UK Scales Back "Core" Classes
The University of Kentucky is celebrating the inaugural semester of its new "Core" studies program, which all undergraduate students must complete as part of their degree programs. A performance by UK opera students marked the beginning of the ceremony, which celebrated the start of UK Core, which will replace the aging University Studies Program, adopted in the mid-80s.
"The internet had barely started... the Soviet Union still existed..." UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy said, commenting on the old system.
UK Core will reduce the number of required hours, but focus on greater integration between subjects, take advantage of new technology, and prepare students to adapt to a changing job market.
"It's like saying teach a man how to fish and he can fish for life. If we teach them how to think critically, how to reason based on evidence, then they're prepared to acquire the knowledge as knowledge changes," Subbaswamy said.
In honor of UK Core's mission to be more inclusive, the ceremony also featured Lexington artist Marjorie Guyon's exhibit Nation of Nations, a series of ten paintings depicting figures with a phrase written in different languages.