Wethington Award Recipients Donate $80K to UK's CRISIS Program

Each year, the University of Kentucky rewards exceptional research faculty with the Wethington Awards, a way to acknowledge great work while incentivizing extramurally sponsored research activity.

After witnessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 award recipients from the UK College of Medicine elected to use their funds to make a difference for members of the UK campus community. They donated their monetary awards to the CRISIS fund, which helps UK faculty and staff in need.

Collectively, the Wethington Award recipients gifted more than $80,000.

“I was overwhelmed to hear that College of Medicine faculty were providing such a generous donation,” Jon Gent, chair of the UK Staff Senate, said. “It was really quite touching.”

CRISIS, which stands for Crisis Relief in Situations Involving Staff/Faculty, is currently overseen by the UK Staff Senate. The program collects donations to help UK faculty and staff who need temporary financial assistance with utility bills, mortgage payments, rent, and other basic, necessary expenses.

Donations, like those offered by UK College of Medicine faculty, help those who experience major unexpected expenses, those who might face no-pay status due to injury or illness, or those who suffer a loss of dwelling or furnishings due to fire, act of nature, or eviction. The program also assists those impacted financially due to COVID-19.

Applicants receive a one-time payment, which goes directly to the vendors.

Wethington Awards are provided based on a formula recognizing the amount of extramural funding a faculty member brings in. The funds can be received as a personal bonus or returned to the faculty member’s lab for support. New this year, recipients were able to donate to the CRISIS fund.

The donation from Wethington Award recipients shortly followed UK President Eli Capilouto’s announcement that he would take 10 percent of his salary and donate to CRISIS.

To donate to CRISIS:

• Donations to the CRISIS program are still welcomed. Those interested in supporting can do so through payroll deduction, credit card, or by mailing a personal check to the Office of Development, William B. Sturgill Development Building, Lexington, KY 40506-0015. (Make checks payable to UK CRISIS Program.) All donations are tax deductible.

To apply for CRISIS funding:

• To be considered for assistance from the CRISIS program, meet one of the qualifying criteria, fill out a CRISIS application, and turn it in with supporting documents to Tina Cornett at tina.cornett@uky.edu.