‘Behind the Blue’: The intertwined history of UK, Lexington
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 26, 2025) — As Lexington commemorates its 250th anniversary and the University of Kentucky marks its 160th, UK Libraries’ Deirdre Scaggs helps listeners explore the intertwined history and evolving relationship between the city and its university.
Scaggs is associate dean for research and discovery and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center in UK Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center.
She helps navigate UK’s origins in Lexington, the challenges of growing, UK and Lexington’s symbiotic relationship, and the importance of the community built between the two.
A key part of that is UK’s mission and charge as the Commonwealth’s land-grant institution.
“Having a land-grant institution in your city is a big draw for development, for businesses to want to come here and invest in the area,” Scaggs said. “The public service mission of a land-grant institution is something that I think the university has always followed through with and has made such a difference — from the early days of agricultural extension to all of the health care, innovations and opportunities that exist here to help the entire state.”
Learn more from Scaggs about the captivating history, challenges and triumphs that have shaped Lexington and UK, as well as the historical insights and pivot points that define the relationship between the two.
There’s a yearlong celebration for Lexington’s 250th anniversary. You can keep up with all the latest events for 250Lex online here.
About “Behind the Blue”
“Behind the Blue” is available via a variety of podcast providers, including iTunes and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.
“Behind the Blue” is a joint production of the University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.
To discover how the University of Kentucky is advancing our Commonwealth, click here.
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.