Behind the Blue

LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 26, 2025) – As Lexington commemorates its 250^th anniversary and the University of Kentucky marks its 160^th, UK Libraries’ Deirdre Scaggs helps listeners explore the intertwined history and evolving relationship between the city and its university.

Scaggs is associate dean for research and discovery and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center in UK Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center.

She helps navigate UK’s origins in Lexington, the challenges of growing UK and Lexington’s symbiotic relationship, and the importance of the community built between the two.

A key part of that is UK’s mission and charge as the Commonwealth’s land-grant institution.

“Having a land-grant institution in your city is a big draw for development, for businesses to want to come here and invest in the area,” Scaggs said. “The public service mission of a land-grant institution is something that I think the university has always followed through with and has made such a difference — from the early days of agricultural extension to all of the health care, innovations and opportunities that exist here to help the entire state.”

Learn more from Scaggs on the captivating history, challenges and triumphs that have shaped Lexington and UK, as well as the historical insights and pivot points that define the relationship between the two.

Behind the Blue is available via a variety of podcast providers, including iTunes and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

Behind the Blue is a joint production of the University of Kentucky and UK HealthCare. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show’s blog page.

To discover how the University of Kentucky is advancing our Commonwealth, click here.