Campus News

‘Behind the Blue Special Edition’: SGA President Courtney Wheeler Continues Student Advocacy Despite the Challenges of COVID-19.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2020) — Over the past several weeks, "Behind the Blue" has spoken with several people who have provided leadership and guidance to our university community during the coronavirus pandemic. From medical personnel like Rebecca Dutch, to university administrative members like Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration Eric Monday, each have provided valuable insight on how the University of Kentucky has addressed the challenges presented by our fight against COVID-19.

Incoming Student Government Association President Courtney Wheeler started her term of office on April 29, 2020. A junior double major in business management with business and organizational communication from Louisville, Kentucky, Wheeler served SGA during the 2019-20 academic year as the SGA chief of staff.

On this week’s episode of "Behind the Blue," Wheeler talks about her personal adjustments to an all online schedule due to COVID-19, the efforts Student Government made to move online and maintain its level of advocacy for students, how she has been working with the university to walk through a variety of scenarios to anticipate what the fall semester may look like at UK, and more.

"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. You can watch a video version of this podcast here.

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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.