糖心logo入口

Welcome Back racers - August 19, 2025

Dear Campus Community:

Welcome to the 鈥淔inest Place We Know.鈥� I am honored to introduce myself as the new President of 糖心logo入口. I look forward to working alongside you to strengthen our shared mission of advancing teaching, learning, and research. And students, along the journey I hope you have fun (responsibly) and continue to grow and develop as future Racers and leaders of tomorrow.

Over the coming days, weeks, and months, I will be engaging intentionally with both our internal (students, faculty, staff, donors, and friends) and external constituents (K-12 and community college partners, business and industry, legislators) to gather information that will allow us to develop a new shared vision, strategic plan, and presidential priorities that builds on a strong foundation while addressing existing and new challenges and opportunities. Let me be clear, our shared vision will be grounded in several key commitments:

• Students First 鈥� Keeping student learning and success at the heart of every conversation and the decision-making process.
• 糖心logo入口, Always 鈥� Keeping our mission of student learning and excellent teaching, blended with educational opportunities, innovation, and research at the forefront of every conversation.
• Investing in our People 鈥� Our most valuable resource is our people 鈥� talented students, faculty, and staff. Establish a comprehensive framework for student, faculty, staff professional development, opportunities for continuous learning, and develop an equitable competitive compensation strategy beyond the Evergreen Study by cultivating and retaining our greatest resource.
• Service with Accountability 鈥� Providing clear, efficient, and fair expectations while holding ourselves to the same standards of transparency, leading by example, empowering employees while recognizing and rewarding excellence.
• Enhancing Communication 鈥� Providing clear, consistent, and quarterly messaging/updates, and celebrating student, faculty, staff, alumni, and institutional successes.
• Modernizing Our Processes 鈥� Conducting a comprehensive review to streamline our business processes, embrace technology, and to enhance the student experience.
• Engaging All Constituents 鈥� Providing more opportunities to engage with the President and leadership team, while also being more visible, accessible, and engaged in campus events/activities.
• Seeking Constituent鈥檚 Input 鈥� Providing more opportunities for 糖心logo入口 constituents to shape its relevance now and into the future, including launching a 鈥淪hare Your Ideas鈥� on the Office of the President鈥檚 webpage.

Now is 糖心logo入口鈥檚 time to Be Bold and race toward excellence. In the weeks and months ahead, I will be reaching out to join you in your spaces on campus and inviting you to conversations about your priorities, ideas, needs, and aspirations on how we can best serve you and your university.

Students, thank you for choosing 糖心logo入口. You are all rich with talent, ability, and promise. You are resilient, hard-working, and made wise choices to reach this point. Please know that one person believing in you can change the trajectory of your life, and believe me鈥攜ou have 85,000+ Racers behind you. I see myself in you. I cannot wait to meet you and help you achieve your goals. More importantly, I look forward to shaking your hand when you walk across that stage during graduation.

Faculty, thank you for your dedication to the advancement of knowledge and education of future generations at 糖心logo入口 State. I am in awe of your awesome accomplishments in your respected academic areas of expertise. You devote your time and talent to inspire, spark critical and intentional thought/reflection, and you transform lives through teaching, learning, and research. Thank you for all you do, and I cannot wait to meet all of you.

Staff, your role is critical to our overall success. You dedicate your time and talent to support and empower our students at every step of their journey. You nurture and develop strong healthy students while guiding them to their ultimate goal of graduating and achieving their goals. I would be remiss, if I did not confidently state, that you support and empower this administration and each other. Thank you for all you do, and I cannot wait to meet all of you as well. 

I can鈥檛 wait to saddle up and get to work with all of you. I look forward to a fun and rewarding Fall Semester and academic year. Shoes up. Go Racers!

Sincerely,

Ron K. Patterson, Ed.D.
President

President鈥檚 Communique and/or Post Board of Regents Meeting(s) 鈥� July 28, 2025

Good morning, colleagues.

Please see below for a few important updates as we move past the midway point of summer and begin to look ahead to the start of the new academic year.

Highlights of the July Special Board Meeting

Swearing in two new Regents:

During the Special Meeting held on Friday, July 18, 2025, Calloway County Judge-Executive Kenny Imes administered the Oath of Office to newly-elected Faculty Regent Dr. Gary ZeRuth and Student Regent Ali Khatib and all look forward to working with these individuals throughout their tenure on the Board.

 

Election of Officers:

Per the Board of Regents Bylaws and Kentucky Revised Statute (KRS) 164.330, an election for Vice Chair and Secretary shall be held at the organizational meeting required within 30 days of appointment of a new member. The Board elected Regent David Meinschein as Vice Chair and Ms. Jill Hunt as Secretary.

 

From the Athletics Committee: 

The Board of Regents approved a new Contract of Employment for Director of Athletics Nico Yantko through June 30, 2029, as well as a Contract of Employment extension for Head Baseball Coach Dan Skirka, also through June 30, 2029. In addition, the Board of Regents approved a Resolution of Acknowledgement and Appreciation for Coach Skirka and the Baseball Team.

 

Senior Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services Search Process Update:

President Patterson provided an update to the Board regarding the search process which will be utilized to identify a successor for Senior Vice President for Finance and Administrative Services Jackie Dudley who has announced her retirement. Information was provided on the two vendors currently on retainer with the University to undertake this important work and ensure access to critical services that support institutional operations and strategic initiatives. These agreements provide a high level of expertise and responsiveness in key areas in senior-level administrative positions (e.g., President, Provost, Vice President, etc.). The executive search firms are listed below:

• Academic Search

For nearly five decades, Academic Search has been a mission-driven organization dedicated to expanding leadership capacity at higher education institutions. We strengthen colleges and universities through the identification, recruitment, and development of leaders. Academic Search has offered executive search services to higher education institutions, associations, and related organizations. Academic Search was founded by higher education leaders on the principle that we provide the most value to partner institutions by combining best practices with our deep knowledge and experience. Our mission today is to enhance institutional capacity by providing outstanding executive recruitment services, executive coaching, and transition support, in partnership with our parent organization, the American Academic Leadership Institute.

• Greenwood Asher & Associates

Greenwood Asher & Associates (GA&A) is a full-service, retained, executive search firm founded in 2004 by Dr. Jan Greenwood and Dr. Betty Asher, who both served as tenured Professors and University Presidents. Their pioneering spirits and visionary approach to executive search defined GA&A鈥檚 commitment to elevating 鈥渘ext generation鈥� leaders in higher education to have a lasting, positive impact on our global society. GA&A believes that successful searches are accomplished by building trusting relationships with both clients and candidates and offering comprehensive and customizable search processes that deliver effective outcomes. As a result, GA&A has a notable repeat client rate 鈥� a testament to our acuity, expertise, and longevity. GA&A is now one of the premier education-focused executive search firms within the United States. Our results-driven team, comprised of full-time, executive search professionals, possesses the specialized skillsets to both recruit exceptional leaders and deliver prompt, clear communications to clients and stakeholders. In 2020, GA&A joined forces with Kelly庐 Education. We now leverage the strength of our parent company to offer strategic search partnerships throughout the continuum of education.

 

Enrollment Snapshot:

The enrollment snapshot as of July 21, 2025, provides information based on a similar date in Fall 2024 (see below). For first-time freshmen (FTF), we had approximately 7,050 applications in which 6,785 are admitted for Fall 2025. We expect the yield rate to be between 21 and 22 percent. We have 60 FTF and 22 first-time transfers registered for our last Racer Nation Orientation on August 5. In the Recapture Campaign for our current students, we have 399 undergraduates and 294 graduates without holds who are eligible to enroll for Fall 2025.

DATA AS OF 7/21/2025

Total Headcount -- 8,921
-0.8% change from Fall 2024

Total Credit Hours -- 102,141
0.6% change from Fall 2024

Total Undergraduate -- 7,609
0.2% change from Fall 2024

Total Graduate -- 1,312
-6.0% change from Fall 2024

First-time Freshmen -- 1,450
-1.3% change from Fall 2024

First-time Transfers -- 382
2.4% change from Fall 2024

Honors Students -- 600
10% change from Fall 2024

Undergraduate (In-State) -- 4,827
-0.8% change from Fall 2024

Undergraduate (Out-of-State) -- 2,067
-2.7% change from Fall 2024

Undergraduate (International) -- 715
18.6% change from Fall 2024

Graduate (In-State) -- 690
-3.4% change from Fall 2024

Graduate (Out-of-State) -- 537
-3.6% change from Fall 2024

Graduate (International) -- 85
-32.0% change from Fall 2024

 

We still have a month to go with one more Racer Nation Orientation! We are still recruiting, enrolling students, helping students financially, and we could realize some additional enrollments in the days/weeks ahead.

 

Giving Update:

We are excited to share more great news as we celebrate the close of the Be Bold: Forever Blue & Gold Centennial Campaign. After seven years of dedication and generosity, the campaign officially concluded on June 30, 2025, surpassing our $100 million goal.

Reflecting back to last summer, we ended Fiscal Year 2024 (June 30, 2024) with $83.3 millionraised in total. Then, Fiscal Year 2025, which began on July 1, 2024, proved to be our most remarkable year yet 鈥� thanks to the incredible support of our donors. In just one year, we received more than $9.5 million in cash gifts, along with nearly $15 million in new pledges and documented deferred gifts. Together, these contributions pushed total giving for the year to nearly $25 million, making it the most successful year of the campaign.

Thanks to the generosity of nearly 25,000 donors and the dedication of hundreds of faculty, staff, and volunteers, we are proud to announce our final campaign total:

Over $107.8 million raised for the future of 糖心logo入口!

We did 颈迟鈥攖辞驳别迟丑别谤. Thank you, Racers!

As we look ahead, our focus now shifts to honoring every donor鈥檚 intent, ensuring their gifts make a lasting impact on our students and programs. Most importantly, we will continue to express our deep gratitude to all who played a role in this historic achievement. Please read the impactful stories of our generous donors on our campaign website: .

 

We are Racers 鈥� boldly stepping into our next century of service.

 

Capital Projects and Facilities Update:

Facilities Management has had a busy summer! There has been much activity across our entire University campus footprint. The 2026-2032 Capital Plan was submitted and presented to the Legislature for consideration, five vacant positions have been filled, the Title V air permit was successfully completed for compliance, and approximately 3,000 work orders have been received and addressed. Significant grounds and building cleaning projects include the planting of new trees, landscape bed refreshing, clearing tree limbs around power lines, floor scrubbing and waxing, and exterior building washing of six (6) main campus buildings.

New construction and renovation projects include the new Nursing and Health Professions Building, 16th Street parking lot, Oakley Applied Science, Pogue Library, Fine Arts, Doyle Fine Arts, Expo Center, Curris Center, Racer Arena, Carr Hall, Science Complex, Hester Hall, Regents Hall, White Hall, Waterfield Library, Central Heating and Cooling Plant, Alexander Hall, Mason Hall, Industry and Technology Building, Station 74 Apartments, campus sidewalk replacements, and College Courts demolition.

Projects currently in design, planning, or early stages of construction include the new Learning Commons, Veterinary Sciences Building, Cyber Security renovations, Electrical Utility Upgrades/ Enhancements, CFSB Center seating, Cherry Exposition Center renovations, Hancock Biological Station fire alarm, Blackburn and Wrather windows, Wells Hall renovations, Wilson Hall renovations, Mason Hall renovations, Science Complex roofs, Curris Center, General Services, Carr Hall windows, Winslow Dining, Hester Hall, Woods Park 鈥� phase III, athletic facility improvements, Campus infrastructure and pedestrian pathway improvements, multiple building automation system (BAS) upgrades, Wellness Center HVAC, along with many other long-range campus facility improvements.

 

糖心logo入口 Athletics:

Powered by the department鈥檚 strategic plan 鈥淭he Race Is On鈥�, an immense amount of progress has been made over the last year through our shared vision for excellence for 糖心logo入口 State Athletics. The Racers experienced their most successful athletic year in school history in 2024-25 with seven total team championships and an appearance by the baseball program in the 2025 Men鈥檚 College World Series (MCWS). 糖心logo入口 State received an unprecedented amount of exposure following the MCWS, with the University receiving 44.3 billion impressions and $406 million in Advertising Value Equivalency. Our team鈥檚 secured victories over numerous SEC/P4 programs throughout the year, including wins over Kentucky, Duke, Ole Miss and Georgia Tech.

A stellar fundraising year in 2024 saw the department raise more than $21.5 million in total donations and pledges, allowing the Racers to begin numerous, donor-funded facility projects, including the highly-anticipated, eight-figure renovation of the CFSB Center set to begin following the 2025-26 basketball season, the court resurfacing at Bennie Purcell Tennis Courts, baseball facility enhancements, and more.

Academically, 糖心logo入口 State student-athletes have continued to excel by extending the Department鈥檚 impressive Grade Point Average streak to 42 consecutive semesters with a 3.0 or better. We also received a Graduation Success Rate (GSR) of 94 percent in the latest figures distributed by the NCAA, the highest-ever GSR score earned by the Racers in school history.

Racer student-athletes have had a major impact in the community through the Dennis Jackson Leadership Program, registering a school-record 1,455 community service hours and serving 35 organizations.

In Closing:

It鈥檚 hard to believe that the start of the fall term is only four weeks away. With that in mind, Jenny and I hope you are enjoying the summer and are able to make the most of what remains of the break. Below are some important dates to keep in mind for the next few months:

• August 1 鈥� End of Summer Session
• August 13 鈥� Great Beginnings
• August 19 鈥� Fall Classes Begin
• August 25 鈥� Last Day for Registration and Drop/Add with penalty
• September 1 鈥� University Closed for Labor Day Holiday
• September 5 鈥� 7 鈥� Family Weekend
• October 9 鈥� 10 鈥� Fall Break
• October 31 鈥� Nov. 2 鈥� Homecoming Weekend

President Patterson's Message to Campus 鈥� July 1, 2025

Dear Racer students, faculty, and staff,

Greetings! I have been looking forward to this day as it marks my first official day as the 15th President of 糖心logo入口. I write to you with gratitude and great enthusiasm for the journey ahead. I wish to extend a special thanks to my predecessor, President Emeritus Bob Jackson, for his dedication and leadership at the university, who has been both supportive and collaborative through the presidential transition.

In the months since I was announced as President-Elect on March 10, I have had the opportunity to meet, via Zoom and more recently, in person, many members of the Racer community. I have heard many passionate stories, favorite memories, and other reflections on what 糖心logo入口 State means to the people with whom I interacted. The vibrancy and buzz during those conversations was palpable, and across these interactions, two themes emerged: community and excellence. I can鈥檛 wait to have more opportunities to engage with this incredible community.

Indeed, even early on as a candidate for this role, I recognized that Racers are connected in deep and meaningful ways. I am grateful that, true to form, you have welcomed me and my family sincerely into Racer Nation. 

There is great promise and possibility in the work we will do together, supported by a shared vision, sense of purpose, and ambition. 糖心logo入口 has great momentum and is poised to excel to even greater heights. With its strong foundation, it is well-prepared for the thrilling phase ahead. As we progress into a very exciting year for the university, I look forward to hearing directly from each of you as we shape what it means to be in community together during this momentous time for 糖心logo入口 State.

I鈥檓 often asked what I hope to accomplish as President and what my priorities will be.  First and foremost, it鈥檚 crucial for me to listen, learn, and reflect; to build relationships with you all, the city of 糖心logo入口, our service region, and the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and to understand our strengths and where we can continue to grow. I extend my heartfelt thanks to the Board of Regents for their full support of me as I immerse myself to gain these insights. And, thank you all for your patience as I deepen my understanding of the 糖心logo入口 State culture.

I am so excited to dive in and get started! Whether you鈥檙e learning as a student, teaching as a faculty member, or working as a staff member, I can鈥檛 wait to learn more about what 糖心logo入口 means to you and to hear your hopes for our shared future.

Please also stay tuned, as we are organizing a 鈥淩acer Spirit Listening and Learning鈥� tour. This tour will last through my first 100-120 days as President. Please know, when our students and faculty return to campus, I will begin visiting with our campus constituents as well. Our service region and campus community should be on the lookout for invitations to these events. Let鈥檚 not forget that I will be intentionally engaging Racers around the country as my first year in office progresses. Throughout the remainder of July, I will be collaborating with Jill Hunt to continue developing my event and travel schedule.

In the spirit of Lao Tzu's wisdom, "The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." Today, we collectively take that step. My hope is that our journey is not only meaningful and productive but also sprinkled with moments of pure joy. With anticipation and enthusiasm, together, we begin.

Thank you again, and please enjoy your summer. Go Racers!

Warmly,
Ron K. Patterson
President