Alumni Recognition

Remembering UK Nursing Legend Dr. Juanita Fleming

  LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 15, 2020) – As Nurses Week 2020 comes to an end, we are reflecting back on one of the University of Kentucky’s great nurse leaders, Juanita Fleming, Ph.D.

First African American Nursing Grad Honored for Career, Service

  LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 7, 2020) – Marsha Hughes-Rease didn’t know it at the time, but she was making history. In 1969, Hughes-Rease enrolled in the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, where she was the first African American student. But she didn’t know she was the first. In fact, she didn’t even notice she was the only black student because she had often been the only black student in classes when growing up.

Nursing Leadership Lecture Series to feature Marsha Hughes-Rease Jan. 23

  LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 6, 2019) -- Please join the University of Kentucky College of Nursing for its upcoming Nursing Leadership Lecture Series featuring Marsh Hughes-Rease, CEO of Quo Vadis Coaching and Consulting LLC.  This special lecture event will take place Thursday, Jan. 23, at noon, at the UK Hospital Pavilion's Karpf Auditorium (Pavilion A Auditorium), and is free and open to the public.

CON graduate Roger Dittert finds dream career through tragedy

  LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 20, 2019) — Graduate from college, find a job, become a husband, a grieving father, and then a college student again is not the average path one takes in their post-grad life. UK grad Roger Dittert says there’s no direct path to finding your passion. In 2015, Roger and his wife Rebecca were a typical young couple. They’d been married for about two years and were pregnant with their first son. The Ditterts were planning for the change a child would bring to their lives, but there was no way to plan for the turn their lives took.

A Conversation with Mayor Linda Gorton, Alum of the UK College of Nursing

  Recently, Mayor Linda Gorton visited the College of Nursing, where she met a handful of students and toured the once familiar hallways. Dean Janie Heath then had the opportunity to sit down with Mayor Gorton to discuss how her nursing background has influenced her public service career.

From Kosovo to Kentucky, UK Nursing Grad Ready to Give Back

  When she was seven years old, Serxhane Ajeti fled with her family from their war-torn home country by foot in the darkness of night. Now she’s preparing to graduate from the University of Kentucky College of Nursing. How did she get here? “Throughout my whole life, I’ve had help from people all over the world,” she says.

Nursing Alum Lacey Buckler Works to "see blue." by Helping Patients Heal

Alumna, Adjunct Associate Professor Named President of Emergency Nurses Association

Patti K. Howard, PhD, RN, CEN, CPEN, TCRN, NE-BC, FAEN, FAAN, adjunct associate professor and three-time graduate (BSN 1983, MSN 1990, PhD 2004) of the College of Nursing, has been named the president of the Emergency Nurses Association (ENA) for the second time in her distinguished career. Dr. Howard also serves as the UK HealthCare enterprise director for emergency services, and she previously served as the president of the College of Nursing Alumni Association from 2015-2017.

College of Nursing Alumni Becomes Lexington's Newest Mayor

  Linda Gorton, Lexington's newest mayor and graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, was officially sworn in on Sunday, January 6. About Linda Gorton: Linda grew up in the heart of farm country in central Ohio, where her father sold Ford tractors and later managed a grain elevator.  Her mother worked in a physician’s office.  They raised Linda, her two brothers and one sister.  Linda left home for the first time to attend the University of Kentucky College of Nursing, where she graduated in 1971.

Meet Newest BSN Alumni: Erika Ventura-Castellon

  “The umbrella of nursing extends so wide that one of the beauties of it is you are always learning,” says Erika Ventura-Castellon, December BSN graduate. Ventura-Castellon is an alumna with a desire to make a difference not just in the lives of her patients but also entire populations. One eye-opening experience in particular was completing clinical hours at the Fayette County Detention Center. She was one of the first students in the program to complete clinicals in the facility.