Campus News

Capilouto’s Campus Conversations: College of Medicine Pivotal to University’s Clinical, Research Growth

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 17, 2011) – If you could be the University of Kentucky’s president for a day, what would you do?

That’s the question UK’s 12th president, Eli Capilouto, posed to faculty members from the College of Medicine during a lengthy question-and-answer session this week.

The answers revolved around recurring themes on campus that Capilouto is encountering as he visits each of the colleges as part of his campus conversations: supporting and empowering the growing research mission of the institution and continuing to recruit and retain the researchers and clinicians that will grow that mission.

“If we hope to fulfill our role as the state’s flagship institution, the work we do has to be about more than rankings, it has to be about the people whose lives we touch,” Capilouto said. “I spent the afternoon in the College of Medicine meeting with faculty researchers and clinicians who are changing the way we look at medicine and inventing innovative, life-saving medical procedures for the people of Kentucky and beyond.”

In recent years, the faculty ranks in the College of Medicine have grown more than 20 percent and the number of employees overall has increased by more than 900. Moreover, operating revenues since fiscal year 2004 have increased $160 million, from $348 million to $510 million — a reflection of the robust research and clinical activities.

But continuing that momentum and growth, the president said, will take a great deal of work, creativity and innovation.

“We need to find creative approaches to secure necessary support for our scientific discovery and research,” Capilouto said. “The faculty and administration that I met with had insightful ideas for how we might do this, and I look forward to continuing our conversation and tapping their expertise in this area.”

Capilouto is visiting each college over the next several weeks to engage in a deeper conversation about UK’s challenges and opportunities. The goal over the next few months is to work with the campus and the Board of Trustees toward a shared vision and agenda for the university.

His next visit is with the College of Arts & Sciences.