Lexington Mayor Names UK's Mark Swanson to Fill Out 3rd District Term
LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 31, 2020) — Mayor Linda Gorton has appointed Mark Swanson, a University of Kentucky professor in the College of Public Health, as 3rd District Councilmember. Swanson has worked with downtown Lexington neighborhoods to improve accessibility to healthy foods.
“Mark is well prepared to be the Councilmember for the Third District,” Gorton said. “He has worked to improve economic opportunity in our downtown neighborhoods. And he is a faculty member at the University of Kentucky, which is another important part of the District.”
Swanson will replace Councilmember Jake Gibbs, who died suddenly on March 3. Gorton said Swanson will be sworn into office after a 15-day waiting period to allow Councilmembers time to meet him.
“I’m honored by the confidence Mayor Gorton has shown in me with this appointment, and I look forward to serving my neighbors in the 3rd District in these unprecedented and challenging times,” Swanson said.
In addition to teaching at UK, Swanson’s work focuses on applied research on food environments. He has worked with stores in low income neighborhoods in Lexington and in Eastern Kentucky to increase healthy food options. He also worked on the “Better Bites” initiative to add healthy items to the menus at Lexington pools and to overhaul pool snack bar menus.
Swanson is a member of the Lexington Environmental Commission, the Lexington Tweens Nutrition and Fitness Coalition Board of Directors, and the Advocacy Committee of the American Heart Association, Kentucky Chapter.
Swanson holds a doctorate in anthropology from the University of Florida.
Swanson and his wife, Nancy Schoenberg, a professor in the UK College of Medicine, have two adult children, Rachel and Ben Swanson.
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.