UK named among nation's top large employers by Forbes magazine
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2024) — The University of Kentucky has been named on Forbes’ America’s Best Large Employers list, ranking in the top 100 out of 500 total companies, and 11th in the education category. Other organizations listed include Garmin, Delta Air Lines and Fidelity Investments, placing UK among some of the most prominent companies in the nation.
“It is gratifying to receive another recognition of UK as a great workplace,” said Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Melissa Frederick. “Our university has bold goals, and we know we need to continue to attract and retain the very best faculty and staff to help us achieve them. We saw recently from our campus employee engagement survey that our employees believe strongly in our mission, and this is a community where everyone is treated with respect. Those are just a couple of reasons why UK is such a rewarding place to work.”
America's Best Large Employers have been selected based on an independent survey of over 170,000 U.S. employees from all industry sectors working for companies employing at least 5,000 people within the U.S. Over 3.5 million employer evaluations were considered. The final score is based on two types of evaluations: personal (those given by employees themselves, also known as direct evaluations) and public (those given by friends and family members of employees, or members of the public who work in the same industry- also known as indirect evaluations).
As businesses prioritize initiatives to navigate an uncertain economy, what remains unchanged for the university is an unwavering focus on talent. This award is a testament to UK's people-first culture and our approach to driving meaningful employee experiences.
UK prides itself on meeting the needs of not only its students, but also its employees. The America's Best Large Employers 2024 title reinforces our reputation as an exceptional employer. For the full list of America’s Best Employers, click here. For information on employment opportunities and benefits, visit UK Human Resources.
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.