Student News

'On the Table' Will Allow Students to Discuss the Future of Lexington

students downtown
UK students spending a sunny afternoon in Thoroughbred Park, Downtown Lexington. | Mark Cornelison, UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 28, 2022) — This April, all Lexingtonians are invited to help chart the future of Lexington by hosting and joining a citywide conversation during On the Table, from April 10-16, 2022. These conversations are a way for you and your communities to come together and talk about what is and isn’t working in Lexington while getting to know one another better. They can be held in homes, businesses, parks, schools, libraries, online, or in-person.

The University of Kentucky’s Office of Student Organizations and Activities housed in the Office for Student Success will be hosting tables in the Gatton Student Center in the Cat’s Den from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 13, 2022. Tables conversations will start on the hour. Students, faculty and staff are all encouraged to join in on a conversation. If interested in joining a conversation in the Cat’s Den, please sign up here. Student organizations, faculty and departmental offices can also register to host their own tables here.

These small gatherings will also include a survey, where your insights will be directly incorporated into the input for Imagine Lexington 2023, Lexington’s next Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is one of our city’s most important planning documents and sets the direction for growth and development over the next 20 years. Through On the Table, thousands of people will be able to give input on topics like Fayette County’s environment, jobs, housing, neighborhoods, land use and more. Register to host or attend an On the Table conversation using the button below.

This year, CivicLex is organizing On the Table with help from a 34-member advisory group, including three representatives from the University of Kentucky: Chris Ciarcia, Office of Student Organizations and Activities; Luliia Shybalkina, Martin School of Public Administration; and Sharon Yam, Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies.

Students, faculty and staff interested in participating in On the Table can email Chris Ciarcia at ciaricac@uky.

On the Table is made possible through the financial support of Blue Grass Community Foundation, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Fayette Alliance Foundation, PNC Bank and other partners.

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.