UofL’s online psychology program is rated No. 7 in the nation according to the latest results. Two other programs made the top 50. UofL also received several honors for Best Online Programs for U.S. veterans.Ěý

UofL’s fully Ěýhave consistently appeared in the U.S. News and World Report rankings for more than a decade, earning recognition as some of the best-ranked education opportunities for online students.Ěý

In 2026, the following degrees received Best Online Program honors:ĚýĚý

• Undergraduate Psychology – No. 7
• Undergraduate Business – No. 24
• Graduate ĚÇĐÄĘÓƵ (Best Online Programs for Veterans) – No. 43
• MBA (Best Online Programs for Veterans) – No. 54
• Graduate Business – No. 82
• Bachelor’s Degree (Best Online Programs for Veterans) – No. 83
• MBA – No. 93
• Bachelor’s Degree – No. 141 Ěý
• Graduate ĚÇĐÄĘÓƵ – No. 145Ěý

Kelvin Thompson, UofL’s vice provost for online strategy and teaching innovation, highlighted the importance of quality online education in advancing lives and careers while offering the flexibility to balance life’s responsibilities.Ěý

“Providing accessible, high-quality online higher education is crucial for American social mobility,” Thompson said. “At UofL, our students come from allĚýwalks of lifeĚýand in all manner of circumstances, including first generation, post-traditional and under-resourced students, and recognition from organizations like U.S. News & World Report reaffirms our commitment to excellence in everything we do.”Ěý

UofL recently introduced several new online programs, including its first fully online PhD program, the onlineĚý.Ěý

UofL’s online programs are designed for both traditional and non-traditional students, including adult learners, working professionals,ĚýmilitaryĚýand degree-completerĚýstudents, as well as anyone looking to earn a college credential through flexible, high-quality online education.Ěý

For more information about UofL’s online programs, visitĚý.

Henley has served in her current role since 2018. Prior to coming to North Dakota, she was executive director of MBA programs and associate professor in the Department of Management and Entrepreneurship at the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University.

Henley held other positions at Kennesaw State and has taught management courses there and at the University of Southern Mississippi and University of Texas at Arlington. Before entering academia, she worked in transportation logistics and financial analysis in Dallas.

“Dr. Henley has extensive leadership experience, is adept at building alumni relationships, strongly supports academic research and has a history of building ties with the business, government and nonprofit communities,” said UofL interim Provost Katie Cardarelli. “I believe she will be a great fit here and will take the College of Business to an even higher level.”

Henley earned a doctoral degree in organizational behavior and psychology from the University of Texas at Arlington. She holds an MBA and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Southern Mississippi.

“It is an honor to be named as the next dean for the University of Louisville College of Business,” Henley said. “Having the opportunity to serve at such a prestigious university, back in my southern roots, is truly a privilege. I look forward to helping propel our college into the next phase of innovation, entrepreneurship and thought-leadership as we inspire the future generation of business leaders.”

The offers the only equine industry degree from an accredited college of business in the world, giving students the opportunity to turn their love of horses into a viable career. The program provides a uniquely qualified workforce to Kentucky’s horse racing industry, as well as equine businesses across the globe.

For 37 years, the UofL College of Business has been delivering equine degrees with a rigorous business focus and dedication to the combination of horse commerce, business enterprise and academics. The goal of the Equine Industry Program is to produce graduates with sound business and management skills and equipped with an industry-specific, multidisciplinary education who can innovate and contribute to the industry as employees or business owners in any breed or discipline.

The 362 program alumni include Gary Palmisano, executive director of racing for Churchill Downs Incorporated; K. Amy Lawyer, who now directs the UofL Equine Industry Program; Thoroughbred trainers Lindsay Schultz and Jason Barkley; Corey Barberito, assistant trainer for Dallas Stewart; Hannah Boyle, social media director at Churchill Downs; Sean Collins, assistant tour manager at the Kentucky Derby Museum; Paige Thompson, who recently opened White Tail Eventing in Cincinnati and Ali Sturtevant, who will graduate from veterinary school this spring.

The graduate programs that saw the largest growth are business administration, human resource and organization development, educational administration, law and nursing. More than 6,450 graduate students are enrolled for fall 2021.

Conversely, following , the preliminary number of first-time undergraduate degree-seeking students enrolled for fall dropped 6% to 2,693.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has been life-altering for so many, and we are encouraged that more students are seeking post-graduate-level degrees,” said Neeli Bendapudi, UofL’s president. “It is such a thrill to see a vibrant campus once again, and we are confident of a bright future for all our students.”

For the incoming undergraduate class, the five most popular majors are engineering, business, education, biology and psychology. Enrollment in public health programs for both undergraduate and graduate students also continues to be strong with a 19% increase since 2019.

The incoming undergraduate class remains diverse, with almost 20% of students identifying as African American or multiracial, and 7% as Latino.

Here is a snapshot of the 2021 first-time freshman class:

• 47.6% have some college credits
• 20.24% are African American or identify as multiracial
• 7.06% are Hispanic/Latino
• 64.05% live on campus
• 33.05% are first-generation college students
• 25.64 is the average ACT score
• 3.63 is the average high school grade-point average, based on a 4.0 scale
• 23.72% are from outside Kentucky
• 38 states are represented
• 246 are part-time

The startup — called , for “Underestimated People Of Purpose” — is built around a new cultural well-being survey and predictive analytics framework developed by UofL researchers Theo Edmonds, Cameron Lister, Molly O’Keefe and Sonali Salunkhe, along with Xian Brooks from the UofL Office of Diversity and Inclusion.Ěý

The framework, Edmonds said, can help companies understand and improve their cultural well-being, which can be a critical advantage in recruiting, retaining and motivating top talent, driving innovation and surviving rapid, unexpected changes.

“As the of COVID-19 has disrupted everything, every company must become an entrepreneurial company again,” said Edmonds, research team leader and a co-founder of UPOP. “Economic resilience depends on cultural well-being and finding new ways to connect and co-create value with all stakeholders — both inside and outside the company.”

The cultural analytics technology measures three key areas: cultural actions (creativity and curiosity of employees); bridging actions (inclusion, hope, trust, belonging and health-related quality of life); and growth actions (social and economic value creation).

UPOP is launching with a national, COVID-19 specific survey, and plans to share results with founders, venture capitalists, industry groups, policymakers, higher education leaders and corporate executives in a series of briefs and webinars in late summer.

“One of the worthiest innovation challenges in the months and years ahead will be in creating new forms of cultural well-being in our places and spaces,” said UPOP Board Chair, Dayna Neumann. “Cultural well-being is not about changing what came before, it’s about creating what comes next, together.”

The Cultural Well-being Index intellectual property is protected through , which works to commercialize university inventions by working with industry and entrepreneurs. UPOP worked with the EPI-Center to obtain an exclusive license.

UPOP is UofL’s first public benefit corporation spin-out. This means that UPOP is organized to devote some of its profits to supporting underrepresented and underestimated public health and humanities entrepreneurs and to supporting advanced research on workforce culture, resiliency and inclusive innovation. Edmonds said the company also is a certified LGBT Business Enterprise through the

And now, Louisville startup Ěýhas licensed the technology from UofL and is working to get it to market.Ěý

The inventor here, , studies organizational culture and applied behavioral economics as an associate professor at the UofL College of ĚÇĐÄĘÓƵ and Human Development (CEHD). His is the first licensed technology out of CEHD.Ěý

Shuck said organizations are more productive and, often, more profitable when their employees are engaged in their workplace. Engaged employees also have a better overall workplace experience. However, his research suggests there is a more than 60% drop off in levels of engagement in the first six months of an employee’s tenure.

“Globally, employee engagement remains a critical, and sought-after competitive advantage for businesses and organizations of all sizes,” he said. “It is the differentiator between market share, customer experience and quality. Everyone wants more of it.”

His software, the Employee Engagement Scale (EES), helps companies to monitor that engagement, and hopefully improve it, through brief, easy-to-use surveys that gauge how employees think and feel about their work.Ěý

The EES will be a central part of system for businesses that provides a sort of “virtual colleague” — one that keeps track of who and what staff are communicating while analyzing collaboration. CEOĚýCharley Miller said the “colleague”Ěýcould help leaders in the company better understand their employees and make smart decisions on how to improve the work environment.ĚýĚýĚý

“One of the key aspects of a good colleague is that they are great listeners,” Miller said. “Dr. Shuck’s IP enables us to ensure our virtual colleague is great listener when it comes to understanding how to ascertain employee engagement.”Ěý

Not only is Shuck’s technology the first out of CEHD to be licensed to a company, but it’s the first license of the UofL Office of Research and Innovation’s Entrepreneurs-in-Residence, or EIR, program.Ěý

Miller was one of the program’s first EIRs, to help guide UofL research-backed technologies to market in collaboration with the . After Miller’s term ended, he launched Unitonomy around Shuck’s technology.Ěý

“Sometimes all it takes is getting the right mix of people — researchers, entrepreneurs, community members — in the same room,” said Will Metcalf, executive director of , who launched the EIR program. “This is case-in-point, and we’re so excited to see what grows of this partnership between Charley and UofL.”Ěý

Funding for the EIRs comes from the , a public-private partnership led by UofL and backed by the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development to grow Louisville’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Read about in the latest edition ofĚý, along with other stories that illustrate how UofL’s alums, students, faculty and staff are making their mark.Ěý Ěý

• : Alumna Frankie Lewis ’11 returns from “Project Runway” to brighten up Louisville.
• : It’s The Thinker’s 70^th anniversary on campus. Find out where UofL students think the university will be in the next seven decades.
• : Cardinal connections litter the city’s revitalized waterfront

Lucky Cat Café and Lounge is non-profit cat café where guests can sit back and relax with a number of feline friends. The building, located on Dundee Road near the Douglass Loop in the Highlands neighborhood, is divided into the café portion, where cats are prohibited, and the lounge portion, where guests can take their coffee or snacks to enjoy in the company of cats.

The feline companions are tenants of LMAS simply looking for their forever home. The café hosts about a dozen kittens at a time that are available for adoption. The necessities, like cat food and litter, are completely funded by donations

“I knew marketing, accounting and finance were important, so I got those set up right away,” said Spencer, who relies on donations to keep her costs low. “We’re not doing this to make money. We want to be a community-supported organization, and we have been.”

Spencer raises awareness through a variety of events within the community as well as in the shop.

For the complete story, visit .

The free event, at the Speed Art Museum’s Speed Cinema, is open to the public and boasts an agenda packed with workshops, speakers and other fun activities for aspiring and current founders.

“Our goal with the AWARE:ACCESS program, and this event, is to help entrepreneurs and startups grow,” said Jessica Sharon, director of Innovation Programs at UofL. “At the summit, we’ll have a lot of resources to help them do that, from advice on applying for federal grant funding to how to make the perfect elevator pitch.”

In addition to workshops and speakers, attendees can also participate in a “Shark Tank”-style pitch competition. They can also speak one-on-one with experts in finance, accounting, marketing, human resources and pretty much any other topic a budding entrepreneur might need to know about.

More information and registration are .Ěý

While the summit is open to all, the AWARE:ACCESS, or Accelerating Women and Underrepresented Entrepreneurs: Accelerate Entrepreneurial Success, program has a special focus on women and underrepresented entrepreneurs.Ěý

The program, a National Science Foundation-backed partnership between UofL and Indiana University, provides support to help these entrepreneurs submit more competitive proposals for SBIR and STTR grant funding.

Women entrepreneurs represent only , despite making up some 51 percent of the total population. Collective minorities represent only 10 percent of awardees, combined.

“Diversity unlocks so many new perspectives, ideas and potential innovations,” said Robert S. Keynton, interim executive vice president for Research and Innovation. “In accelerating the success of women and underrepresented entrepreneurs, we hope to improve that diversity of thought and spur new growth and opportunities for all.”

AWARE:ACCESS is one of UofL’s suite ofĚý dubbed the “Superfecta,” to support the translation of research into viable commercial products.ĚýUofL is one of only a handful of universities in the country to receive each of these, and isĚýthe only one to receive all of them.

The awards ceremony recognizes high achieving graduates based on their merit and contributions to the community. Each year, one alumna or alumnus of the year is selected along with 13 Alumni Fellows from each of the schools, colleges, libraries, and student affairs.Ěý

Alumna of the Year

• Jenny L. Sawyer ’78,Ěýexecutive director ofĚýadmissionsĚýat the University of Louisville.

Alumni Fellows

• Brandeis School of Law
  Edwin S. Hopson, Sr. ’67, ’69, partner atĚýWyatt, Tarrant and Combs.
• College of Arts and Sciences
  George Nichols, III ’85,Ěýpresident and chief executive officer of the American College of Financial Services.
• College of Business
  Raymond E. Loyd ’68, founder of Derby Industries and Derby Fabricating.
• College of ĚÇĐÄĘÓƵ and Human Development
  Linda F. Hargan ’71, ’73, ’93,Ěýfounder, president, and chief executive officer emeritus of CTL.
• J. B. Speed School of Engineering
  Gerald G. Hubbs ’64, ’76, retired vice president and director of engineering at the Brown-Forman Corporation.Ěý
• Kent School of Social Work
  Ruby Gordon ’66, ’72, former social worker with JCPS and Hillebrand House.
• School of Dentistry
  Karen L. Pierce-West ’77, ’82,Ěýdean and professor of biomedical sciences at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas School of Dental Medicine.
• School of Medicine
  Shawn C. Jones ’82, ’86, ’93,Ěýfounder of Purchase ENT, an ENT-otolaryngologist specialty group in Paducah, Kentucky.Ěý
• School of Music
  John M. Hoover ’63, ’69, former director of bands at the University of Louisville.
• School of Nursing
  Flora Ponder ’87, former head nurse at the Louisville and Jefferson County Health Department and director of nurses at the Park-Duvalle Community Health Center.Ěý
• School of Public Health and Information Sciences
  Lewatis D. McNeal ’16,Ěýassistant dean of administration of inclusive excellence and special projects at Northern Kentucky University.
• Student Affairs
  Todd A. Schmiedeler ’97,ĚýTrilogy Health Service’s senior vice president of Foundation & Workforce Development and founder and president of Thumbprint Consulting.
• University Libraries
  Morris M. Weiss Jr. ’58, cardiologist with Medical Center Cardiologists and clinical professor of medicine in cardiology at the University of Louisville.

This year’s awardees will be honored at the 2019 Alumni Awards ceremony October 24.