UK Named 2011 ‘Favorite Place to Work’

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 1, 2011) -- Central Kentuckians have named the University of Kentucky their 2011 “Favorite Place to Work” in the Lexington Herald-Leader’s annual Readers’ Choice poll.

Each year, the newspaper  invites its readers and Kentucky.com visitors to cast votes online for their favorite local and regional organizations in a variety of categories, including  employers, restaurants, charities and more. Several hundred thousand votes were submitted online during the May-June selection period.

This year, UK was named most frequently by those casting votes for a local employer.

"We‘re certainly pleased the University of Kentucky was voted 'Favorite Place to Work' by so many individuals from central Kentucky," said Kim Wilson, associate vice president for Human Resources.  "While  UK has increasingly become a top destination for the best and brightest students from across the Commonwealth and around the world, we’ve also worked hard to make sure UK is also widely known as a great place to work."

"This has allowed us to attract the kind of diverse and talented professionals needed to lead our efforts in education, health care  and research — for the benefit of Kentuckians today and for generations to come. You can see this in our students’ and researchers’ success stories, as well as in the tremendous growth of UK HealthCare. Our new, state-of-the-art UK Albert B. Chandler Hospital has created a national hub for research and talent in our own backyard and will help ensure Kentuckians have access to world-class medical care," the chief human resources officer said.

"By working together," Wilson added, "we’ve created something unique at UK:  A place to work where we can excel individually and as a community, all for the greater good. This drive to innovate and improve is matched by our commitment to creating a supportive work environment, one that recognizes the importance of well-rounded professional and personal lives. After all, at UK we specialize in building great teams."

MEDIA CONTACT: Gail Hairston, (859) 257-3302 or gail.hairston@uky.edu