UK Alumni Association seeks service award nominations

The 2024 award winners were, from left, Katy Bennett; Michaela Taylor; Janie McKenzie-Wells; Michael L. Hawks, D.M.D.; and Antoine Huffman. (Not pictured Todd Lanham.) Photo by Scott Hayes.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Alumni Association is looking for nominations for the Distinguished Service Awards and Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award. These awards are presented annually to honor and recognize those who have provided extraordinary service to the university and the association. The 2025 recipients will be honored at the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors Summer Workshop in Lexington. 

Distinguished Service Award Winners 

Each year, the UK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award recognizes up to five recipients as selected by the Board of Directors Awards Committee. Nominees for this prestigious award should have:  

  • Demonstrated a history of diligent work for the UK Alumni Association and/or a local alumni club. 
  • Contributed to the accomplishments of the UK Alumni Association and/or a local alumni club. 
  • Provided leadership and dedication to university and association programs. 
  • Provided meaningful service to alumni and friends of the university, community and profession. 
  • Earned at least 12 credit hours or has provided outstanding service to the university at the discretion of the selection committee. 

To nominate a deserving individual, please complete the form at www.ukalumni.net/ServiceAwards by Nov. 29.  

Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award 

The Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award is named for a long-time UK administrator who spent the better part of his life in service to UK students. 

A nominee for this award must be an alumna or alumnus who is a member of the UK Alumni Association, who is 35 years of age or younger by June 30, 2025, and who has worked on behalf of young people through the university, the association, their alumni club or in the local community in the following capacities: 

  • Raising funds for scholarships and/or awarding scholarships for students to attend UK.
  • Working with local high school students through club-sponsored event and/or preview nights to interest students in attending UK. 
  • Working to educate youth in the local community, whether through tutoring, coaching or other means to keep them interested in learning. 
  • Assisting in efforts to support the Student Alumni Association through mentoring or other means. 

For more information about the awards and to see past winners, visit www.ukalumni.net/Awards.  

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 1-800-269-2586. 

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.