LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2020) Hollie Swanson, a professor and researcher in the Department of Pharmacology and Nutritional Sciences in the College of Medicine, has been elected to serve as a faculty trustee on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees. Under University Senate rules, Swanson was the top vote-getter among three candidates in the election completed last week.

"It is an honor and a privilege to be able to represent the UK faculty as their representative on the Board of Trustees,” Swanson said. “The strong commitment of the faculty to our students and the Commonwealth, particularly as demonstrated during the past few weeks, is truly inspiring. As their elected trustee, I pledge to advocate tirelessly on their behalf."

 A former chair of both the University Senate Council and the College of Medicine Faculty Council, Swanson will assume her new role as faculty trustee July 1, 2020. She succeeds Robert Grossman, a professor in the Department of Chemistry in the College of Arts and Sciences, whose term ends June 30. Swanson was elected to a three-year term.

In addition to her teaching, research and administrative responsibilities in the College of Medicine, Swanson also serves as director of the Women's Executive Leadership Development Program at UK.

The other candidates for faculty trustee were Jenny Minier of the Gatton College of Business and Economics, and Gail Brion, of the College of Engineering. Over 36% of eligible voters cast ballots in the election. 

Two faculty members serve on the UK Board of Trustees. Swanson will join Lee X. Blonder, also of the College of Medicine, whose term runs through June 30, 2022.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity, and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion three years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. UK has been judged a “Great College to Work for" two years in a row, and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for four straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.

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