Campus News

Founders Day Award nominations now open

Tom Hammond (left) with UK President Eli Capilouto. Hammond was awarded the 2023 University of Kentucky Founders Day Award.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Alumni Association seeks nominees for the 2024 Founders Day Award to honor an individual who personifies goodwill and demonstrates, through work, service, mission and spirit, a dedication to the Commonwealth of Kentucky and its residents.  

The Founders Day Award commemorates the founding of the university on Feb. 22, 1865. The recipient will receive an award medallion and a one-time monetary donation will be made in the recipient’s name to an existing university philanthropic fund of their choice.  

Nominations will be collected until Dec. 1. Nomination forms are located on our website. A committee appointed by the executive director of the UK Alumni Association will review nominations to determine a recipient.  

Legendary TV sports broadcaster and UK alumnus Tom Hammond received the 2023 Founders Day Award. 

The UK Alumni Association is committed to fostering lifelong engagement among alumni, friends, the association and the university. For more information about the UK Alumni Association, visit www.ukalumni.net or call 800-269-2586.

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.