Forbes names UK as one of America’s Best-In-State Employers for 2024
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 26, 2024) — Forbes, in partnership with Statista, has named the University of Kentucky as one of America’s Best-In-State Employers in Kentucky for 2024.
America’s Best-In-State Employers have been identified in an independent survey from a vast sample of more than 160,000 employees working for companies employing at least 500 people within the U.S. Employers were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their own employers to friends and family. Employees also evaluated other employers in their respective industries and identified factors that stood out either positively or negatively.
The survey considered every aspect of an employee’s experience, including working conditions, salary, potential for growth and diversity. Of the thousands of companies eligible for this recognition, only a select few in each state receive the award.
“This recognition is so gratifying because it is based on the feedback of our faculty and staff,” said UK Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer Melissa Frederick. “Our people form a powerful community that comes together to do more and be more for our Commonwealth. As our campus and UK HealthCare enterprise continue to grow, we know we will need to continue recruiting and retaining the very best faculty and staff. This honor helps us demonstrate that this is a place where they can do the best work of their careers.”
The ranking is open to companies from all industry sectors. Around 4.4 million employer evaluations were considered. The consideration of data from three years allowed a robust differentiation between organizations that consistently perform well from those that may only have had a single good year.
According to Forbes, the recognition reinforces UK’s reputation of, and dedication to, excellence and builds on recent recognitions that UK has received from Forbes, including America’s Best Large Employers, Best Employers for New Graduates and Best Employers for Diversity.
For the full list of America’s Best Employers by State, click here.
As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.
In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.