The University of Louisville is recognized as a premier metropolitan research institution, a driver of the Kentucky economy and a leader in capital construction and job creation. We excel in the classroom, in the laboratory and on the athletic field.
But we would never have made it to this point if we wavered in our efforts to bring the best and brightest students here from our community and beyond. Attracting top-quality students and producing high-achieving graduates always will remain at the heart of the university’s mission.
Our most recent freshman class had an average ACT score of 25.5 – the highest in UofL’s history. Of those more than 2,800 freshmen, 55 percent already had some college credit. Many had enough course work completed to enroll as sophomores or juniors.
The university also is generating prestigious scholars at a rate that makes us the envy of many of our peer institutions. We were recognized earlier this year as one of the nation’s top producers of Fulbright scholars. Since 2003, the university has named more than 100 Fulbright awardees. That’s more than all of the other public universities in Kentucky combined.
Once students come here, they want to stay here, too. After graduation, 83 percent of UofL’s students remain in the community, where they join the work force, raise their families, support area businesses and provide service through civic and philanthropic organizations. They make our city and our state a better place.
UofL’s efforts to attract talent to our region aren’t limited to our students. Through Kentucky’s Bucks for Brains program, we have used state funds to match private donations and brought top-notch researchers to our campuses. These researchers work in strategically defined areas to plant the seeds for a better future.
The university also is finding success creating partnerships with both established and fledgling companies and convincing them to bring their operations to our growing business and research parks. Our ShelbyHurst Office and Research Park is home to such companies as Churchill Downs Inc. and Steel Technologies. The J.D. Nichols Campus for Innovation and Entrepreneurship is a hub for companies in the sustainable health and optimal aging spectrum. And the coming Belknap Engineering and Applied Sciences Research Park one day will be home to partnerships we’ve developed with General Electric and UL (formerly Underwriters Laboratories).
While our reach is global, we’re also actively grooming homegrown talent as well. Our J.B. Speed School of Engineering, for instance, has formed strategic partnerships with both West End School and Nativity Academy – both located in lower income areas of Louisville. Through the partnerships, we have opened maker spaces at those schools where at-risk students can learn the latest 3-D printing techniques and improve their self-confidence. We’re extremely proud of these initiatives and believe they will make a difference in our community.
Improving the lives of the people of our state is something that we think about every day. To do that, we must create and fill the jobs of the 21st Century. At the University of Louisville, we never forget our role as a workforce training institution.
Better lives through education
The University of Louisville continuously works to attract and retain top students, staff, faculty and researchers, and to provide them with a high-quality educational experience that allows students to excel in the workforce after graduation and researchers to reach the apex of discovery.
By partnering with local and national business, focusing on innovation and business development, and preparing top students for success, the university strives to better the lives of those in our Commonwealth and beyond each and every day.
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