KENTUCKY, UNIVERSITY OF

public, coeducational institution of higher learning in Lexington, Ky., U.S. It is the central campus of the larger University of Kentucky System, which also includes the Albert B. Chandler Medical Center in Lexington, and 14 community colleges located throughout the state. The main campus consists of 11 colleges offering instruction in fields such as agriculture, business and economics, engineering, and law. The Medical Center comprises colleges of Medicine, Nursing, Dentistry, Allied Health Professions, and Pharmacy. The university offers a full range of undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. Research facilities include the Center for Robotics, the Maxwell H. Gluck Equine Research Center, and a Van de Graaff accelerator. Total enrollment for the University of Kentucky System exceeds 72,000. The university was chartered in 1865 as a land-grant institution. It was then part of Kentucky University and was known as the Agricultural and Mechanical College. It was separated from Kentucky University in 1878. The college was elevated to university status early in the 20th century. It was renamed the University of Kentucky in 1916. The community college system of the university was formed in 1964. Kentucky's men's basketball team has won five National Collegiate Athletic Association championships, four under coach Adolph Rupp.