UK HealthCare

‘UK at the Half’: Philanthropy Boosts Cancer Care at Markey

Mark Evers, M.D., director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo
Mark Evers, M.D., director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 7, 2022) In this “UK at the Half,” Mark Evers, M.D., director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center, talks about the growth of Markey and plans for a new cancer care facility that was recently kickstarted by a $10 million philanthropic gift from Central Bank.

In 2009, Evers came to Kentucky to serve as the director of Markey with one overarching goal in mind: to reduce the significant burden of cancer in our state.

Thirteen years into his tenure, the UK Markey Cancer Center has grown into a robust cancer program that U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks as one of the top 50 in the country. Since becoming a National Cancer Institute-designated center in 2013, Markey’s research funding and patient volumes have increased substantially – so much, in fact, that the cancer center has outgrown the buildings it has called home for the past four decades.

“UK at the Half” airs during halftime of each UK football and basketball game broadcast on the radio and is hosted by UK Public Relations and Marketing. To hear the “UK at the Half” interview, click the play button above.

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.