Melanson Re-elected as Staff Representative to UK Board of Trustees
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 25, 2022) — David Melanson, assistant director for External Affairs and Development in the Center for Applied Energy Research at the University of Kentucky, has been re-elected by university staff to serve his third three-year term as Staff Representative to the UK Board of Trustees.
Melanson previously served a three-year term as staff representative from July 1, 2019, to June 30, 2022. His new term expires June 30, 2025.
“I am honored to have this opportunity to serve the university as the Staff Representative to the UK Board of Trustees,” said Melanson. “The next three years will be pivotal as we continue to grow out of COVID, compete in a new and changing environment to recruit and retain talent, and navigate through rising inflation and costs. We have a lot of work ahead. But we have a great team of dedicated UK staff across campus that I look forward to learning from and working alongside as we create a better place for us all.”
Melanson began his UK career in 2004 as the university’s first presidential speechwriter, a position he held for nearly seven years. He then worked as director of alumni and external relations for the UK College of Pharmacy for five years, before accepting a position as assistant director for external affairs and development at the UK Center for Applied Energy Research in December 2015.
Melanson is chair of the University Athletics Committee and is a member of the UK Board of Trustees’ Health Care Committee and Human Resources and University Relations Committee. He also serves as an ex-officio member of the University of Kentucky Staff Senate.
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.