The University of Kentucky offers a variety of choices to students. The choices range from a number of dining options, residence halls, and athletic facilities to student organizations, religious groups, Greek-letter organizations, and intramural competitions/campus recreation.
Greek-letter organizations
Social organizations
There are 14 sororities and 25 fraternities that serve the University of Kentucky in Lexington.
Sororities
| Name | Chapter Founding Year | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Alpha Chi Omega | 1966 | Closed since 1976, recolonization for 2015 to 2016 school year |
| Alpha Delta Pi | 1941 | |
| Alpha Gamma Delta | 1908 | |
| Alpha Kappa Alpha | 1975 | |
| Alpha Omicron Pi | 1982 | Closed since 2018 |
| Alpha Phi | 2009 | |
| Alpha Xi Delta | 1908 | Closed since 2004 |
| Ceres | 1997 | |
| Chi Omega | 1914 | |
| Delta Delta Delta | 1923 | |
| Delta Gamma | 1962 | |
| Delta Phi Mu | 2008 | |
| Delta Sigma Theta | 1975 | |
| Delta Zeta | 1923 | |
| Gamma Phi Beta | 1966 | Closed since 1982, recolonization for the 2019 to 2020 school year |
| Kappa Alpha Theta | 1945 | |
| Kappa Delta | 1910 | |
| Kappa Kappa Gamma | 1910 | |
| Phi Sigma Rho | 1999 | |
| Phi Sigma Sigma | 1952 | Closed since 1957 |
| Pi Beta Phi | 1962 | |
| Phi Mu | 2011 | |
| Sigma Alpha Iota | 1967 | |
| Sigma Gamma Rho | 1992 | |
| Sigma Kappa | 1989 | Closed since 2010 |
| Tau Beta Sigma | 1984 | |
| Zeta Phi Beta | 1983 | |
| Zeta Tau Alpha | 1924 | Closed since 1992 |
Fraternities
Honor societies
Campus dining
| Name | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Blazer Cafe | Blazer Dining | Dining Hall |
| The 90 | Across from William T. Young Library | Features Papa John's Pizza, Zen Sushi, Chick-fil-A, Wildcat Pantry and a dining hall. |
| Intermezzo | Intermezzo at the Patterson Office Tower. | Features sandwiches and drinks. |
| K-Lair | Central campus near Haggin Hall. | A fast-food establishment. |
| Lemon Tree | Second floor of Erikson Hall. | Features upscale salad and entree options. |
| Student Center | Reopened in 2018 after a major expansion and renovation project which saw almost all of the previous Student Center demolished, with only the original 1938 Student Center remaining from the pre-renovation complex. During this project, the temporary "Bowman's Den", located next to the Singletary Center for the Arts, served as the student center. | Features Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Subway, Sbarro, and Panda Express. |
There are also two convenience stores, located at Blazer Dining and at The 90.
The meal plans for on-campus students no longer utilize a declining-balance system, similar to a debit card. In 2005, a new "all care to eat" plan was initiated to the disfavor of 84.9% of the student body.[1] The cheapest meal plan for on-campus students is $949 per semester, extending upward to $2,013 per semester. These plans also include $300 in "flex dollars" which can be used at all on campus dining locations, convenience stores, and also Starbucks.
Students can also use their Plus Account to eat at a few select off-campus restaurants, such as McDonald's or Fazoli's.
The construction of The 90 was completed in 2015 by a design team which included Aramark, RossTarrant Architects[2] (Architect of Record & Lead Project Manager) and Tipton Associates (dining services designer). The 82,000 square foot facility features seating for 1,000, including bar, family, traditional, active, indoor and outdoor seating, as well as student support spaces such as meeting spaces and technology-rich collaborative learning classrooms.
Religion and life-philosophy
Religious organizations
Listed below are some of the most popular, active, and/or relevant groups on the University of Kentucky's campus. For a more complete list of registered religious student groups, refer to the University of Kentucky's Official Organization Database.
Jewish faith
- Chabad at UK/Chabad on Campus
- Jewish Student Organization/Hillel Foundation
Christian faith
Islamic faith
Bahá'í faith
- Baha'i Association
Buddhism
- Buddhist Studies Group
- SGI Buddhist Student Association
Nearby places of worship
Non-religious philosophy groups
Campus recreation
The university provides several facilities for unwinding from the daily campus grind. The Johnson Center, a 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) two-story structure located at South Campus, features basketball, volleyball, badminton, racketball, and wallyball courts, along with weight-lifting facilities, and rock climbing walls. It is also the home for some group fitness classes utilizing a large aerobics studio.
The Lancaster Aquatic Center, located next to the Johnson Center, opened in 1989 and features 10 lanes for lap swimming and has shallow space for other water activities.
The Seaton Center, now part of the Johnson Center, features facilities for basketball, volleyball, badminton, jogging, squash, table tennis, and racquetball.
In 2018, the north campus' first recreational facility in decades, Alumni Gym Fitness Center, opened as part of the Student Center expansion and renovation project. The facility is a major renovation of the historic Alumni Gymnasium, which had been home to UK men's basketball from 1924 to 1950.
Residence halls
| Name | Location | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Dale E. Baldwin Hall | South Campus | Constructed in 2005. Co-ed. |
| Ball Hall | South Campus | Opened in fall 2014; known as Woodland Glen II before the 2020–21 school year. |
| Blanding I, II, III, IV, Tower | South Campus | This, along with the mirror-image Kirwan complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Blanding Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020. |
| Blazer Hall | North Campus | Female-only dorm. Decommissioned as housing in 2013; since partially renovated into classroom space, with the existing dining facility expanded and renovated. Building now known as Blazer Dining. |
| Georgia M. Blazer Hall | North Campus | Opened in Fall 2014. |
| Boyd Hall | North Campus | Demolished in 2014. |
| Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall | North Campus | Opened in fall 2016 on the site of the former Keeneland Hall. |
| Chellgren Hall | South Campus | Opened in fall 2014; known as Woodland Glen I during the planning and construction process. |
| Donovan Hall | Central Campus | Female-only dorm, closed 2014. The Jacobs Science Building currently stands on the site. |
| Herman Lee Donovan Hall | Central Campus | Opened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad. |
| Greg Page Apartments | South of Kroger Field. | |
| Haggin Hall (1960) | Central Campus | Male-only dorm. Demolished 2013. |
| Haggin Hall (2014) | Central Campus | Opened in fall 2014 at the site of the original Haggin Hall. Part of the UK Honors Quad. |
| Holmes Hall | North Campus | Ended its service as a coed dorm, though it was female-only and male-only at different times in the past. Demolished in 2014; its site is now occupied by most of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall. |
| Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall | North Campus | Opened in 2016. Occupies the site of the former Holmes and Jewell Halls. |
| Margaret Ingels Hall | South Campus | Constructed in 2005. Co-ed. |
| Jewell Hall | North Campus | Demolished in 2014. Site now occupied by part of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall. |
| Frances Jewell Hall | North Campus | Opened in Fall 2014. |
| Lyman T. Johnson Hall | Central Campus | Opened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad. |
| Keeneland Hall | North Campus | Co-ed dorm. Organized into two-room suites, with a bathroom in between. Demolished in 2014 and now the site of Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall. |
| Kirwan I, II, III, IV, Tower | South Campus | This, along with the Blanding complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Kirwan Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020. |
| Lewis Hall | South Campus | Opened in fall 2017; serves as both a residence hall and office space for UK's Lewis Honors College. Part of the UK Honors Quad. |
| David P. Roselle Hall | North Campus | Constructed in 2005. |
| Patterson Hall | North Campus | Co-ed dorm. Originally constructed as UK's first women's dormitory in 1904. |
| John T. Smith Hall | South Campus | Constructed in 2005. Co-ed. |
| University Flats | South Campus | Opened in fall 2017 as graduate/professional student housing. |
| Woodland Glen III, IV, V | South Campus | Opened in Fall 2015; to be renamed. The other two Woodland Glen dorms opened in 2014; one was renamed before it opened, while the other was renamed in 2020. |
Campus safety
The university has had issues with safety on campus. In a survey of 1000 female university students, conducted in spring 2004, 36.5% reported having been victims of rape, stalking, or physical assault while at the campus.[3][4] While campus law enforcement statistics do not match the survey results, campus officials have taken steps to increase safety.[5]
In response to the survey, University President Lee T. Todd, Jr. launched an initiative in September 2005 titled the Campus Safety Imperative, which included a quadrupling of annual expenditures on safety.[6] Todd specifically linked campus safety to the goal of becoming a top-20 public research institution, stating that "We will never make gains toward becoming a top-20 public research institution if our students are unsafe or if they lack a sense of physical security. It is part of our fundamental mission, then, to create a campus that provides a safe place to live, to work, and to learn."[4]
References
- ↑ Rose, Sean. "Despite vote, meal plan unchanged." Kentucky Kernel [Lexington] 24 August 2006, sec. Campus news. 5 September 2006 .
- ↑ "Home". rosstarrant.com.
- ↑ "Women's Place Safety Imperative". University of Kentucky. 2006. Archived from the original on January 5, 2007. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- 1 2 "UK President Announces Initiatives to Improve Women's Safety". University of Kentucky. 2004. Archived from the original on March 26, 2005. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- ↑ "University of Kentucky Campus Safety and Security Report 2006" (PDF). University of Kentucky. 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 6, 2006. Retrieved February 6, 2007.
- ↑ "$1.25 Million Committed to Improving Campus Safety". University of Kentucky. 2005. Archived from the original on December 11, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2007.