Campus News

Why UK Staff Member Mike Rhodus Has the 'Heart to Step Up'

Mike Rhodus, Mark Cornelison | UK photo
Mike Rhodus. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 7, 2022) — What makes UK the University of, for and with Kentucky? 

The answer is our people.  

We are a community full of individuals who sacrifice for the greater good. During the past two years, those sacrifices have been magnified as the University of Kentucky continued its missions of teaching, service, research and healing. There are so many people who worked behind the scenes to make the impossible, possible. In this UKNow series, we hope to honor some of those employees who had the “Heart to Step Up,” despite the many obstacles presented to them while working during a global pandemic.  

This month UKNow talked to Mike Rhodus, who works as a grounds team leader in UK Facilities Management.

No matter the time of year, the UK campus is a beautiful and special place. But this beauty would not exist if not for the hard work of Rhodus and more than 70 UK Grounds Department staff. They work year-round to create and maintain around 800 acres of outdoor space — providing a safe, welcoming environment for our campus community.

For the past two years, we’ve seen their commitment more than ever before.

Rhodus shares a little more about his role and how it shifted in response to the pandemic in the Q&A below.

UKNOW: What is your role here at UK?  

Rhodus:  I am a grounds team leader for the horticulture crew on the south side of campus. I take care of the residence halls Woodland Glen, Smith, Baldwin, Ingels, Lewis, University Flats, Donovan, Haggin and Lyman T. Johnson as well as everything from Boone Center to Cooper Drive.

UKNOW: What’s the best part about your job?  

Rhodus:  As the seasons change so does my job — I’m outside in the fresh air, sometimes in the elements. I like working with my hands and don’t mind to get them dirty. There is something about working with plants and flowers that is therapeutic.

UKNOW: How did your role change due to COVID-19? If you could tell yourself one thing pre-COVID, what would it be? 

Rhodus:  When the pandemic started I was the first volunteer to come in at 4 a.m. to clean the parking structure stairwells and handrails before the workers got here. Also, they shut down eating inside anywhere on campus, so the trash we dealt with quadrupled.

Something I would tell myself is to keep more emergency supplies on hand, so I don’t have to get into a crowd fighting over toilet paper — who knew. I would have also switched some stock to Zoom and would have taken myself somewhere special — because it's going to be awhile

UKNOW: What inspired you during this past year?  

Rhodus:  My daughter, though all of this, graduated with a 4.4 GPA while playing softball for Henry Clay High School, travel ball and working a part-time job. She didn’t let COVID-19 stop her and made her dad so proud.

 

UKNow hopes to highlight different employees from across campus in the “Heart to Step Up” series. If you know someone who went above and beyond during this past year, please email us. 

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.