'Behind the Blue': John Thelin Looks Back On His Time at UK, and Ahead to the Future of Higher Ed
LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2022) — Walking across campus is one of John Thelin’s favorite aspects of working at the University of Kentucky for one reason. He loves running into his colleagues and former students.
It’s that community that he says he will miss the most as his time at UK draws to a close.
Thelin, a University Research Professor in the UK College of Education's Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation, is set to retire after 43 years in higher education — 26 of those spent at UK.
A regarded authority on the history of higher education and public policy, Thelin’s recent book “Essential Documents in the History of Higher Education,” 2nd edition, made Forbes’ list of Best Higher Education Books of 2021.
In this episode of "Behind the Blue," Thelin sits down with two of his former students, Amy Jones-Timoney and Jay Blanton, to recount his time at UK and discuss the future of higher education — both on this campus and at colleges and universities across the country.
"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.
For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.
To discover what’s wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, 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.