University of Kentucky student life


The University of Kentucky offers a variety of choices to students. The choices range from a number of dining options, residence halls, and athletic facilities to student organizations, religious groups, Greek-letter organizations, and intramural competitions/campus recreation.

Greek-letter organizations

Social organizations

There are 14 sororities and 25 fraternities that serve the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Sororities

NameChapter Founding YearNotes
Alpha Chi Omega1966Closed since 1976, recolonization for 2015 to 2016 school year
Alpha Delta Pi1941
Alpha Gamma Delta1908
Alpha Kappa Alpha1975
Alpha Omicron Pi1982Closed since 2018
Alpha Phi2009
Alpha Xi Delta1908Closed since 2004
Ceres1997
Chi Omega1914
Delta Delta Delta1923
Delta Gamma1962
Delta Phi Mu2008
Delta Sigma Theta1975
Delta Zeta1923
Gamma Phi Beta1966Closed since 1982, recolonization for the 2019 to 2020 school year
Kappa Alpha Theta1945
Kappa Delta1910
Kappa Kappa Gamma1910
Phi Sigma Rho1999
Phi Sigma Sigma1952Closed since 1957
Pi Beta Phi1962
Phi Mu2011
Sigma Alpha Iota1967
Sigma Gamma Rho????
Sigma Kappa1989Closed since 2010
Tau Beta Sigma1984
Zeta Phi Beta1983
Zeta Tau Alpha1924Closed since 1992

Fraternities

Honor societies

NameLocationNotes
Blazer CafeBlazer DiningDining Hall
The 90Across from William T. Young LibraryFeatures Taco Bell, Aqua Sushi, La Madeline, Ovids Express and a dining hall.
IntermezzoIntermezzo at the Patterson Office Tower.Features sandwiches and drinks.
K-LairCentral campus near Haggin Hall.A fast-food establishment.
Lemon TreeSecond floor of Erikson Hall.Features upscale salad and entree options.
Student CenterReopened in 2018 after a major expansion and renovation project which saw almost all of the previous Student Center demolished, with only the original 1938 Student Center remaining from the pre-renovation complex. During this project, the temporary "Bowman's Den", located next to the Singletary Center for the Arts, served as the student center.Features Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Subway, Sbarro, and Panda Express.

There are also two convenience stores, located at Blazer Dining and at The 90.
The meal plans for on-campus students no longer utilize a declining-balance system, similar to a debit card. In 2005, a new "all care to eat" plan was initiated to the disfavor of 84.9% of the student body. The cheapest meal plan for on-campus students is $949 per semester, extending upward to $2,013 per semester. These plans also include $300 in "flex dollars" which can be used at all on campus dining locations, convenience stores, and also Starbucks.
Students can also use their Plus Account to eat at a few select off-campus restaurants, such as McDonald's or Fazoli's.
The construction of The 90 was completed in 2015 by a design team which included Aramark, RossTarrant Architects and Tipton Associates. The 82,000 square foot facility features seating for 1,000, including bar, family, traditional, active, indoor and outdoor seating, as well as student support spaces such as meeting spaces and technology-rich collaborative learning classrooms.

Religion and life-philosophy

Religious organizations

Listed below are some of the most popular, active, and/or relevant groups on the University of Kentucky's campus. For a more complete list of registered religious student groups, refer to the .

Jewish faith

Christian faith

Non-religious philosophy groups

The university provides several facilities for unwinding from the daily campus grind. The Johnson Center, a two-story structure located at South Campus, features basketball, volleyball, badminton, racketball, and wallyball courts, along with weight-lifting facilities, and rock climbing walls. It is also the home for some group fitness classes utilizing a large aerobics studio.
The Lancaster Aquatic Center, located next to the Johnson Center, opened in 1989 and features 10 lanes for lap swimming and has shallow space for other water activities.
The Seaton Center, now part of the Johnson Center, features facilities for basketball, volleyball, badminton, jogging, squash, table tennis, and racquetball.
In 2018, the north campus' first recreational facility in decades, Alumni Gym Fitness Center, opened as part of the Student Center expansion and renovation project. The facility is a major renovation of the historic Alumni Gymnasium, which had been home to UK men's basketball from 1924 to 1950.

Residence halls

NameLocationNotes
Dale E. Baldwin HallSouth CampusConstructed in 2005. Co-ed.
Bell HallSouth CampusOpened in fall 2014; known as Woodland Glen II before the 2020–21 school year.
Blanding I, II, III, IV, TowerSouth CampusThis, along with the mirror-image Kirwan complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Blanding Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020.
Blazer HallNorth CampusFemale-only dorm. Decommissioned as housing in 2013; since partially renovated into classroom space, with the existing dining facility expanded and renovated. Building now known as Blazer Dining.
Georgia M. Blazer HallNorth CampusOpened in Fall 2014.
Boyd HallNorth CampusDemolished in 2014.
Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd HallNorth CampusOpened in fall 2016 on the site of the former Keeneland Hall.
Chellgren HallSouth CampusOpened in fall 2014; known as Woodland Glen I during the planning and construction process.
Donovan HallCentral CampusFemale-only dorm, closed 2014. The Jacobs Science Building currently stands on the site.
Herman Lee Donovan HallCentral CampusOpened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Greg Page ApartmentsSouth of Kroger Field.
Haggin Hall Central CampusMale-only dorm. Demolished 2013.
Haggin Hall Central CampusOpened in fall 2014 at the site of the original Haggin Hall. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Holmes HallNorth CampusEnded its service as a coed dorm, though it was female-only and male-only at different times in the past. Demolished in 2014; its site is now occupied by most of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall.
Sarah Bennett Holmes HallNorth CampusOpened in 2016. Occupies the site of the former Holmes and Jewell Halls.
Margaret Ingels HallSouth CampusConstructed in 2005. Co-ed.
Jewell HallNorth CampusDemolished in 2014. Site now occupied by part of Sarah Bennett Holmes Hall.
Frances Jewell HallNorth CampusOpened in Fall 2014.
Lyman T. Johnson HallCentral CampusOpened in fall 2013. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
Keeneland HallNorth CampusCo-ed dorm. Organized into two-room suites, with a bathroom in between. Demolished in 2014 and now the site of Cloona Belle Matthews Boyd Hall.
Kirwan I, II, III, IV, TowerSouth CampusThis, along with the Blanding complex, was home to nearly 5,000 students, most of them freshmen. Kirwan Tower was 23 stories tall. The tower was decommissioned as student housing after the 2015–16 school year, with the four low-rises decommissioned a year later; the entire complex was demolished in 2020.
Lewis HallSouth CampusOpened in fall 2017; serves as both a residence hall and office space for UK's Lewis Honors College. Part of the UK Honors Quad.
David P. Roselle HallNorth CampusConstructed in 2005.
Patterson HallNorth CampusCo-ed dorm. Originally constructed as UK's first women's dormitory in 1904.
John T. Smith HallSouth CampusConstructed in 2005. Co-ed.
University FlatsSouth CampusOpened in fall 2017 as graduate/professional student housing.
Woodland Glen III, IV, VSouth CampusOpened in Fall 2015; to be renamed. The other two Woodland Glen dorms opened in 2014; one was renamed before it opened, while the other was renamed in 2020.

Campus safety

The university has suffered from a perception that the campus is unsafe. In a survey of 1000 female university students, conducted in spring 2004, 36.5% reported having been victims of rape, stalking, or physical assault while at the campus. Campus law enforcement statistics do not bear out these numbers, however, and it can be assumed either that many serious crimes go unreported or that the survey conclusions were erroneous.
In response to the survey, University President Lee T. Todd, Jr. launched an initiative in September 2005 titled the Campus Safety Imperative, which included a quadrupling of annual expenditures on safety. Todd specifically linked campus safety to the goal of becoming a top-20 public research institution, stating that "We will never make gains toward becoming a top-20 public research institution if our students are unsafe or if they lack a sense of physical security. It is part of our fundamental mission, then, to create a campus that provides a safe place to live, to work, and to learn."