Giving to the UK College of Education

The College of Education General Scholarship Fund supports scholarships for students enrolled in the College of Education. 

Scholarships give students in our college the resources they need to pursue a quality education, discover and nurture their passions, and realize their potential for a meaningful and successful career. 

Your gift to our General Scholarship Fund will help the college recognize the academic merit of our most outstanding students and help make a quality college education accessible and affordable for students who could not attend or would incur serious debt without your help.

The Centennial Scholarship Fund supports scholarships for undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in the University of Kentucky College of Education. The fund was established in recognition of the 100th anniversary of the college, which began offering four-year degrees in 1923. 

Over the last century, generations of teachers, health professionals, counselors, researchers, and leaders have earned degrees in the College of Education, with goals for addressing some of society's most pressing challenges. While this anniversary is a momentous cause for celebration, there exists an ongoing shortage of professionals in critical fields across Kentucky and the nation. The Centennial Scholarship Fund will help reduce these shortages by removing financial barriers to graduation, ensuring more outstanding students are prepared and ready to enter the workforce.

Studies have shown that even modest scholarship aid drastically increases retention and graduation rates. Your generosity will make a huge impact on the lives of current and future students. If the fund reaches a minimum of $50,000, we will be able to endow the scholarship, supporting students in perpetuity and paving the way for another 100 years of academic excellence. 

You can support the College of Education Centennial Scholarship Fund on this page. If you'd like to give to another fund that is not listed, please use the search box in the upper right of this page and type in the desired fund to make your gift. We are grateful for your support! 

*Note: while all gifts to this fund are greatly appreciated, we ask that you please consider a gift of ""$100 for 100"" to celebrate our 100th anniversary.

The Dean's Academic Excellence Fund goes where the needs and opportunities are the greatest in the College of Education. It supports the college and our students with scholarships, structural and departmental improvements. 

Recently supported: 

• Newly remodeled space for a student success center in the Taylor Education Building.
• K-week events to welcome our in-coming freshmen.
• Scholarship Banquet honoring donors and the students who receive their scholarships.
• Annual Teacher Who Made a Difference program. New Early Childhood Lab building.

The Penny Robinson Memorial Scholarship Endowed Fund was established in memory of Penny Robinson, who served as the Assistant Director of the Academic Preparation and Placement Program in Transformative Learning at the University of Kentucky. As an educator, she sought to make a difference and had a heart for her students and passion for helping them succeed. In her 38 years of service to the University, Penny also served as an instructor in the Department of Mathematics and academic advisor in the College of Arts and Sciences. She was a 2012 recipient of the College of Education's Teachers Who Made a Difference award.

Penny believed in every single student that walked into her classroom and by the time the students left her courses, she had them believing in themselves. Benjamin Franklin said, 'People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care'. Every student that walked in Penny's classroom knew that they had an advocate, an educator, a mentor, and a friend in Penny."" (Molly Reynolds, Director of Transformative Learning & proud friend of Penny Robinson).

The fund is dedicated to provide financial support for students enrolled in the College of Education who take courses in the Academic Preparation and Placement Program and are majoring in STEM Education. With your generous support, you are providing opportunities for students who may not otherwise have the resources to succeed. This fund reflects Penny's spirit and dedication to her students and will continue her legacy for years to come.

You can support the Penny Robinson Memorial Scholarship Fund on this page. If you'd like to give to another fund that is not listed, please use the search box in the upper right of this page and type in the desired fund to make your gift. We are grateful for your support!

Our students need champions in their lives to help face and overcome many challenges as they pursue their dream of a degree from the College of Education. Coach Gene Huff was such a champion. He helped students figure out what classes they needed, work through personal and academic challenges as well as find that first full-time job. The Coach Gene Huff Student Assistance fund is available to students who unexpectedly find themselves in financial need - just as Coach Huff helped any student he saw in need. Help us build this lasting legacy in memory of Coach Huff.

In recognition of Dr. "Coach" John R. Thelin's service to the College of Education and his ability to coach students through their master's and doctoral thesis, the Department of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation has established an endowment to commemorate Coach Thelin's retirement and honor is legacy as a scholar and mentor. This endowment is established to support faculty in the Department with theultimate goal of reaching the level of professorship in Coach Thelin's name - this will be the first professorship in the Department.

Established in 1990 by Kenneth Sagan and his siblings, Randall Sagan, Valerie Overlan and Laurie Vennes in honor of their parents at the occasion of Dr. Edgar Sagan's (fifth dean of the UK College of Education) retirement from UK after 29 years of distinguished service. The Edgar L. and Marilyn A. Sagan Fellowship is awarded to graduate students who are doctoral or master's level students majoring in Higher Education or preparing for an administrative role in a college or university.

This scholarship was established by the Teachers for Equitable Kentucky Schools in collaboration with the Wade family seek to expand the number of students of color on the path to being educators in Kentucky. Helen Casie Wade was the first African American student to integrate Fayette County Public Schools in 1955. She attended Lafayette High School's summer school. Mrs. Wade went on to be a teacher and was the first black woman on her school's staff.

Your support helps us provide a place for families to turn for the treatment of challenging behavior. Your gift will help support graduate students; family scholarships; clinic toys and equipment; and our Kindergarten Readiness Summer Camp. Give today and help families grow strong! To read more about how our faculty and students help support families, visit https://education.uky.edu/cabs.

Through your contribution to this fund, doctoral students focusing their research on improving life conditions or opportunities for individuals with moderate or severe intellectual disabilities will be given financial support for their studies. It is named in honor of Harold L. Kleinert, who has championed the importance of mentoring pre-professionals throughout his career at the University of Kentucky. Kleinert is a professor emeritus in the UK's College of Health Sciences, adjunct associate professor in the College of Education's Department of Early Childhood, Special Education, and Rehabilitation Counseling, and former executive director of UK's Human Development Institute.

Kleinert has always said it is not the number of projects or the number of grant dollars that matter most – it is whether or not we have made a difference in the lives of people and the lives of their families. Your support will help doctoral students who share Kleinert's passion continue to make a difference.