UK announces Fayette Alliance as 2025-26 Cornerstone Community Innovation Partner
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 28, 2025) — The University of Kentucky is pleased to announce Fayette Alliance as its next Cornerstone Community Innovation Partner (CIP) for the 2025-26 academic year. Fayette Alliance will maintain an ongoing presence at The Cornerstone, advancing community engagement with students, faculty and staff and deepening the connection between the university and the wider Lexington community. The CIP program is part of UK's Economic Development Collaborative.
This year-long partnership supports The Cornerstone’s mission to foster innovation, entrepreneurship and community connection by creating opportunities for collaborative engagement between the university and the surrounding community.
“The Cornerstone was created to be a place where the university and community come together to generate new ideas and partnerships,” said Melody Flowers, UK assistant vice president for economic development and real estate. “Through the CIP program, we’re able to connect students, faculty and staff with community leaders like Fayette Alliance to work on the issues that shape Lexington’s future. These collaborations allow innovation to happen in real time and ensure the benefits are shared not only across campus but with the broader community.”
Fayette Alliance promotes smart, sustainable and equitable growth in Lexington-Fayette County through land-use advocacy, education and research. The organization works to ensure thoughtful planning and zoning policies within Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, produce data-driven research and build a community of informed advocates who are committed to policies that preserve Lexington’s vibrant urban core and productive rural land.
Through this partnership, Fayette Alliance will use The Cornerstone as a physical home for educational programs such as Grow Smart Academy, Grow Smart Academy 2.0 and Smart Growth Ambassadors. The alliance also plans to explore new programming tailored specifically to UK’s students, faculty and staff, including office hours, workshops and community events that connect the UK community to civic leadership, urban planning and local government.
“The University of Kentucky’s commitment to research, education and community, and its role as a major stakeholder in the growth and development of Lexington-Fayette County create a natural partnership with the mission of Fayette Alliance,” said Ethan Wallace, Fayette Alliance’s education and community engagement manager. “UK students, faculty and staff are at the front lines of growing our city in a responsible, sustainable and equitable way — which Fayette Alliance works on through land-use advocacy, education and research. We are grateful for this partnership and the exciting opportunity to engage with the UK community, learn from them and work together for responsible growth on and off campus.”
The Cornerstone building serves as a gateway to the university’s emerging innovation district, providing a space for idea sharing, programming and events that center on innovation, creativity, technology, entrepreneurship and equitable economic development. This partnership will allow students to engage with real-world issues facing Lexington-Fayette County and better understand how urban planning, transportation and land-use decisions impact quality of life and economic vitality.
Fayette Alliance has already scheduled two sessions of its 2025 Grow Smart Academy program at The Cornerstone and looks forward to expanding its reach through this partnership. Longer term, the organization plans to bring new initiatives — such as the Transit Advocacy Academy and Reimagine Lex design contest — to the space, further connecting the UK community with civic leaders, local nonprofits, agricultural stakeholders and other community organizations.
For more information about community programming at The Cornerstone, contact Ashley Castorena at ashleycastorena@uky.edu.
About the Economic Development Collaborative
UK is a powerful economic engine for Kentucky. The university educates and empowers the next generation of citizens, provides research that influences community and policy development and collaborates with economic partners — all of which strengthen and shape a new future for both Lexington and the Commonwealth. The UK Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) is a network of campus and community stakeholders who oversee UK’s economic development and business engagement activities. The mission of the EDC is to proactively grow economic prosperity in the Commonwealth of Kentucky in the areas of talent, innovation, place, partnership and economic engagement. Learn more at https://edc.uky.edu.
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.