In the 50 years since its creation, the Pell Grant has helped more than 80 million students attend college and pursue their dreams. The Pell Grant has increased access to higher education for countless low-income and first-generation students. That access has helped close a massive opportunity gap – a bachelor’s degree holder earns a median of , which is about 75% more than if they had only a high school diploma.

At the University of Louisville, the opportunity gap has been closing for the past several years thanks to a dedicated focus on supporting underrepresented and at-risk students, including those who receive a Pell Grant. UofL’s six-year graduation rate has improved by 8% over the past six years, for instance, marking the highest rate in university history.

Geoff Bailey, executive director of the REACH program, believes UofL is among few that has made such material strides.

Part of this success comes from our vast ecosystem of programs and resources provided for students to help them navigate their educational journey. This includes REACH, which provides peer tutoring, academic coaching, seminars, intervention courses, financial and academic workshops and more. There is also the Student Success Center, which REACH partners with frequently. It consists of student success coordinators, the First Year Experience office, exploratory advising and first-gen programming.

Additionally, last year UofL launched the Cardinal Commitment Grant, a last-dollar scholarship that pays for the remainder of a student’s tuition after they have received and applied for federal and state grants and additional institutional aid. Students must be eligible for a Pell Grant to take advantage of this new program. 

Leveraging data to identify students most in need of support 

Another way UofL differentiates itself is by having the resources in place to dive deeply into metrics and understand what programs are working. For instance, REACH has the ability to pull data sets to examine how students from certain cohorts – such as first-generation or Pell Grant-eligible – are faring when they use its services compared to those who do not. 

“This allows us to make sure our students are performing well and retained. It’s pretty rare to have this sort of staffing and political support. I can think of maybe four other schools that have this type of support,” Bailey said. “We want to make sure our most vulnerable populations are receiving support so they can take advantage of our resources. We know there is a correlation between our deep dives and graduation rates.”

Having the resources in place also allows REACH to target students who may need the most help getting through their academic careers.

“For the students who are not using us and who have below a 3.0 grade point average, this allows us to get into the weeds with them, message with their advisers and follow up. We make sure we’re bending over backwards with a support message because we are seeing that Pell Grant recipients who use our services are going to thrive and do better than those who don’t,” Bailey said.

To get to that point, Bailey and his staff have to find out why a student may not be leveraging these resources. There are three primary reasons – they’re thriving and don’t need the help; they prefer to figure things out on their own and don’t want to come in; or they have jobs and are simply too busy.

“The third one is the one that scares me because they can’t carve out more time to get more help and we can’t move the needle so easily on those students,” Bailey said.

At a high level, tutoring services are what make the most difference for students who are most at risk of dropping out, but there are additional services they can receive during their time here. UofL’s student-facing teams also work to make sure these services run tandem with students’ courses, so they can get support outside of class, apply knowledge beyond class and develop better habits overall. Bailey said it’s critical that all of these services and resources are top-of-mind for students and their parents.

“When students take tours, even if they’ve not yet applied, they’re hearing about our services and support. They end their campus tours at the Belknap Academic Building, where they learn about critical support services offered by the Student Success Center and REACH. Advisers are reminding them constantly of the services we have,” he said. “We wrap around and reinforce the key areas that students need to pay attention to as they transition to college. Without that, we’d be like any other school.

“Our ability to forge campus partnerships is what makes an impact and where we distinguish ourselves. It’s woven into our institution that everyone has a role in student success.”

Why it’s important to prioritize Pell Grant students

Zooming out a bit, it’s important to understand the impact the Pell Grant has, and has had for the past 50 years. The biggest barrier to obtaining a college degree is funding.

Kentucky has one of the , at 16.3%. , only about one-fourth of Kentuckians have a bachelor’s degree or higher.

Thirty-four percent of undergraduate , and 51% of funds go to students whose families earn less than $20,000 a year. In Kentucky, nearly 94,000 students are Pell Grant recipients, averaging about $4,000 a year.

“Economically, a good portion of our state is depressed. If we’re going to move the needle, a college education is the great equalizer. We play a critical role in helping to break the cycle of poverty,” Bailey said. “The Pell Grant fosters opportunities those students wouldn’t otherwise have and we’re not just issuing money and saying, ‘good luck.’ We’re focused on being stewards and helping to change lives.”

UofL’s work is hardly done. The institution will continue to target Pell Grant-eligible students as part of its overall priority to increase access to higher education. For example, the 2022-23 budget allows for a 0.0% tuition increase for undergraduate students, as well as the continued development of the Cardinal Commitment financial aid program.

NCLCA Award

For its work, REACH was recently awarded the National College Learning Center Association President’s Outstanding Learning Award for Specialized Populations. UofL was the only four-year institution to be recognized this year.

What those students may not realize, however, is that their professor – who is also a UofL alum – just became the first American male, and the oldest overall, to swim the Loch Lomond, a 21.6-mile freshwater loch in Scotland.

It took the 60œ year old 12 hours and 3 minutes to complete the swim from Ardlui to Balloch, an approximately 25-mile route by car.

, there have been less than 90 full crossings of Loch Lomond in recorded history.

Johmann has been a swimmer much of his life, including through high school at Louisville’s St. Xavier. He didn’t return to the sport until his mid-30s, when he joined Swim Louisville Masters. Five years later, he started open water swimming, starting with a 10K near Indianapolis and working his way up to a successful English Channel swim in 2014.

The opportunity to complete Loch Lomond, however, intrigued him as it would give him those two records – first American male and oldest swimmer overall. He also wanted to face the unique challenges of the Loch.

“Every swim is different,” he told the publication. “On a Loch such as Lomond, the weather and wind are changing constantly and once a crossing has started, you have to take what the Loch gives. There’s no getting on the boat and waiting for a storm to pass 
 you either swim to the end, come what may, or you tap out and maybe have to wait another year for another chance.”

Unsurprisingly, training for such grueling distances in such conditions is intense. In Louisville, Johmann is in the water by 5 a.m., swimming five miles a day and up to 30 miles a week. He trains with the Louisville River Rats open water group in the Ohio River from May through October. Sometimes the group will train at a private lake in Oldham County, as well. There is also pool training, but open water swims continue throughout the year, including in the winter, in order to train for cold water conditions.

The water temperature at Loch Lomond was 59 degrees, he said, and wet suits are not allowed according to channel swimming rules.

“In January and February, we will swim for periods of just 5-to-6 minutes when the temperature is in the mid-30s, and as far as a mile (about 25-to-30 minutes) when the temperature is in the 40s,” he told UofL News. “Cold water swimming is its own adventure, and all swimmers are monitored carefully by support kayakers for signs of hypothermia.”

Johmann credited his crew, including boat captain Chris Sifleet and a team of kayakers and spotters, for helping him succeed. During each swim, the crew makes sure he eats and drinks enough and stays on the course despite cross currents and other elements.

Though the temperature may be warmer than the Loch Lomond, those familiar with the Ohio River know it’s not necessarily calm. Johmann calls it a “working river, with barges and tugs and riverboats of all kinds making for some challenging, even dangerous, conditions at times.”

He called the Loch Lomond a “relief” because of its clean water and relatively little traffic. He also enjoyed the view. 

“The swims that attract me most are those with great scenery, great history and a great challenge. Lomond is all three. Hard to imagine more beautiful scenery,” he told Glasgow Live. “Lomond is also a storied loch in song and Scottish history. Attaching my name to such a place and its swimming tradition was irresistible.”

Johmann is also proud to point out he wore a UofL swim cap during the feat, while Sifleet’s boat flew a UofL flag. As far as what’s next, he is considering “various swims,” but nothing has been determined yet. For now, he’ll return to his familiar spot in front of the classroom.

This was the case recently when the two gathered in the “red chair room” in the basement of Schneider Hall to talk about UofL’s graphic design program. They talked about what defines a visual object and semiotics and other granularities unfamiliar to those not actually in the world of graphic design. 

They also talked about the history of the program – its ups and downs – and how each other’s strengths ushered the department into a modern era. 

This friendly, thoughtful dialogue has been happening between them for over 20 years now, sometimes in the red chair room, sometimes over a cup of coffee at McDonald’s. But these conversations will soon become less frequent as both faculty members recently announced their retirement.

Professor Skaggs is the head of the graphic design BFA track. He earned his degree from UofL in 1973, then worked in design in Atlanta before heading off to grad school at the Pratt Institute in New York. He then spent three years as an assistant professor at the University of Kansas before taking over the UofL program in 1983.  

Skaggs followed a pretty deep bench. In fact, the first graphic design professor hired at UofL was Malcolm Grear in 1950 (if that name sounds familiar, it’s because Grear designed the look for the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta). Grear was followed by Robert Doherty, under whom Skaggs studied, and Daniel Boyarski.

By the time Skaggs took over, he immediately identified changes he wanted to make and was able to conceptualize how he wanted the program to grow.

“There weren’t a lot of changes made to the curriculum before then and graphic design was boxed together with media,” he said. “It wasn’t meant to be a graphic design program but rather a design thinking series of courses.” 

Skaggs spent years scribbling down his ideas and was finally able to articulate them to then-President John Shumaker. He wrote his first vision statement in 1984. 

“I didn’t think our students were fully prepared and I wanted to guide them to do more than just think and figure life out on their own,” Skaggs said. “I knew if we were going to do this right, the minimum we needed was curriculum that required either four or five adjuncts or a second full-time person.”

The vision statement finally becomes a reality

His vision, however, didn’t become a reality until nearly 18 years later. Enter Friesen, who joined the department in 2002 as the Power Agency Designer-in-Residence. Skaggs calls her hire the “big turning point of the program.”

Friesen, also a UofL graduate, said her role was specifically focused on three objectives – teaching, facilitating internships and serving as a professional liaison. That latter directive was the catalyst for Portfolio Day, an annual event for graduating students to showcase their design portfolios to local and regional professionals.

“The first Portfolio Day was in 2003. Suddenly it’s a big event now, with agencies and professionals coming from all over. Now people are coming to us and they’re hiring our students,” Friesen said.

Indeed, Portfolio Day has heightened the profile of the program. According to Skaggs, it also enables our students to better connect with the city.

“Louisville is a vibrant city. I felt that we needed to put more horsepower into that piece and Leslie has done just that with Portfolio Day,” he said.

Together, Skaggs and Friesen have also shifted the program’s curriculum to better suit individual students’ development and specialized areas. These changes are necessary to keep pace with the industry at large.

“As a result, our students are better able to compete against huge art school programs that have four times as many design courses we have. We’re able to punch above our weight and our students are more prepared because we’re now able to customize the program to them,” Skaggs said.

Where the program goes from here

Notably, Skaggs’ vision statement expanded beyond just two full-time faculty and, for a brief moment, there were three professors bouncing ideas off of each other and complementing each other’s strengths. Meena Khalili was brought on board in 2016, however, moved in December 2019 just before Covid-19 grinded any potential for a replacement to a halt.

Skaggs would like to get back to at least three full-time faculty members to keep the program moving forward. For now, however, with Skaggs and Friesen phasing into retirement, the department has brought on Trysh Wahlig, assistant professor in graphic design and program head, and Sheri Squires, designer-in-residence. They’ve got the chops, as Skaggs says. Wahlig is a graduate of the prestigious Illinois Institute of Technology and was most recently employed by Humana.

Squires has been an adjunct for several years and is a graduate of the University of Cincinnati’s Design, Art, Architecture and Planning program. She has publication and agency experience and has served as president of the Louisville Graphic Design Association.

Although Skaggs will stay on another year to help them transition, and Friesen may be called up to adjunct, both are full of retirement-induced reflection on how their work has made an impact for their students, for the department, for UofL and for the city.

Friesen effortlessly ticks off an extensive list of alums from the program who have gone on to accomplish big things, for instance, working for companies like PepsiCo, LinkedIn and the University of Chicago Press.

“I could go on and on and on. I take great pride in our students. They have proven they can really go far,” she said.

Skaggs admits he’s not necessarily an excitable person, but that changes on a dime when he talks about his students, particularly their ambitions and ideas.

“It’s not enough for students just to be making something pretty. What gets me charged about the program is to have students with a dream and try to make it and to have those dreams be realistic – they can make it successfully as a designer,” he said. “Ideas is the other part. The world of design is about ideas and that exchange of ideas between students and faculty excites me.”

No doubt that exchange of ideas will continue between the students, Wahlig and Squires. Asked what else he’d like to see from the program after his retirement, Skaggs simply says “it’s not my call anymore. The program is in good hands.”

That’s not to say he doesn’t take pride in where the program is now, all thanks to his vision scribbled on a piece of paper in the 1980s and a strong working relationship with someone who shared that vision.

“If this program is an animal, it was in kind of a nymph stage for a generation and then it suddenly became a butterfly,” he said. “Once it became a butterfly, it wasn’t the biggest butterfly. But it was a really beautiful butterfly.”

Some of these include yoga and tai chi classes, nutritional counseling and acupuncture. Recently, the institute also began offering a six-part drumming series dedicated to the caregivers. The current series ends June 13, but the institute plans to host the series again at some point this year and, in fact, hosts the program a few times each year.

According to Payton Kruer, Trager’s caregiver program manager, the somewhat-new series has generated a positive response thus far from participants.  

“The drumming series was brought to Trager as a fun, whole-person strategy that promotes socialization and offers a healthy, non-strenuous workout,” she said. “On a deeper level, it builds bridges while fostering nurturing, support, camaraderie, self-respect and respect for others.”

Kruer adds the program is not about drumming, but rather using the drum as a tool for communication and personal expression. Drumming circles have been also proven to reduce stress, boost the immune system and increase energy, release negative feelings and create a sense of community. One peer-reviewed published research study conducted on long-term care workers demonstrated a 46% improvement in mood disturbance (e.g. depression, anxiety and anger) from such programs.

Using drums, and music making in general, has been a healing technique for ages. Trager began incorporating HealthRhythms model into its services about two years ago. HealthRhythms was established about 15 years ago and has since been used by more than 3,000 trained facilitators around the world. Locally, it proved successful with the Kentuckiana Regional Planning and Development Agency and the agency’s former director of social services, Barbara Gordon, introduced it to Trager when she was brought on board as the director of community engagement.  

Trager employees, including Kruer, and Kennette Rightnour, FlourishCare specialist, have been trained on the HealthRhythms program and have been conducting the drumming series for the past two years. Each series is six weeks.

“Something that was not an expectation I had when I was trained is that every group is different. We’ve gotten to do it with a few different populations, age groups and locations and each group has a different way to approach the drums and making music together, thus creating a new and inventive sound that amazes me each time,” Kruer said.

Trager has partnered with a few local agencies, including the AARP and the VA, to offer the program to caregivers in the community. Kruer said the caregivers enjoy having a safe space to express their daily emotions openly as they care for their loved ones.

“By utilizing HealthRhythms, we have an opportunity to not only utilize the program for our wellness for an hour but give people the tools to use music on their own in the future for self-expression, self-care and any other benefits they may feel after the series,” Kruer said. 

The drumming series also fits into Trager’s overall programming. Kruer said the institute is working to increase its wellness services, all of which are updated regularly on .

Arguably, the deepest tie is the music – the auditory traditions that evoke emotion and pageantry throughout the city on that first Saturday each May. Indeed, if an official soundtrack existed for the Kentucky Derby, the University of Louisville would appear several times in the credits.

Take, for instance, the event’s signature opening of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

The rendition is performed by our very own Marching Cards. It has been since 1936, in fact, when the group was first recognized as “The Official Band of the Kentucky Derby.” The lyrics, meanwhile, are brought to life by the UofL Cardinal Singers.

A few years ago, a  experience is like: “I’ve interviewed Kentuckians who haven’t set foot in the state for 30 years who still stand in front of their televisions and weep when they hear the woodwinds and brass instruments strike the first few notes of ‘My Old Kentucky Home.’ The lyrics tell us that there’ll be hard times, by and by. But at the crescendo, it’s as if 150,000 voices nudge us to weep no more.” 

Those are our students playing those woodwinds and brass instruments and creating such sentiment, courtesy of Stephen Collins Foster’s lyrics. Such an experience is not lost on the group.

“I’m extremely proud to be a part of this tradition. Some of the most important work the CMB does is that which impacts the Louisville community. To represent not only the city, but the state at such a highly respected sporting event is truly humbling. Further, this experience creates a unique bond between current and former members of the CMB that no other marching band can relate to. Like the rest of the band, my memory of this Derby will last a lifetime,” said Michael LaRoche, a Marching Card and mechanical engineering major.

“Hands down my favorite part is hearing everyone sing at Churchill Downs. When the song begins, voices are a bit subdued, but then a strong rise of voices is heard on ‘Weep no more my lady.’ It is a powerful and unifying event that makes you feel connected to people all over the world and so proud to live in Kentucky,” Amy Acklin, director of the Cardinal Marching Band, said in 2019.

So important is this tradition to our students that when the Derby was canceled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, UofL drum major Natalie Humble recruited marching band students from schools across the state to record a virtual version of “My Old Kentucky Home.”

Meanwhile, that emotion shifts to excitement whenever the sound of the trumpet rises above the crowd to beckon horses to the starting gate for each race. The signature “Call to the Post” has been used at racetracks since the 1860s, . At the Derby, it’s performed by UofL School of Music alum Steve Buttleman, who earned a bachelor’s degree in music performance in 2007.

The fulltime bugler, who also kicks off the day with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” performs at hundreds of special events throughout the year. But it’s his Derby assignment that stands out most.

“There isn’t another office in the world with a view like mine. I step out onto the balcony and I am looking across the racetrack at the Twin Spires 
 I never take what I do for granted,” he told the Courier Journal.

Derby Week is here, which means our city is in the spotlight of a global stage once again. And positioned in that metaphoric orchestra pit, ready to set the tone for the festivities, are our fellow Cardinals. , for a Marching Cards takeover from LaRoche.

Check out a performance from the Marching Cards and the Cardinal Singers from a few years ago:

Those hallways are adorned with photographs showcasing Louisville’s most recognizable landmarks and experiences, including the University of Louisville’s The Thinker statue in front of Grawemeyer Hall – reiterating the institution’s dynamic connection to the city. 

“These images are a great representation of Louisville and ensure so many of the community’s signature locations and experiences are highlighted,” said Dan Mann, executive director of the Louisville Regional Airport Authority. “The stunning images will greet visitors and give them a taste of what to expect during their stay here in Louisville.” 

Other renovations include new terrazzo flooring, a new ceiling, enhanced lighting fixtures and upgrades to the mechanical and electrical system. 

“The new ‘Signature Louisville’ photograph collection is a perfect way to welcome and engage travelers, inspiring them to visit Louisville’s iconic landmarks while showcasing the city’s unique brand of Southern hospitality, one-of-a-kind attractions and urban bourbon experiences,” said Doug Bennett, executive vice president of Louisville Tourism. 

In addition to UofL, other city landmarks highlighted in the photographs include: 4th Street Live!, 21c Museum Hotel, Angel’s Envy, Belle of Louisville, Churchill Downs, Copper &
Kings, Kentucky Kingdom, Louisville Extreme Park, Louisville FC/Racing Louisville FC, Louisville MegaCavern, Louisville Slugger, Louisville Zoo, Old Forester, St. James Court, UPS, Waterfront Wednesday, Whiskey Row and an iconic photo of Muhammad Ali.

In 2019, the airport accommodated more than 4.2 million passengers. 

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Starting March 14, 2022, masking will only be required in classrooms and clinical areas. In all other areas, masks will be optional.

Here are additional things to note about the mask requirement modification:

• Masks are still required when riding campus shuttles due to TARC’s continued mask requirement.
• Units that operate patient care activities may determine how to make their policies consistent with health agency recommendations.
• The university still encourages individuals with health concerns to consider wearing masks while indoors. 
• The university will continue to monitor CDC guidance and may have to make more changes to masking or take other measures if circumstances change. 

Beginning April 1, 2022, the university will also no longer require testing of unvaccinated individuals as asymptomatic testing has now shown to have little to no effect on the spread of COVID-19. If you feel ill, stay home and .

As we relax some of these requirements that have been in place since the start of the pandemic, please keep in mind that this may be a difficult transition for some. Please be thoughtful and considerate with each other as we make this transition.

Louisville-native Ngo is a second-year graduate student studying Public Health with a concentration in Health Policy. She is the current director of Professional Development in the Graduate Student Council, a Trustee’s Scholar, and has earned departmental honors in the Psychology Department for successful defense of her thesis.

Louisville-native Porter is a senior majoring in both Computer Information Systems and Marketing. She is a Woodford R. Porter Scholar, a student worker in the Admissions Office, President’s Office, and Campus Housing Department at UofL, and is heavily involved in extracurriculars such as the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. 

They join Northern Kentucky University students Sarah Rhodes and Haven Wolfe, and University of Kentucky student Molly Sullivan on the five-person court. 

Additionally, Olivia Andrews, a UofL senior from New Albany, Indiana, is a second alternate should one of the princesses be unable to serve. UK junior Lauren Carter is first alternative. 

The Royal Court was selected after attending final judging with 25 other finalist candidates. There were nearly 80 original applicants for the program, representing different colleges and universities from around Kentucky and the region. All the applicants went through preliminary judging in November.

One of the five will be crowned the Derby Festival Queen by a spin-of-the-wheel at the annual Fillies Derby Ball on April 9 at The Galt House. Each woman will receive a $2,000 scholarship ($1,000 from the Fillies and $1,000 from the Kentucky Derby Festival Foundation).

Candidates for the Princess Program must maintain a minimum 3.0 grade-point average and are selected by a panel of three out-of-state judges. Criteria for selection includes knowledge of the Derby Festival, poise, intelligence, personality and campus and community involvement.

The first Derby Festival Princess was crowned in 1957, the second year of the Festival. Previous Princesses have included former Kentucky Governor Martha Layne Collins and the late Gail Gorski, the first female pilot ever hired by United Airlines.

In late April 1969, in fact, a group of students occupied then-president Woodrow Strickler’s office demanding more efforts to recruit minority students and teachers, among other things. It was shortly before this time when the late Gwendol Fay (Brown) McCaskill helped integrate the on-campus dorms.

Gwendol, a psychology major from Earlington, Kentucky, lived in Threlkeld Hall and graduated in 1968. She passed away in 2016, but her daughter, Annissa McCaskill – also a former UofL student – shared some of her story with UofL News.

Gwendol Fay Brown McCaskill, who eventually became Reverend Dr. McCaskill, chose to attend UofL because her older sister, Barbara Brown Walker, was enrolled. Barbara was part of the initial group of students at the newly desegregated campus.

“(Barbara) was originally scheduled to attend Kentucky Teacher’s College (now Kentucky State). My grandmother read that to encourage enrollment by Black students into the day program in their efforts to desegregate it, UofL was offering a tuition that was lower than what the costs would be at Kentucky Teacher’s College. My grandparents decided to send my Aunt Barbara to UofL and have her stay with my grandmother’s sisters in Louisville. My mother would follow behind,” Annissa said.

While a student, Gwendol belonged to the Wesley (Methodist) Student Association and the Psychology Student’s Association, while also helping to desegregate student housing. Annissa calls her mom a sort of accidental activist.

“It wasn’t so much an effort to integrate UofL’s on-campus housing, but rather just the times she was in. I don’t think she saw herself as an activist, but rather as someone who had God-given talents and who would not let others’ negative perceptions of her due to ignorance or racism deter her from accomplishing everything she was capable of,” she said.

After earning her bachelor’s from UofL, Gwendol continued her education at Temple University and then earned a PhD in human and organizational development from Vanderbilt University.

She went on to become a social worker, educator, administrator and consultant. Notably, she was the first African American to serve as a social worker in Hopkins County, Kentucky, and one of the first to serve in the state of Kentucky.

Gwendol later pursued a ministry career and was ordained under the Missionary Rule of the AME Zion Church. Throughout 37 years, she served as supply minister to churches in the Madisonville District, as well as pastor in Sebree, Kentucky, Nashville, Tennessee, White Plains, Kentucky, Russellville, Kentucky and Madisonville, Kentucky.

In 2004, she was appointed presiding elder of the Madisonville District – the first woman to hold this position in the Kentucky Annual Conference. She continued in that capacity before stepping down after eight years and served as pastor of Zion Temple AME Zion Church for over 20 years, retiring in early June 2016.

Gwendol and her husband, Alexander, had three children, including Annissa, who is executive director of Dutchtown South Community Corporation; Alexia, who is a licensed attorney and serves as senior director for professional development at the University of Colorado School of Law; and Alexander, who is an elementary school educator.

The McCaskills returned to Kentucky after the father retired from the military. They would visit Louisville often to see family, and Gwendol would also spend time in the city as part of her job. Annissa said she liked to visit UofL’s campus whenever she was in town.

“We are very proud of her,” Annissa said.

The Commonwealth Cup kicks off today and runs through the week, featuring a bevy of events facilitated by UofL’s raiseRED Dance Marathon and UK’s DanceBlue marathon.

The week-long effort provides a fundraising supplement for both schools’ actual dance marathons, which will take place Feb. 25-26 at the SAC Ballroom at UofL and March 5-6 at UK.

The idea of the Commonwealth Cup came about last year when both schools were faced with the challenges of continuing their dance marathons in a pandemic. At UofL, raiseRED shifted to a hybrid model and moved the fundraising reveal to Cardinal Stadium. The event returns to an in-person format this year, but the organization is keeping some of its hybrid elements to maintain accessibility. It is also continuing its ancillary fundraisers, including the Commonwealth Cup.

Last year’s inaugural event had a fundraising goal of $50,000 between the two schools. They ended up raising over $68,000. This year, the Cards and Cats are targeting an $80,000 fundraising goal.

The week includes a diverse lineup of events, both in-person and virtual:

Monday, Jan. 24: A PJ party, 7-8 p.m., virtually or in the SAC 102. Join raiseRED’s Cardinal Crew for a special night of Bedtime Stories with Cardinal Buddies, the children who are recipients of this fundraising effort. The goal is for each raiseRED student to raise $21.28 in honor of the 2,128 children with cancer treated by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals every day.

Tuesday, Jan. 25: Commonwealth Countdown, 6:30-8 p.m., online. Inspired by “escape rooms,” raiseRED and DanceBlue participants will come together for a virtual event when teams can complete puzzles and solve mysteries to escape from their breakout room. 

Wednesday, Jan. 26: Just Dance, 6:30-8 p.m., SAC. The Just Dance night includes a step-by-step walkthrough previewing the 2022 line dance from the Line Dance Team.

Thursday, Jan. 27: Mail call for the kids, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., tabling at the SAC by Chick-fil-A. All are welcome to visit the table to write notes for Cardinal Buddies.  

Friday, Jan. 28: Ignite the Fight. raiseRED students will rally the UofL community to raise $17.98 a person in honor of UofL’s founding year.

Saturday, Jan. 29: Reveal, Kentucky Capitol in Frankfort.

Keep an eye on UofL raiseRED’s social media channels this week to follow fundraising progress and participate in .