Campus News

Important Update About Coronavirus and our Campus Community

Campus.
Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 12, 2020) – The health, safety and well-being of everyone on our campus is our relentless priority at all times.    The coronavirus (COVID-19) is already proving to be an unprecedented disruption to our university, Lexington community, Commonwealth and world. The course it will take is uncertain, but the days and weeks ahead will be even more challenging.   In an abundance of caution: 

1.       The University of Kentucky will remain open, but instruction will continue through online or other alternatives from March 23 through April 3 (which are the two weeks after Spring Break for most of our students). 

  • The goal is to resume normal course delivery April 6.
  • Our students can return to campus residence halls or take their classes from their apartments, home community, or any other location. 
  • Colleges, units and faculty should create contingency plans should we need to extend the suspension of in-class instruction.

2.       Staff operations will continue as normal.

3.       Research and health care enterprise activities will continue as planned. 

4.       All university-sponsored or endorsed travel internationally is suspended indefinitely. There is an appeals process.

5.       All travelers arriving from Europe and Japan will be required to self-isolate for 14 days after their arrival in the U.S. before they will be allowed to return to campus. The names and contact information of these travelers will be shared with UK HealthCare, who will follow up with them individually with additional guidance.

6.       Students who had planned to participate in a Summer Education Abroad program will be contacted by the UK Education Abroad and Exchanges Office by March 20 with a decision about the program.

7.       All university-sponsored or endorsed domestic travel is strongly discouraged. Our voluntary travel registrywill continue indefinitely so we can continue to monitor travel plans to provide members of our campus community with the most up-to-date guidance and assistance.

8.       We will be evaluating campus events on a case-by-case basis. We will determine how to handle, or whether to host, events where large numbers of people may gather, with the goal of ensuring health and minimizing the potential transmission of the virus.

For the most up-to-date information regarding our plans and preparedness in addressing these challenges, please go to the special micro site we have established: www.uky.edu/coronavirus/.  

This is an uncertain and anxious moment for all of us. The best thing to do is control what we each can control: our own health and travel habits. Be mindful of your wellness and be attentive to the wellness of others. It is what communities do. 

We will continue to work through this in a smart, methodical, and compassionate way. 

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.