The update, which is posted on the , highlights achievements in redefining student success, becoming a research and innovation powerhouse, and serving as a premier metropolitan university.

In the classroom, UofL’s students continue to prove their caliber. The UofL undergraduate graduation rate increased from 43% to 61.6% in the last 15 years, culminating in a record class in 2021. UofL generated more Fulbright scholars than all Kentucky public higher education institutions combined, and its student-athletes achieved a 91% graduation rate, matching the Cardinals’ best mark in the Graduation Success Rate report developed 17 years ago by the NCAA.

Fiscal year 2021 brought the university a record $201.5 million to support groundbreaking research — an increase of more than $30 million over the previous record set a year earlier. The research supported work to address some of the biggest global problems of our time, including climate change and battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

UofL remains undeterred by the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. University operations, academics and community life commit to safety protocols and flexible delivery of services to ensure the ongoing health of faculty, staff and students. Further, UofL’s online learning programs experienced a 40% growth, and its law and dental faculty received an international award for creating a novel online teaching method.

Diversity, equity and inclusion remain critical to the university’s success. For the eighth year, UofL has been named a recipient of the Higher ĚÇĐÄĘÓƵ Excellence in Diversity Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine.

UofL Interim President Lori Stewart Gonzales attributes these and the many other highlights from the Strategic Plan Year Two Update to the ongoing work of UofL’s many campus constituencies.

“We are 7,000+ employees strong – each offering their personal and professional gifts to a vital ecosystem that creates thriving futures for our students, our community and our society,” said Gonzalez in her recent Strategic Plan Update message to UofL faculty and staff. “The gratitude I feel for all who commit their time and talent to our university’s success cannot be overstated.”

Now in its third year of the 2019-2022 Strategic Plan, UofL focuses on reaching institutional goals and reporting results to the community by November 2022. In the meantime, efforts are underway to develop the university’s next Strategic Plan, which will set goals for 2022 to 2025.

“Looking ahead, I am excited about a strong finish to the current Strategic Plan,” said Gonzalez. “Our Cardinal Community is laying the groundwork for sustainable success.”

“I’m a black man from Clay County, Kentucky, born of an illiterate father and an 8^th grade-educated mother who was born in a log cabin with a dirt floor and I’m the head of higher education for the state of Kentucky – if that makes a statement,” he said. “But (moving the state forward) is going to take more than optimism. It’s going to take smarts, collaboration … It’s going to take us thinking differently.”

Thompson, who spent much of Tuesday on UofL’s campus as part of his ongoing listening tour of public universities, has been in his current role for a little over two years, advocating for higher education in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. It’s been a challenge – state funding has been cut for 11 straight years – but he hopes this trajectory will change with the new legislative session, which kicked off this week.

“I’m proud that even through these cuts, Kentucky’s campuses have continued to produce. Over the last 5 years, we’ve had about an 11% increase in higher ed production, whether through certificates or degrees. The other thing I’m proud of is that we’ve closed some of our educational gaps,” he said.

Those gaps include a 27% increase in the number of students of color earning their degrees, and a 23% increase in the number of low-income/underrepresented students earning their degrees.

Despite this progress, however, he said it’s critical to regain funding for higher education, adding that such funding is a proactive approach to solving some of the state’s biggest issues.

“I know we have a lot of needs in Kentucky – criminal justice, Medicaid, pensions. However, 90% of SNAP and Medicaid recipients don’t have a degree. I argue that we are funding problems and not much of the solution,” Thompson said. “I’m not saying to not fund problems, but we have to fund solutions, too.”

UofL and UK, Kentucky’s two research institutions, are especially well positioned to provide solutions, he adds.

“Research has to take on a more crucial role. We have a lot of ills in Kentucky and research helps us with those ills,” he said.

Thompson also discussed UofL’s financial turnaround under President Neeli Bendapudi’s leadership, stating that it has restored a sense of hope.

“Now the university is doing exactly what we knew it could do and I think that turmoil is behind us,” he said. “There is a sense of hope and courage. UofL is easily invested into with its research and its diversity and inclusion efforts, which are unlike anything else being done in the state.”

That sense of hope extends to the entire Commonwealth. Thompson said just over 53% of residents go to college, which presents a big opportunity to attract the other 47%. Further, as the demand for adult learning grows, Kentucky universities have another opportunity to ensure professionals are as marketable as they can be.

“There is a significant value in higher education that we need to promote. Most jobs 10 years from now have not been invented yet,” Thompson said. “We have to show that this is worthy of the investment and not be shy about quality. The return is huge.”

Check out more of Thompson’s interview below.