serve as board chair through Dec. 31, 2029. ■

DESPITE LOSS IN NCAA TOURNEY, VOLLEYBALL 2025 SEASON WAS ONE OF BEST

It did not end the way they had hoped, but the 2025 Kentucky volleyball team will be remembered as one of the best in school history after an incredible performance.

Kentucky fell to Texas A&M in the NCAA Volleyball national championship game in December in Kansas City, ending a 27-game winning streak.

UK (30-3) won a ninth consecutive Southeastern Conference title, going undefeated in league play despite the league being very strong, especially at the top. The SEC sent three teams to the Elite Eight and two to the title match.

Senior outside hitter Eva Hudson was named SEC Player of the Year and SEC Newcomer of the Year. Setter Kassie O’Brien was named SEC Freshman of the Year and Craig Skinner was named SEC Coach of the Year.

In addition to Hudson and O’Brien, junior outside hitter Brooklyn DeLeye was the third UK player named first-team All-SEC. Junior libero Molly Tuozzo was named to the second team.

The Cats followed that up by winning the first SEC Volleyball Tournament in 20 years. In the championship game, Kentucky rallied from two sets down to reverse sweep Texas for the championship.

Four Cats were named American Volleyball Coaches Association AllAmericans. Hudson, who was also an AVCA Player of the Year finalist, made the first team along with DeLeye. O’Brien, who was named AVCA National Freshman of the Year, made the second team, while Tuozzo was on the third team. ■

FORMER GYMNAST RETURNS AS ASSISTANT COACH

Kentucky Gymnastics has brought on Anna (Haigis) Marsh ’22 ED as an assistant coach ahead of the 2026 season. Marsh was a Wildcat gymnast from 2019-2022, earning All-SEC honors in 2021.

The Cincinnati, Ohio, native also served as a volunteer assistant coach for Kentucky in 2023, helping guide the Wildcats to the program’s second berth to the NCAA National Semifinals.

“Words can’t describe what it means to be back representing this program,” Marsh said regarding her return to Lexington. “This place holds special meaning to me and I am so excited to bring my competitiveness, passion and loyalty to this role. Go Cats!”

As a gymnast at Kentucky, Marsh competed on both the balance beam and floor exercise.

ORMER W ILDCATS

Take to the Field with

Pitcher Johnny Hummel plays for the Firefighters, one of six Banana Ball teams.

By Savanna Emrick

After exiting the 2024 Men’s College World Series, Johnny Hummel and Nick Lopez weren’t sure if they would ever play baseball again.

The University of Kentucky athletes had aged out of eligibility following their single, historic season in Lexington. Lopez, an infielder, considered continuing his career in independent baseball leagues. Hummel, a relief pitcher and catcher, was preparing for a desk job.

Then they discovered Banana Ball, what some refer to as the Harlem Globetrotters of baseball.

A high-energy twist on the traditional game, Banana Ball began developing in 2016 when the Savannah Bananas were founded in Savannah, Georgia. The sport has since evolved into a fast-paced, entertainment-filled and “fans first” experience featuring dance sequences, pitchers on stilts and, occasionally, flaming baseball bats.

JOINING BANANA BALL

The Savannah Bananas and Party Animals — the two original teams in the Banana Ball Championship League — had long been on the periphery of Hummel’s and Lopez’s orbit. Still, neither pictured themselves in the league. But in the 2025 season, that’s exactly where they landed.

Hummel’s friend and teammate Armando Becerra from his three seasons at Erskine College had played with the Party Animals. He asked Hummel, 25, after his UK season ended if he wanted to play Banana Ball. Hummel thought it was a joke, but he accepted.

Within months, Hummel participated in tryouts and turned down a steady 9-to-5 desk job in his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina to move to Savannah.

“My whole life changed, upside down, right then and there,” Hummel said.

Meanwhile, Lopez, 26, sought out Banana Ball himself. He followed Jackson Olson, a Savannah Bananas player, on Instagram and one day decided to send a private message to him asking how he joined the team – his first direct contact with league.

Olson responded with information about Banana Ball scouts and tryouts. Soon enough, Lopez found himself at Banana Ball as well, signature handlebar mustache dyed blue like it had been for his stint in the NCAA Tournament with UK.

Except the color was vastly different.

“Funny enough, I dyed my mustache yellow for the Bananas,” he said. “And it looked terrible.”

But when the Savannah Bananas head coach asked him if he would ever dye his mustache blue again, he got a good feeling about the results of his tryout.

“When somebody’s talking about something, that kind of makes your identity what it is today. I just knew that was the path I was gonna go down,” he said.

By the start of the 2025 Banana Ball season, Hummel had been drafted to the Firefighters, while Lopez had joined the Texas Tailgaters for their inaugural season from May to October 2025.

Still wearing his signature blue mustache, Nick Lopez plays for the Texas Tailgaters in the Banana Ball league.

What is Banana Ball?

An ordinary MLB game doesn’t include trick plays, bat flips or players walking through the stands before they start their at-bat.

Banana Ball games don’t consist of ordinary baseball.

Banana Ball encourages trick plays at the same time it provides a fun, “fan-first” environment that regularly feature pitchers on stilts, cape-wearing outfielders and a team of dancing grandmas called the “Banana Nanas.”

The phenomenon began in 2016 as a collegiate summer league team called the Savannah Bananas based in Savannah, Georgia. There was a UK baseball player participating in Banana Ball as early as the 2019 summer season — Alex Degen ’22 SW. He was a UK fan favorite whose nickname became “The Dancing Degen” after starring in a player-featured dance break during his fifth game.

Since Degen’s two seasons with the Savannah Bananas, they have evolved into a traveling league specifically curated for their unique game, called the Banana Ball Championship League.

The BBCL has six teams as of 2026, two of which are debuting this season — the Indianapolis Clowns and the Loco Beach Coconuts. The two additions come one year after the inaugural season of the Texas Tailgaters, and two years after the Firefighters’ first season.

Back in 2022, the league was founded one season after the Party Animals made their debut. And of course, it all began with the Savannah Bananas.

While the league’s “home base” is Historic Grayson Stadium in Savannah, Georgia, the league has spent most of the past couple of seasons on the road, selling out MLB and NFL stadiums alike.

Tickets for Banana Ball games are acquired through a lottery system for each city in which they play, to maintain affordable ticket prices and ensure that every fan has an equal opportunity to come join the fun. Tickets are $35.

The Bananas have more than 15 million followers on social media, including more TikTok followers than every MLB team combined.

Here are the Rules:

1. Each game has a two-hour time limit.

2. Games are won by earning points instead of runs. Whichever team gets more runs in an inning wins that inning and earns a point. In the ninth inning, each run is worth a point by itself. The team with the most points wins.

3. There are no walks.

4. There is no bunting allowed.

5. Batters are not allowed to step out of the batter’s box during an at bat.

6. Mound visits are not allowed.

7. Batters may steal first base during wild pitches.

8. If a fan catches a foul ball, it’s an out.

9. If the score is tied after nine innings or two hours of play, then the tie will be broken by a “showdown tiebreaker,” a special format for abbreviated innings that changes between the first, second, and third rounds of the showdown (if the tie still isn’t broken).

10. Each team is allowed to challenge certain calls made by umpires until they lose a challenge. Fans can also challenge one call per game.

11. Called “The Golden Batter Rule,” this means that once per game, each team may send any batter up to the plate at any point in the lineup. It is intended to allow these teams to use their best hitter when the game is on the line.

12. If the visiting team has more trick plays than the home team after eight innings of play, an extra point is awarded to the visiting team before the ninth inning.

BEING A STANDOUT

In a league full of bold personalities — such as Olson and Dakota “Stilts” Albritton — Hummel and Lopez stood out in front of fans right away thanks to unique features that carried over from UK. Lopez’s blue mustache and Hummel’s walkup song, “Real Gone” from the Disney Pixar movie “Cars.”

Before the mustache ever turned blue, it was a way for new infielder Lopez to stand out among his new teammates at UK to fans and scouts alike. It became his staple.

So, when the team advanced to the 2024 Super Regionals, he had the idea to modify his mustache in celebration.

“I wanted to do something that was out of left field for playoffs,” Lopez said. “Just to show the fans that I’m bought in just as much as they are.”

He temporarily dyed it bright blue. Then the team won. Out of superstition, he dyed it again. They won again.

Even as Lopez’s individual performance began to suffer in the playoffs with his at-bats resulting in less hits than they had for most of the season, he continued to dye his mustache before each game, believing the blue was spurring the team to wins.

Hummel’s “thing” came about earlier. “Real Gone” was his walkup song for most of the season, though it wasn’t his first pick.

By the end of the season he had his own custom-made walkup video, complete with the main character, racecar Lightning McQueen’s “oh yeah” intro — just like in the movie. It was beloved.

Top: Johnny Hummel was one of the top closers in the Southeastern Conference during his time playing for the UK Wildcats.

Bottom: Nick Lopez, earned First-Team All-Southeastern Conference honors after an incredible 2024 season with the UK Wildcats.

PUTTING ON A SHOW

Both Hummel and Lopez took advantage of a unique team culture that told fans and players alike, “let’s get weird,” which wasn’t a coincidence.

UK Baseball Head Coach Nick Mingione is a strong believer in building the proper culture in his dugout and allowing his players to be the best versions of themselves. Sometimes that means letting his players try to stack all their caps on one person in the dugout or allowing them to wear bright pink bucket hats in the dugout that eventually catches on with fans.

Sometimes, like in the case of Nick Lopez, it means altering their appearance to unlock confidence.

“If that means he’s gotta paint his mustache blue because he loves that, then Nick Lopez gets to have a blue mustache,” Mingione said. “Because he believes that’s the best version of himself.”

Hummel and Lopez carried that mindset into Banana Ball.

“We’re trying to be the best versions of ourselves, compete and, of course, have fun. And they clearly have done that at a very high level,” said Mingione.

While Banana Ball might seem worlds away from SEC baseball, the competitive edge remains. In fact, adding trick plays to the game might makes it harder.

“As a hitter and fielder, it’s the biggest jump in the world,” said Hummel. “Pitchers don’t have to worry that much about the trick plays. We just have to worry about going out there and throwing strikes.”

For Lopez, the biggest change has been perspective.

“We’re putting on a show for the fans,” he said. “Whether you strike out or you hit a homerun, we’re trying to make it a fun experience. But we’re also competing.”

That competition surfaced when Lopez and Hummel faced each other during their first Banana Ball season.

“We’d just spent a whole year together, went to the College World Series together, and now we’re playing Banana Ball –basically together, but on opposite sides,” Hummel said.

Both knew the at-bat mattered — not just for their new Banana Ball teams, but so they didn’t have to hear about it later from their former UK teammates.

“I hate facing him,” Lopez said. “He’s good. He’s really good.”

Lopez grounded out at second.

"It felt good,” Hummel said. “It felt good to face him.”

As the two continue their Banana Ball careers with the Firefighters and Texas Tailgaters, both remain deeply connected to their time at UK — as do the fans who still follow them and their former coach. ■

Supporting Big Blue just got easier

Class Notes

1960s

By Jennifer McDonald

Jo Hern Curris ’63 AS, ’75 LAW and Constantine William “Deno” Curris ’62 AS, ’67 ED have created a permanent exhibit, “The Story of Benham” on display at Benham City Hall, Benham, Kentucky.

A desire to save her personal stories and others from the Benham coal camp is what drove Jo, who was raised in Benham, to team up with her husband to create the exhibit.

While delving into the Benham Credit Union’s history to honor her father, Robert (Bob) Bruce Hern Sr., the union’s first manager, as well as her mother, Pauline Parker, the duo realized that the complete history of Benham needed to be chronicled.

Benham was built and owned by the corporate giant International Harvester (IH) in the early 1900s as the only IH captive coal mine, which meant that all coal mined there was used by IH for steel production. Together in their retirement, the couple researched Benham’s history, preserved relics and conducted oral histories. They treated the project like a full-time job, putting in hundreds of hours of work, digging into the coal town’s

Arnold Taylor ’65 LAW was honored for his 47 years of service with the Covington Rotary Club with a “Service Above Self” award at the Rotarian Founders Day Recognition dinner.

PROFILE

history to unearth its complete story. What was excavated was more than coal.

Their research brought to light individual stories of struggle, perseverance, faith and triumph — pieces of history embedded in the coal seams that went beyond the industry.

What started out as a family tribute, evolved into a research project, designed by Joanna Hays Productions, of the town nicknamed in 1911, “The Little Town that International Harvester Built.”

Benham is nestled at the base of Black Mountain, in Harlan County, the highest peak in Kentucky at 4,145 feet. Benham is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as “one of the best examples of a coal company town.”

By 1961, IH had sold the houses to the miners, and by 1986, the corporation was gone.

The residents have struggled with the absence of a major employer since then, but the dedication and love of Benham’s heritage remains strong.

The interviews conducted along with other oral histories of coal towns throughout the Commonwealth can be accessed at the Louie B. Nunn Center at UK.

“The goal has been that ‘The Story of Benham,’ will provide a greater comprehension of the back breaking hard work, dedication and bravery of coal miners and their families, and provide an enhanced sense of pride within their descendants,” said Jo.

Jo has served as an alumni representative on the UK Board of Trustees and Deno is the former president of Murray State University, Northern Iowa University and Clemson University. ■

Taylor retired as a senior partner of O’Hara, Taylor, Sloan and Sergent in 2018.

1970s

Rick Moore ’72 BE was inducted into the Indiana Horse Racing Association, Inc., Hall of Fame. Moore was general manager of Churchill Downs’ Sport Spectrum facility and helped conduct the inaugural season or harness racing at Hoosier Park before becoming the general manager there.

J.David Rosenberg ’74 LAW and his wife Dianne were named Philanthropists of the Year by the Cincinnati chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Michael Bewley ’75 AS, ’02 BE has been appointed to serve on the Kentucky Economic Association’s Board of Directors for a two-year term starting in 2026. Bewley is president and CEO of Enalysis.

Roger L. Crittenden ’75 LAW received the Livingston Taylor Ethics Award from the Executive Branch Ethics Commission. Crittenden is a retired Franklin Circuit Court judge and former chair of the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

Gregory P. Parsons ’79 BE, ’82 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Litigation Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently handle complex, highstakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

1980s

Leonard Gomella ’80 MED is serving on the editorial board for MerckManuals.com, an authoritative medical reference. In his role, he collaborates with the other board members to review the online content for accuracy and relevance.

Larry W. Myers ’80 AFE, ’82 BE has been named to the Federal Home Loan Bank of Indianapolis Board of Directors. Myers is president and CEO of First Savings Bank, Jefferson, Indiana.

Marcia Thorton Jones ’80 ED is among this year’s inductees into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. Jones is one of the nation’s bestselling children’s authors. She is the author/co-author of 137 traditionally published books for children with sales totaling more than 45 million copies worldwide.

Her books include the mid-grade novels “Woodford Brave,” picture books “The Tale of Jack Frost” and “Leprechaun on the Loose,” and

seven chapter book series including the bestselling “The Adventures of the Bailey School Kids.”

She is the co-author of “Writing for Kids: The Ultimate Guide” and a former columnist for Writer’s Digest Magazine.

Her latest books are the Graphix Chapter Books “Ghosts Don’t Eat Potato Chips,” “Vampires Don’t Wear Polka Dots,” “Frankenstein Doesn’t Plant Petunias” and “Dragons Don’t Cook Pizza.”

She is listed as a top 100 author by the Educational Paperback Association and selected for the Children’s Top 100 Books list by the National Education Association, International Reading Associations Children’s Choice Award. Marcia’s books have received many honors and have appeared on the Publisher’s Weekly Bestsellers lists.

Along with Debbie Dadey, the women were Lexington educators 35 years ago when they decided to write a children’s book. ■

PROFILE

Ashley W. Ward ’81 AS, ’84 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Litigation Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently oversee complex, highstakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Kerry B. Harvey ’82 LAW was named to the Marshall County (Kentucky) Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame class of 2026. He is a 1975 graduate of Marshall County High School. He has served as the Marshall County attorney, as chairman of the Murray State University Board of Regents and as general counsel for the Commonwealth of Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family services. He was the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky.

Roa Govindaraju ’85 EN has been appointed vice president for Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District at Purdue University. He previously served as the Bowen Engineering

Head of Civil Engineering and the Christopher B. and Susan S. Burke Distinguished Professor of Civil Engineering.

Andrew Oppmann ‘85 CI was selected as a member-at-large of the Board of Governors of Civil Air Patrol, the U.S. Air Force volunteer civilian auxiliary. Oppmann, a CAP lieutenant colonel, is serving a four-year term on the 13-member governing board. He is vice president for marketing and communications at Middle Tennessee State University.

Roger Nicholson ’86 LAW has been named to the West Virginia State University Board of Governors. He has more than 35 years’ experience in the energy industry. He is a member of the Charleston, West Virgina, law firm of Nicholson Moore PLLC.

Robert S. Clark ’87 DE has been named the 2025-2026 president of the American Association of Oral

and Maxillofacial Surgeons. Clark assumes leadership of the professional organization representing more than 9,000 oral and maxillofacial surgeons.

Jim Brannon ’88 EN was appointed to the board of directors of Gresham Smith, an architecture, engineering and consultancy services firm. He is market vice president for Gresham Smith’s transportation market.

William Gorton III ’88 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Litigation Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently manage complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Craig A. Johnson ’89 EN has been named chief operation officer and executive vice president of East Kentucky Power Cooperative. He is a 26-year veteran of EKPC, serving most recently as senior vice president of power production.

Mark Ripato ’89 AFE was presented the Mid America CropLife Association Industry Vision Award. Ripato, former president and CEO of Tenkoz and former president of Agriculture Division of Wilbur Ellis Company, runs Ripato Farms which specializes in the cattle business.

1990s

Matthew Breetz ’90 AS, ’93 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Litigation Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently oversee complex, highstakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Kim Rice ’91 AFE received the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association Lamplighter Award for her “sustained and exemplary service” to the poultry and egg industry. Rice is vice president of Food Safety & Quality at Rose Acre Farms in Seymour, Indiana.

Class Notes

Lane C. Childs ’92 MED has been elected president of the Utah Medical Association. Childs is a urologist practicing in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Julie A. Willoughby ’92 EN has been named chief executive officer at TerraSafe Holdings Inc., a technology company powering the next generation of plastic-free barrier packaging. Willoughby is a chemical and biomolecular engineer, polymer scientist and serial entrepreneur.

Pete November ’93 BE, ’96 LAW has been elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of the American Hospital Association. November is president and CEO of Ochsner Health in Louisiana.

Barry Frazier ’94 BE has been named the Mt. Sterling market president of Community Trust Bank, Inc. Frazier has worked in the banking industry for more than 30 years in retail, mortgage and commercial lending.

Rick Graycarek ’94 GS has rejoined the University of Louisville as its executive vice president for finance and administration/CFO. Graycarek had been executive vice president of finance and administration at the University of Indianapolis.

Todd Shamash ’94 AS has been elected as a director/manager to the Hershey Trust Company Board of Directors and the Milton Hershey School. He is president and CEO of Capital Blue Cross, Inc.

Mukund Acharya ’96 EN has been named to the Sports Video Group India Advisory Board. He has a nearly threedecade extensive career in technology driving innovation and platform scalability across digital and broadcast ecosystems.

Chandra K. Massner Arts ’96 CI has been named assistant dean of the University of Pikeville College of Arts and Sciences, bringing more than 30 years of leadership, teaching and service experience to the role.

Chris Rhoads ’96 LAW has named the 2026 president of the Kentucky Justice Association. He is a partner with Rhoads & Rhoads P.S.C. in Owensboro, Kentucky.

Steven M. Henderson ’97 ’99 EN, 07 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Litigation Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently manage complex, highstakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Michael Matheny ’97 EN, ’01 MED has been elected to membership in the National Academy of Medicine, an advisory body on critical matters of health care, medicine and public health. Matheny is a professor of biomedical informatics, medicine and biostatistics at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and director of VUMC’s Center for Improving the Publics’ Health Through Informatics.

Christopher M. Olds ’97 LAW has been elected to serve a two-year term as president of the Kentucky District Judges Association for 20252027. Olds has served as Franklin County District Judge since 2008 and previously spent 11 years in private practice as a trial lawyer.

Billy Van Pelt ’97 AFE has joined Justice Real Estate farm brokerage in Lexington, Kentucky, as a realtor. Justice Real Estate is Central Kentucky’s leading independent farm brokerage specializing in horse farms, estate properties and rural land sales. He has also been named to the President’s Council at American Farmland Trust, where he worked for over a decade.

Travis A. White ‘97 ED has been named chairman of the board of Taylor Made Stallions. He began at Taylor Made in 2007 and has worked in the stallion department for 18 years.

Maraskeshia Smith ’98 BE was appointed by the Sacramento City Council as city manager. Most recently, she served as City Manager of Santa Rosa.

Neal Thomas ’98 BE has been named the office managing partner of the Louisville office of EY. He served as global client services partner. He joined EY in 1999 as a staff auditor and was named partner in 2016.

Brian W. Adkins ’99 AS, ‘03 MED has been named to the medical-advisory committee of the Horseracing Integrity and Safety Authority. Adkins is a boardcertified emergency physician and professor at UK’s College of Medicine.

Marty Odom ’99 MED has joined Premier Medical Group’s internal medicine department in Clarksville, Tennessee.

Heather Russell-Simmons ’99 ’12 CI, ‘16 BE joined the National Stem Cell Foundation as chief program officer.

Robert Stewart ’99 AFE, ’00 ED has become chair of the National FFA Sponsors’ Board which supports the National FFA Organization. Stewart works for Cargill Food North America, as a strategy acceleration leader.

2000s

Stephanie Bailey ’00 ED has been named president of Indianapolis, Indiana’s Ivy Tech Foundation at Ivy Tech Community College and senior vice president of development for the college.

Samir Yajnik ’01 BE has been named managing director of investments for Momentous Sports, a global sports and real estate investment platform backed by quarterbacks Tim Tebow, John Elway, Blake Bortles and other investors.

Cassidy Rosenthal ’02 LAW is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Future Star. The guide honors the firms and attorneys who have demonstrated the ability to consistently handle complex, high-stakes cases in multiple jurisdictions.

Joe Ruschell ’04 AS has been named senior vice president and chief counsel, office of corporate secretary at Walmart. He joined Walmart in 2025. He previously served as vice president, associate general counsel and corporate secretary at Humana.

Jason Keith ’05 ’08 BE has been named a partner at Saltmarsh, a fullservice accounting and advisory firm. He joined Saltmarsh in 2018 as part of the firm’s Financial Institution Advisory Group.

Kristine Zitelli ’06 AS has been selected by Cincinnati Magazine as a 2026 Top Doctor in Dermatology for this peer-nominated recognition. She is the founder of Queen City Dermatology.

Erin Mulligan-Nguyen ’07 AS, ’24 ED has been named the chief data and institutional effectiveness officer at Illinois State University. She previously served as the associate vice president for planning, analytics, institutional research, strategic initiatives and chief data officer at Texas A&M University, Corpus Christi.

Sailesh Tangirala ’07 EN has been named vice president of corporate strategy for Midmark Corp., in Versailles, Ohio, a global manufacturer and supplier of healthcare products, equipment and diagnostic software.

Michelle Woods ’07 GS has been named vice president of state-federal affairs at the National Conference of State Legislatures, bringing nearly two decades of public policy and homeland security experience across federal, state and research institutions to the role.

Keeana Sajadi Boarman ’08 LAW has joined Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC’s Lexington office as equity member within the Mergers and Acquisition and Business Services practice groups. She served as general counsel for Commerce Lexington in 2024 and 2025.

PROFILE

Nathan Simon ’08 BE has founded and opened Simon Law, PLLC, a business and construction law firm. Simon Law was launched after Simon spent years inside the construction industry, most recently as vice president and general counsel of Gray, one of the largest design-build firms in the country.

In that role, he collaborated directly with executives, project teams and owners on complex contracts, disputes and risk decisions across the United States.

The firm provides construction law, contract and outside general counsel services to contractors, developers and growing businesses across the country, while maintaining a strong base in Kentucky and the broader Southeast.

In addition to his legal practice, Simon serves on the board as an advisory member for LPX Group in Louisville, Ace Consulting in Nicholasville, and Evans Contracting Group in Charleston, South Carolina, helping leadership teams navigate responsible growth.

Simon Law also operates with a community-first model. The firm donates 10 percent of its annual profits to charities selected by its clients. As part of that commitment, Simon Law contributed $5,000 to the Hope Center in Lexington, supporting its work with individuals and families facing homelessness. ■

Blake Bowling ’09 CI has joined the board of directors at Hearthside Bank in Middlesboro, Kentucky. Bowling has owned and operated Bowling Law Office for the past 13 years.

2010s

Melody Demasi ‘11 AS has joined Beasley Allen’s Atlanta office where she focuses on trucking, premises liability and products liability cases.

Lauren Forsyth Biddle ‘12 CI has been named the director of marketing and education for the Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association. Most recently she was the executive director of the Public Media Business Association.

Reginald Smith Jr. ‘12 ‘13 ‘21 FA, the Grammy and Emmy Awardwinning baritone, makes his Carnegie Hall debut in “The Pilgrimage” on June 20 as part of the Carlisle Floyd Centennial Celebration. Smith’s 20252026 season also includes debuts with the Seattle Opera, the Oakland Symphony, the Houston Grand Opera and the Minnesota Opera.

Kevin Nathaniel Fowler ’13 AS, ’16 LAW was recognized as one of Louisville Business Magazine’s Top 40 Under 40. Fowler is a partner at FBT Gibbons in Louisville.

Houston Howlett ’13 AFE was named by DTN/Progressive Farmer as one of America’s Best Young Farmers and Ranchers. Howlett and his wife Katy call their Glendale, Kentucky, farms Camp Nevin Farms. It is named for the Civil War-era Union Army camp once ensconced along its treelined creeks.

Stephanie Moore ’13 AS, ’14 HS has been selected as a Distinguished Fellow of the National Academies of Practice. Moore is an associate professor and program director of exercise science at the University of Saint Mary in Leavenworth, Kansas. She has been on the faculty there since 2023.

Career Corner Career Corner

by Caroline Francis

HELP THE NEXT GENERATION BY SUPPORTING CAREER EXPLORATION

A high school senior feels pressure to have a five-year plan while still figuring out who they are. A college sophomore mentions during Thanksgiving break that they’re changing majors again. A recent graduate wonders aloud if their career path is a “mistake.”

These moments of indecision can prompt concern and urge family members and support teams to step in with answers. Yet in today’s economy and world of work, it’s a normal and healthy part of career development to explore and make changes. The most valuable gift adults can offer young people isn’t answers, but curiosity, perspective and steady support.

“At the University of Kentucky, we’re fortunate to have a team of dedicated professionals across our career centers who support students through meaningful exploration,” said Nicole Keenan, director of the Stuckert Career Center. “Through one-on-one conversations and access to a wide range of resources, we help students reflect on what matters most to them and develop strategies aligned with their personal and professional goals. Exploration isn’t a detour; it’s a critical part of discovering the right path.”

Careers today look quite different from those many alumni entered decades ago. Most people now change roles and even entire career fields multiple times. Many of today’s fastest-growing jobs didn’t exist five or 10 years ago. Employers increasingly value transferable skills such as problem-solving, communication, adaptability and teamwork as much as a specific major. Contrast that with earlier generations’ expectations of linear progress and long-term stability, and it is clear why career decision-making can feel more complex now.

This changing terrain calls for a shift in how others offer encouragement. Rather than pushing for early lock-in on a major and career path, family members and mentors can advocate for exploration. Internships, part-time jobs, research, volunteering and job shadowing all provide real-world understanding. Trying and ruling out options isn’t wasted time; it’s how young people learn what fits.

Entry-level jobs are learning opportunities, not life sentences. Reinforcing this perspective can relieve anxiety and open the door to thoughtful experimentation. Most alumni didn’t follow perfectly planned paths. Talking about pivots, missteps and what you learned when things didn’t go as planned offers far more value than prescribing a specific career.

Practical support can be simple and powerful: encourage use of campus career services even after graduation, offer introductions without pressure (“I know someone you could talk to”), and help students reflect after experiences. Strive to be a sounding board not a fixer.

Uncertainty can be stressful for young adults and for families who care deeply about them. Confidence grows through experience, not certainty, and careers unfold over time. Universities play a key role as partners in this journey through career services, alumni networks, mentoring and experiential learning. Career development is not a one-time decision but a lifelong process.

In the long view, careers are journeys, not destinations. By offering patience, curiosity and connection, we can all help the next generation build lives of purpose, flexibility and meaning one step at a time.

Recent University of Kentucky graduates may utilize the Career Center one year post graduation. UK Alumni Association Life/Active Members are eligible for two complimentary appointments per year with a certified career counselor. Visit http://www.ukalumni.net/career to learn more.

Class Notes

Ryan Pitts ’14 AS has been promoted to partner at Haynes Boone. He represents companies in appeals, briefing and arguing their cases before appellate courts such as the Texas Supreme Court, United States Courts of Appeals and the Texas Courts of Appeals.

Gentry Collins ’15 BE, ’18 LAW has been promoted to member (partner) at Stites & Harbison PLLC. She works in the Lexington office in the Trusts & Estates Service Group.

Morgan Walker ’15 FA has been appointed executive director of the Tulsa (Oklahoma) Symphony. Previously, Walker served as executive director of Louisiana’s Shreveport Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Emma Adam ’16 AFE has been elected vice president of the American Association of Equine Practitioners. She is a second-generation equine veterinarian and an associate professor and industry liaison at UK’s Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center.

Brett Bibb ’16 CI was named to the Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives’ 40 Under 40 list. He is the director of marketing at Commerce Lexington. He is co-founder and vice president of the DiverCity Festival, which has been instrumental in celebrating the cultural diversity of Lexington.

Lindsey Isner Burton ’16 AS, ’20 MED has joined the medical staff at Maury Regional Medical Center in Columbia, Tennessee.

Allie Brooks Patrick Davidson ’16 NUR is serving as Appalachian Regional Healthcare’s lifestyle medicine provider, using a revolutionary approach to health and wellness at Hazard ARH Clinic. Lifestyle medicine focuses on preventing, treating and reversing chronic conditions through evidencebased lifestyle interventions.

Chase Kauffeld ’16 BE has joined Northa Dakota Retirement and Investment Office as its chief retirement officer. He will guide the Teachers’ Fund for Retirement, a defined benefit plan that provides retirement income to North Dakota educators.

Austin Mullen ’16 BE, ’17 GS has been named the associate athletic director of development for Boise State Athletics. He arrives at Boise State with stops at Temple, UCLA, Ohio and Kentucky.

Josh Barnette ‘17 LAW has been promoted to member (partner) at Stites & Harbison PLLC. He works in the Atlanta office in the Torts & Insurance

Practice Service Group. Barnette advises clients through all phases of litigation, including appeals in state and federal courts.

Casey Dolen ’17 AS has joined the U.S. House Committee on Homeland Security as director for critical infrastructure. She most recently served in the White House Office of the National Cyber Director.

Lauren Kowalski ’17 CI has been named marketing director at Georgiabased full-service consulting firm Croy. She joined the firm in April 2024 as marketing manager.

Leah Byers ’18 GS has been named legislative liaison to the North Carolina State Board of Elections. She previously worked for Sen. Ralph Hise and worked in public policy at the John Locke Foundation.

Sarah Suzanne Durham ’18 FA has been appointed executive director of the Talespinner Children’s Theatre, Cleveland’s only dedicated theatre for children. Durham has more than 20 years’ experience in nonprofit arts leadership.

Jennifer Henry Jackson ’18 LAW has been promoted to member (partner) at Stites & Harbison PLLC. She works in the Louisville office in the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group. She is listed in the 2026 “Benchmark Litigation” as a Future Star.

Wendy Peterson ’18 DE has opened Woods and Water Family Dental in Cloquet, Minnesota.

Andrew Simms ’18 BE has been promoted to director, business operations and administration of the Mountain West Conference. Simms joined the Mountain West in January 2024 as assistant director, governance and compliance. Previously he served as a compliance assistant from August 2022 to December 2023 at Loyola University Chicago.

Will Eubanks ‘19 AS joined the faculty of the University of South Carolina,

Beaufort/Bluffton as professor of chemistry.

Thaer Musa ’19 MED has joined TMH Physician Partner Services in Tallahassee, Florida.

2020s

David Seder ’20 FA has been accepted into a two-year fellowship with Ensemble Connect, a collective of young professional musicians created in 2007 by Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education.

Emma Page ’21 CI, ’21 PH has joined the healthcare litigation practice of Zumpano Patricios in its headquarters in Coral Gables, Florida.

Jacob Baird ’22 AS, ’24 LAW has joined the Torts & Insurance Practice Service Group at the Lexington office of Stites & Harbison PLLC.

Anna M. Lucchese ’22 AS has joined the Louisville law firm of Fultz Maddox Dickens PLC as an associate attorney. She will practice with the firm’s commercial litigation group.

Will Hammond ’23 FA has been named new executive director at the Paramount Arts Center in Ashland, Kentucky. He is the former education director at the theater.

Karen Magruder ’25 SW, an associate professor of social work at The University of Texas, Arlington, has received the 2025 UT Regents’ Outstanding Teaching Award.

Joshua Gray Prentice ’25 FA has been named executive director of the Muskingum County Arts Council in Zanesville, Ohio.

John E. “Jes” Sikura ’25 CI has been named director of bloodstock at Hill ‘n’ Dale at Xalapa. He spent two years working in the farm’s bloodstock division while attending college at UK.

Jason Steigerwald ’25 EN has joined Messer Construction Company as a project engineer. He will work on projects at Clemson University.

Want to see your name on these pages? Share your news with us!

Send us your class note by emailing ukalumni@uky.edu or submitting your information in the online community at www.ukalumni.net/class

Information in Class Notes is compiled from previously published items in newspapers and other media outlets, as well as items submitted by individual alumni.

COLLEGE INDEX

AFE Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment

AS Arts & Sciences

BE Gatton College of Business & Economics

CI Communication & Information

DE Dentistry

DES Design

ED Education

EN Pigman College of Engineering

FA Fine Arts

GS The Graduate School

HS Health Sciences

HON Honorary Degree

LAW Rosenberg College of Law

MED Medicine

NUR Nursing

PHA Pharmacy

PH Public Health

SW Social Work

In Memoriam

Lois J. Stratton ‘46 AS Lexington, Ky.

Kenneth N. Blythe ‘48 EN Maryville, Tenn.

Charles E. Whaley ‘49 CI Louisville, Ky.

Lucy T. Easley ‘50 PHA Shelbyville, Ky.

Wallace R. Horine ‘50 BE Louisville, Ky.

Dr. Charles M. Derrickson ‘51 ‘56 AFE Morehead, Ky.

Betty Carol Clark ‘52 AS Glasgow, Ky.

Gen. Jack I. Gregory ‘53 AFE Surprise, Ariz.

Bowen G. McKinney ‘53 AFE Corydon, Ind.

Fred C. Miller Jr. ‘53 BE Urbandale, Iowa

Dr. John W. Donahoe ‘54 ‘56 AS, ‘58 ED Amherst, Mass.

Betty T. Morrison ‘54 ‘77 AFE Lexington, Ky.

Geraline P. Burrows ‘55 ED Hudson, Ohio

Faye Holcomb Porter ‘55 AS Lexington, Ky.

Forest L. Reeves ‘56 AFE Naples, Fla.

Dr. Garnett L. Bradford ‘57 ‘59 AFE Wilmington, N.C.

Caywood Metcalf ‘57 LAW Lancaster, Ky.

Joseph C. Mynk ‘57 EN Dallas, Texas

Barbara S. Brooks ‘58 AFE Lexington, Ky.

Frank B. Decker III ‘58 BE Fort Mitchell, Ky.

Dr. David L. Lawrence ‘58 MED Holmes Beach, Fla.

Catherine R. Boyd ’59 ’63 AFE Northport, Ala.

Dr. Gurney M. Norman ‘59 CI Lexington, Ky.

Sonia Barreiro Cawood ‘60 ‘66 AS Yellow Springs, Ohio

David B. Hume ‘60 PHA Louisville, Ky.

Edward R. Kerr ‘60 EN Madison, Wis.

Hon. Martha L. Collins ‘59 AFE, ‘85 GS Lexington, Ky.

Former Kentucky Gov. Martha Layne Collins died in November at age 88. She was the first, and to date, the only female governor of Kentucky. She served as governor from 1983 to 1987 and reformed the state’s public education system and revolutionized the state’s economy.

She was born in Shelby County, Kentucky. She grew up in Bagdad, Kentucky, and graduated from Shelbyville High School before attending the University of Kentucky.

Collins was a public school teacher before working in Wendell Ford’s 1971 gubernatorial bid and Walter Dee Huddleston’s 1972 U.S. Senate bid. She became secretary of the Kentucky Democratic Party and in 1975 was elected clerk of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, overseeing its transformation into the state Supreme Court.

Collins was elected lieutenant governor in 1979 and served simultaneously with Democratic Gov. John Y. Brown Jr. She sat as president of the State Senate and as both vice-chair and chair of the National Conference of Lieutenant Governors.

Perhaps her biggest achievement as governor was bringing Toyota to the Commonwealth when the automobile manufacturer selected Georgetown, Kentucky, as the home for its $800 million manufacturing plant.

As governor she also took critical steps toward comprehensive education reforms in Kentucky. During her administration, she created the Governors School of The Arts and the Bluegrass State Games.

She received many awards throughout her career iincluding being inducted into the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 1989 and in 1990 she was named to the UK College of Education Alumni Hall of Fame. She was a UK Fellow.

Upon leaving the Governor’s office, she served as president of St. Catharine College for six years, as the executive-in-residence at the University of Louisville’s School of Business, and as the director of the International Business and Management Center at the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics. She was a Harvard University Fellow in the John F. Kennedy School of Government at the Institute of Politics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ■

Dr. Martha A. Rolingson ‘60 AS Alvin, Texas

Garland L. Arnett ‘62 ‘67 ED Spartanburg, S.C.

Fred R. Hynson III ‘62 AS Lexington, Ky.

Denis E. Lowry ‘62 EN Lakewood Ranch, Fla.

Benjamin R. Patterson III ‘62 AS Fort Collins, Colo.

William R. Patterson Jr. ‘62 LAW Louisville, Ky.

Maxine C. Dellinger ‘63 CI Wytheville, Va.

Hiram J. Herbert ‘63 LAW Glasgow, Ky.

Thomas R. Layman ‘63 EN Frankfort, Ky.

Jo Ann McCord ‘63 ED Masonic Home, Ky.

Peggy A. Pratt ‘63 AS London, Ky.

Francis W. Thomas ‘63 AFE Cecilia, Ky.

Gary D. Bates ‘64 ‘67 EN Cincinnati, Ohio

George A. Critz ‘64 ‘68 ED Columbia, Ky.

Lionel A. Hawse ‘64 BE, ‘67 LAW Lexington, Ky.

Beverly J. McMakin ‘64 BE The Villages, Fla.

John J. Aboud ‘65 BE Louisville, Ky.

Barry Benton ‘65 LAW, ‘88 GS Nashville, Tenn.

David D. Drake ‘65 BE Lexington, Ky.

Mildred Chipps Evans ‘65 ED Covington, Ky.

Mary A. Harper ‘65 AS Lexington, Ky.

William G. Kohlhepp ‘65 LAW Crestview Hills, Ky.

John B. Sullivan Jr. ‘65 AFE Danville, Ky.

Amelia F. Adams ‘66 AS Louisville, Ky.

Suzanne C. Marshall ‘66 FA Lexington, Ky.

Eleanor C. Hawse ‘67 BE Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Russell A. Johnston ‘67 ED Henrico, Va.

Charles H. Keyes ‘67 AS, ‘67 ED Harrisburg, Pa.

Dr. Arthur Mittler ‘67 AS, ‘71 AS Methuen, Mass.

William M. Scalf ‘67 LAW Lexington, Ky.

Mary P. Stewart ‘67 ED Ashland, Ky.

Sharon M. Adkins ‘68 AS, ‘69 CI Tampa, Fla.

Stephen C. Cawood ‘68 LAW Pineville, Ky.

Dr. Joseph B. McClure Jr. ‘68 DE Walton, Ky.

George F. Weida ‘68 AS Fleetwood, Pa.

Victoria R. Bierman ‘69 AS Louisville, Ky.

Jacob L. Karnes Jr. ‘69 FA, ‘70 CI Lexington, Ky.

David Glenn Smith ’69 AS Davis, Calif.

Keenan V. Turner ‘69 AFE Somerset, Ky.

Annabel M. Bea ‘70 AS, ‘78 MED Owensboro, Ky.

Susan B. Block ‘70 ED Lexington, Ky.

Linda Sullivan Leahy ‘70 AS, ‘74 LAW Louisville, Ky.

Gene A. Sandbach ‘70 PHA Colorado Springs, Colo.

Anne D. Allen ‘71 ED Lexington, Ky.

Robert D. Gibson ‘71 BE Versailles, Ky.

Paul J. Martin ‘71 BE Owensboro, Ky.

Guy W. Shumate Jr. ‘71 EN Kentwood, La.

Dr. Stephen K. Vaught ‘71 AS, ‘71 ‘76 Elizabethtown, Ky.

Clinton Wheeler ‘71 ED Nicholasville, Ky.

Russell L. Ball Jr. ‘72 BE Madisonville, Ky.

Dr. Patrick L. Hagan ‘72 ED Bardstown, Ky.

Dr. Hugh L. Huffman Jr. ‘72 AS Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Thomas R. Humphries ‘72 PHA Alexandria, Va.

Thomas R. McClure ‘72 BE Hoschton, Ga.

Pamela A. Richardson ‘72 ED Campbellsville, Ky.

Margaret Kay Willmoth ‘72 AS Fort Myers, Fla.

Ronald E. Elliott ‘73 AS Bardstown, Ky.

In Memoriam

Earl Landham ’73 DES Owensboro, Ky.

Anne Richardson ‘73 AFE, ‘77 HS Cadiz, Ky.

Stephen L. Barker ‘75 LAW Lexington, Ky.

Robert L. Henderson ’75 DE West Liberty, Ky.

Dr. Eric J. Hilgeford ‘75 MED Louisville, Ky.

Michael S. Jarrell ‘75 FA Lexington, Ky.

William H. Merchant ‘75 AFE Bagdad, Ky.

Virginia Ann Sullivan ‘75 BE Lexington, Ky.

Hal G. Travis ‘75 EN Knoxville, Tenn.

Mark A. Wells ‘75 BE Princeton, Ky.

Michael W. Nelms ‘76 AS Hixson, Tenn.

Hon. Lewis G. Paisley ‘76 LAW Lexington, Ky.

Dr. R. Lynn Pennington ‘76 AS, ‘78 DE Combs, Ky.

Deborah B. Snavely ‘76 HS Fairborn, Ohio

Patricia R. Wintuska ‘76 AS Bowling Green, Ky.

Stephen A. Ross ‘77 DES Lexington, Ky.

Vicki F. Tapp ‘77 CC Wilson, N.C.

Carlotta Tuton ’77 PHA Louisville, Ky.

Debra N. Burchett ‘78 ED Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Fleming C. Chisholm Jr. ‘78 DE Bowling Green, Ky.

David T. Smith ‘78 BE Cynthiana, Ky.

Cynthia F. Buster ‘79 AS Charleston, S.C.

Jim A. Coldiron ‘79 BE Lexington, Ky.

Marie M. Copeland ‘79 AFE Winston Salem, N.C.

Dr. Joseph P. Goldston ‘79 MED Arden, N.C.

Margaret A. Lane ‘79 AFE Versailles, Ky.

Herman J. Thomas ‘79 BE Lexington, Ky.

Roy M. Thurman ‘79 FA, ‘86 ED Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Diane M. Siemens ‘80 ‘96 PHA Louisville, Ky.

Lynn Strutt Spadaccini ‘80 AFE Melbourne, Fla.

Mark D. Sisk ‘81 BE Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Michael P. Dumler ‘82 BE Towanda, Ill.

Gregory D. Stoppelwerth ‘82 EN Union, Ky.

Gregory M. Harler ‘85 EN Louisville, Ky.

Douglas E. Singleton ‘86 ED Taylor Mill, Ky.

Alan S. Yankey ‘86 BE Overland Park, Kan.

Carmen V. Lancho ‘88 GS Lexington, Ky.

Kenneth H. Williams ‘88 AS Triangle, Va.

Paul B. Mahan ‘89 PHA London, Ky.

Betty C. Ellis ‘90 AS Lexington, Ky.

Thomas B. Shaffer ‘90 AS North Chatham, Mass.

Lana K. Morrice ‘90 CI South Chatham, Mass.

Lyn S. Hacker ‘91 CI, ‘93 CC Sadieville, Ky.

Stephen E. Whitaker ‘91 PHA Mount Sterling, Ky.

John L. Croxton ‘93 HS Louisville, Ky.

Rosa D. Flores ‘94 PH Lexington, Ky.

Nancy C. McQuarrie ‘95 CC Lexington, Ky.

Marsha Rollins Cable ‘96 HS Lexington, Ky.

Heather L. Hewett ‘97 EN Lexington, Ky.

Charles J. Smith ‘98 BE Louisville, Ky.

Dr. Myrtle Elizabeth Clark ‘04 EN Lexington, Ky.

Jared Patrick Payne ‘09 AFE Lexington, Ky.

Tatum E. Dale ‘12 AFE Lexington, Ky.

Brandon Michael Cooke ‘21 ED Lexington, Ky.

Nathan M. Terrell ‘24 GS Lexington, Ky

University of Kentucky Alumni Association Life Member U niversity of Kentucky Fellow

In the Spotlight

FOUNDERS DAY CELEBRATION

The University of Kentucky turned 161 years old this year. The UK Alumni Association celebrated the birthday at the Founders Day Festival at the Gatton Student Center. Students joined in the fun by playing games, getting their photos taken, enjoying snacks and answering trivia.

The Bookshelf

Erika J. Simpson ’21 AS has written a debut memoir “This is Your Mother: A Memoir.” Named a Best Memoir of 2025 (So Far) by BookPage and Real Simple, the book is about a mother-daughter relationship across cycles of poverty, separation and illness, exploring how we forge identity in the face of imminent loss. “A beautiful story about an extraordinary mother’s gift of love and hope,” said critic Jeannette Walls. In this memoir, Simpson offers a recollection of the life she shared with her mother as they navigate the realities of destitution often left undiscussed. Her mother’s uncanny ability to endure Job-like trials and manifest New Testament–style miracles made her seem invincible. But while our parents may start out as gods in our lives, through her mother’s final months and fifth battle with cancer, Simpson captures the moment that we realize they are just people.

Jamie H. Vaught ’79 ’81 BE has written “Unforgettable Journey with the Cats: Inside Kentucky Hoops Madness.” This is Vaught’s seventh book on UK basketball and includes new interviews with UK basketball coaches Mark Pope and Kenny Brooks. It also features profiles of Paul Andrews, Reed Sheppard, Tom Couch Trent Noah, Georgia Amoore and former Wildcats who played in the now-defunct American Basketball Association. Vaught is a member of the U.S. Basketball Writers Association and was once a columnist for “The Cats’ Pause.”

Steven Lyle Penn ’96 AS, ‘99 ED has written “Shoes to Kill” about the case of a media mogul found murdered at the home of one of the nation’s leading college basketball coaches during a nationally televised game. It plays on the state’s and south’s obsession with college sports, particularly basketball and football. The protagonist, detective Hatchell Breeze, seeking retribution for a previously botched and forgotten case involving the university football team, enthusiastically takes on the investigation and an inevitable confrontation with the powerful players of the state university. This leads him to prostitution, illegal drugs, errant boosters, big business, university stonewalling and the prominent men and women of college sports.

William H. McCann Jr. ’12 FA has written “Yearnings: A Memoir in Prose and Poetry.” Using family photographs, letters and historical and educational records, the author shares what it was like to attend the nation’s first residential school for children with learning and behavioral disabilities. As a child, McCann was sent more than 500 miles away from home to The Cove Schools, the first of its kind in the nation for those who (in 1948) were referred to as brain-injured children. McCann, a 2025 Grawemeyer Award in Religion nominee, has also written “The New Adventures of Jesus,” a collection of flash fiction stories which find Jesus traveling across 21st Century America. It is a book meant to pull people up short, to make them consider the exemplary life of Jesus as a life that is relevant today.

Wendell Berry ‘56 ’57 FA, ’86 GS has written “Marce Catlett: The Force of a Story: A Port William Novel.” In the newest novel in the Port William series, Berry’s beloved protagonist Andy Catlett tells the inspiring story of his grandfather Marce Catlett to his children and grandchildren and gives them a key to their place on the questionably settled land they all love. “Vintage Berry, elegiac and elegant, with a profound sense of all that has been lost,” says Kirkus Reviews.

Stacy Schilling ’96 CI has written “The ABC’s of Wavy and Curly Hair Starring... The Frizz Girls.” The Frizz Girls want to teach you the ABC’s of wavy and curly hair complete with a glossary defining each word. This is a great resource to learn all the hair words that describe wavy and curly hair. This heartwarming picture book empowers kids with curly and wavy hair to embrace their beauty with confidence.

If you’re an alum who has written a new book, showcased your work in an art exhibit, launched a podcast or published another creative project, we’d love to hear from you.

Share your information to ukalumni@uky.edu.

Brain Break

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

Some stories deserve a second look. See what you remember!

1. In what year did UK’s longest-running teacher recognition award begin?

A. 1956 C. 1974

B. 1961 D. 1965

2. How many children’s hospitals are part of the Golisano Children’s Alliance?

A. 8 C. 12

B. 10 D. 15

3. What superstition did former UK baseball player Nick Lopez stick with during UK’s 2024 NCAA Tournament run?

A. Wore mismatched cleats

B. Ate the same pregame meal

C. Sported a blue mustache

D. Wore a pink, fuzzy bucket hat

4. New UK football coach Will Stein grew up attending UK football games. What section were his family’s season tickets located?

A. Section 128 C. Section 210

B. Section 42 D. Section 90

Answers? Turn the page upside down.

CAMPUS CLASSIC

When K-Lair reopened inside Haggin Hall on Aug. 25, 2025, it wasn’t just the doors that reopened — it was a campus tradition that dates back to 1961.

While the space may look different, the flavors are pure nostalgia. One fan favorite made its triumphant return: Spicy Beef Wrap.

Ready to relive it at home? It might not taste exactly like it did between classes, but it’s a delicious way to bring a little UK back to your kitchen.

Spicy Beef Wrap Serves 1

You’ll need:

• 3 oz shaved beef

• 2 slices pepper jack cheese

• 1½ oz salsa-mayo mixture (½ salsa, ½ mayo)

• A few sliced green peppers

• A few sliced onions

• 1 extra-large sun-dried tomato tortilla

To prepare:

Sauté peppers and onions in a lightly oiled skillet over medium-high heat for a 1-2 minutes. Add the shaved beef and cook just until done, stirring together.

Warm the tortilla briefly. Layer on the cheese, spread with the salsa-mayo mixture, then top with the beef and vegetables. Fold tightly into a wrap and press in a warm skillet for a few seconds per side to seal. Serve immediately.

FUTURE WILDCATS

Looking for a fun activity to share with a future Wildcat? Download Flat Wildcat coloring pages at ukalumni.net/FlatWildcat and enjoy a little Big Blue creativity at home. When your artist finishes their masterpiece, snap a photo and send it to ukalumni@uky.edu for a chance to be featured!

Color me!

Know a young fan who would love kid-friendly UK experiences? The UK Alumni Association’s Legacy Initiative Program connects the next generation of Wildcats to special invitations, family events and campus traditions. Learn more at ukalumni.net/Legacy

FEBRUARY 24, 1955

American folk singer and songwriter Jean Ritchie ‘46 SW, ‘83 HON receives the first University of Kentucky Founders Day Award from UK President H. L. Donovan.

To see photos from this year’s Founders Day celebration, see page 61.

LEARN MORE

The grass is greener here.