UK announces website for transparency under UK PURPOSE plan – Kentucky Kernel

The University of Kentucky is introducing its UK PURPOSE plan to update UK’s campus and community on the basis of five principles, most notably, transparency.

An email sent by UK President Eli Capilouto to the campus community on Jan. 16, said the new UK PURPOSE website will bring “together key information about the business operations of our institution in one accessible, easy-to‑navigate place.”

According to the email, the website includes three years of travel records and costs from UK’s senior administrative members, and will be updated on a quarterly basis. 

The issue of travel transparency, the email wrote, has generated questions posed to the community and university leaders. 

“There have been more than 160 trips in that time period at a total cost of $292,000,” Capilouto wrote. “The bottom line is these trips have helped secure tens of millions of dollars in partnerships and donations that directly benefit our students and employees, millions more in investments in infrastructure, improvements across our campus and still others that offer the potential of improved access to learning and health care for people throughout Kentucky.” 

According to the email, the mission of the Advancing Kentucky Together Network functions alongside UK’s Board of Trustees to provide partnerships and advancements for UK and Kentucky. 

Updates regarding these partnerships and travel costs to maintain them will be updated on the UK PURPOSE website to provide transparency. 

Further partnerships and travel costs have resulted in Fidelity establishing UK Invests, Apple Smart Campus, Champions Blue (UK’s Athletic Department), as well as services that are underway, such as Integrate Blue and Enterprise Services Partnership(s), which can be found on the website. 

“Building these partnerships requires face-to-face conversations and negotiations, and we will continue that work in the future — whether it takes us to Pikeville or the Pacific Northwest,” Capilouto wrote. “We will disclose this travel in a timely manner, consistent with our commitment to transparency and to strengthen trust in our work.”

The transparency efforts, the email said, allow for an aligned mission so that service can be provided more efficiently. 

With transparency being the first principle of UK PURPOSE’s five-principle plan, it is unclear as to whether or not further communication about the other principles will be presented similarly via email.