University of Kentucky Alumni Association hosts 33rd annual Lyman T. Johnson Awards Luncheon
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2024) — Join the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, in partnership with the UK Office for Community Relations, for the 33rd annual Lyman T. Johnson Awards Luncheon, 11 a.m.-1p.m. Oct. 11 in the Gatton Student Center Grand Ballroom.
UK’s academic colleges select an alum to receive the Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence award for outstanding achievements and a student to receive the Torch Bearer award for academic excellence and impact on others.
Lyman T. Johnson was a pioneer who challenged the status quo in his landmark court case which opened the University of Kentucky to Black students in 1949. He dedicated his life to fighting against segregation and racial inequalities in Kentucky. The Lyman T. Johnson Alumni Constituency Group established an endowed scholarship in 2008 in his name to provide financial assistance to students of color in their pursuit of higher education.
Tickets for the Lyman T. Johnson Awards Luncheon are $50 for individuals and $600 for a reserved VIP table. Tickets can be purchased by visiting www.ukalumni.net/ltj.
The list of awardees by college are as follows:
Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment
- Torch of Excellence — Mya Price, Ph.D.
- Torch Bearer — Jaida Alee
College of Arts & Sciences
- Torch of Excellence — Jessica Burris, Ph.D.
- Torch Bearer — Dallas Wallace III
Gatton College of Business & Economics
- Torch of Excellence — Frank C. Parker III
- Torch Bearer — Deborah Burden
College of Communication & Information
- Torch of Excellence — Carlos Phillips
- Torch Bearer — Nadia Sesay
College of Dentistry
- Torch of Excellence — Jay Anderson, D.M.D.
- Torch Bearer — Gabby Filkins
College of Design
- Torch of Excellence — Shayla Lawson
- Torch Bearer — Jamal Gordon
College of Education
- Torch of Excellence — Katelyn Hutchison
- Torch Bearer — Amica Snow
Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering
- Torch of Excellence — Patty Dunaway
- Torch Bearer — Emorie D. Jackson
College of Fine Arts
- Torch of Excellence — Brianna Armstrong
- Torch Bearer — Yashima Lewis
College of Health Sciences
- Torch of Excellence — Avery Skinner
- Torch Bearer — Raleigh de los Reyes
Rosenberg College of Law
- Torch of Excellence — Judge Melissa M. Moore
- Torch Bearer — Angel R. Chapman
Lewis Honors College
- Torch Bearer — Sara Dickens
College of Medicine
- Torch of Excellence — Jai Gilliam, M.D.
- Torch Bearer — Darayon Moore
- Torch Bearer — Genesee Martinez
College of Nursing
- Torch of Excellence — Omar Brown
- Torch Bearer — Jordan Brown
College of Pharmacy
- Torch of Excellence — Latrice Strings, Pharm.D.
- Torch Bearer — Ciarah Ross
College of Public Health
- Torch of Excellence — Charlotte Baker, D.P.H.
- Torch Bearer — Aiemere Oikegh
College of Social Work
- Torch of Excellence — Shericka Smith, D.S.W.
- Torch Bearer — Deja Johnson
The UK Alumni Association is committed to fostering lifelong engagement among alumni, friends, the association and the university. For more information about the UK Alumni Association, visit www.ukalumni.net or call 800-269-2586.
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.