Since it was established in 2001, the office, which is housed within the , has helped hundreds of high-achieving students enter programs that have sent them to dozens of countries. The resources and support of the office are open to all students and alumni of UofL who are interested in pursuing nationally competitive opportunities like the Fulbright, Boren, Goldwater and Truman scholarships, among others.

Alumna Bethany Johnson Smith (A&S 2008) was one of those students, and since 2021, she has directed the office that helped her land her first scholarship as an undergraduate, a summer program at the University of Cambridge.

Originally from Harlan County, Kentucky, Smith completed her master’s degree in cultural studies at the University of Edinburgh after later winning the A&S Mary Churchill Humphrey Scholarship. She earned her PhD in English from the University of Iowa.��

In 2016, while still finishing her dissertation, she began working as an assistant in the scholarship office under former longtime director Pat Condon, who had guided her through that very first international scholarship application.

“I have thought back to our conversations so many times since then, and Dr. Condon’s advice has continued to help me through everything from comprehensive exams to job interviews,” she said.

Smith is married to Remington Smith, associate professor of film production and film studies in the A&S communication department. They met as UofL undergrads.��

“We first became friends when we lived in Threlkeld Hall and were delighted to return to campus together to work and teach,” she said.��

In her role, Bethany Smith interviews, advises, encourages and celebrates UofL students and graduates who want to continue their post-secondary education, often overseas.��

“Students and alumni are always invited to come chat with me, even if they don’t have a particular application or plan in mind. I also welcome nominations from faculty—my inbox is always open,” she said.

The Fulbrights are the most well-known international scholarships, and she has continued UofL’s dominating streak of winners (168 since 2001, more student Fulbrights than all Kentucky public higher education institutions combined).

But Smith is opening new doors. Last year, UofL students won two of the latest scholarships — the Voyager Scholarship, an Obama Foundation award for those who want to go into public service, and the Quad Fellowship, for STEM researchers who want to work together for the greater good — that are helping to define 21st century education.

“Both of those are great examples in that they seek to identify and invest in not just talented students, but young people who are bridge-builders and problem solvers with the potential to have a positive impact,” she said. “I think we’ll keep seeing awards that connect top scholars with opportunity and with one another. And UofL students will be great candidates, as they continue to excel in research, creative activity, leadership, and community and global engagement.”

Seizing opportunities has since become her hallmark.

In December 2023 she graduated from UofL with dual  degrees from the College of Arts & Sciences.

It is a program she had not planned to pursue after she earned her bachelor’s degree in 2020 from the just as the pandemic set in.

But there she was, and, given a chance to put her classroom learning to work through contact tracing, she jumped into the unknown. Soon, she was supervising UofL’s pandemic contact tracing team.

Owens, who had paid her own way through her undergraduate years, dreamed of getting a master’s degree. She was attracted to the dual degree master’s program because it offered a graduate assistantship that would pay for her tuition. She jumped again into the unknown.

“If I’m being completely honest,” she said, “I didn’t know anything about urban planning before I went into the degree. Then I fell in love with urban planning!”

She didn’t get discouraged by being one of only three African-American students or being younger than many of her older professional classmates. And soon, the more she learned, the more she connected what she was learning to her public health foundation.

This time around, Owens also took another leap and became more involved in student life on campus. Her undergraduate years were consumed by the demands of jobs and commuting, but the graduate assistantship meant she had more time to explore being a student.

Owens “got involved in anything I could get my hands on,” she said. “I was like, well, I have the free time. I’m going to try to pour myself into the school.” One highlight was presenting research at the 2022 (SECoPA), where she was a runner-up for a prestigious award for most outstanding paper.

“I was that kid that got taken out of class to take extra reading classes and needed tutors,” she said. “Just to be where I am today and do as well as I’m doing, I’m really proud of that because it took a long time to get over those hurdles growing up.”

Owens, a graduate of Louisville’s Butler Traditional High School, said she has always been inspired by her mother, a server who works multiple jobs as a single parent of three. She hopes earning her master’s degree will help set her on a career path that leads to financial longevity for generations to come. She even earned her state license to sell life insurance to help others plan for the future.

For now, she plans to pursue a career in philanthropy. Owens is a coordinator of corporate and foundation relations in UofL’s . She thinks often about the generous donors whose gifts made her graduate assistantship possible.

“I don’t know who to thank, but someone out there made that possible,” she said. “I want to learn all that I can learn to better help other students and our university be successful.”

Today, the single parent of a special needs 10-year-old sees herself with a PhD instead.

On Dec. 15, she graduated from the University of Louisville through the  online program and a goal of getting her PhD before she’s 40.

White, a Tennessee native and first-generation college student, had a change of plans after her son, Landon, was born with a severe heart condition and other special needs. She worked in a bank and a beauty salon, taking Landon to his many medical appointments in her free time.

She never forgot her dream, though, and came to UofL in 2021 to earn a business degree. She later switched to the College of ����ֱ�� and Human Development’s (CEHD) online . She took only one year to get her undergraduate degree, then immediately started on her master’s.��

She made time to get involved in college life, and served on the board of UofL’s Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Student Chapter. This year, she became vice president of the UofL CardinOLL Ambassador program for BS OLL students and alumni.

“I didn’t come to play,” said White, who maintained a 4.0 GPA. “I look at the big picture all the time.”

She singled out the and for helping her juggle her many responsibilities. A scholarship recipient, White sought out the scholarships she needed to make sure she had no debt when she graduated.��

“I have overcome enormous challenges which could have stopped me but didn’t,” she said. “Instead, I was able to utilize UofL resources and excel quickly through this degree.”

White knows well that life is a winding road, and is looking for a job with the flexibility she needs for Landon. She is ready to work “wherever God places me,” she said, adding “while change is inevitable, growth is optional.”

After she took office Feb. 1, Schatzel spent six months in some 40 listening sessions to learn what was important to community and government leaders and UofL’s students, staff and faculty. She outlined her first eight priorities in September as the fall semester opened, and those priorities became the basis for a new 2023-2025 .

She was officially inaugurated on Sept. 29 in a joyous ceremony filled with music and tradition that was held on The Oval outside Grawemeyer Hall. Among the attendees were Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg.��

The year also commemorated the 225th anniversary of UofL’s founding.��

UofL Health-UofL Hospital, meanwhile, also celebrated a milestone: 200 years of compassionate care, medical innovation and serving the underserved. It was Kentucky’s first hospital, first admitting patients in a facility downtown in 1823.

UofL announced its highest-on-record first-year enrollment in the fall 2023 semester at 3,130, an increase of 6.8 percent from 2022, which had also set a record.��

Affordability may be one reason students were eager to come to UofL. The university jumped 15 places in the 2023-24 U.S. News and World Report ranking, from #146 to #131. UofL also topped the list of “best values” among national universities in Kentucky.��

UofL will be making more strides in 2024 to provide an accessible and affordable college education. At the end of 2023, UofL announced the expansion of its Border Benefit Award that allows students from some neighboring states to attend UofL at in-state tuition rates.��Additionally, UofL announced it is investing $2.4 million toward the Cardinal Commitment Grant for in-state residents in 2024.

The university welcomed two new deans in 2023: Dayna Touron, College of Arts & Sciences, and John W. Miller Jr., Raymond A. Kent School of Social Work and Family Science.��UofL also named Kathryn (Katie) Cardarelli new dean of the School of Public Health and Information Sciences effective April 8, 2024, pending Board of Trustees approval.

Research and Innovation continued to soar to new heights in 2023, with UofL research expenditures totaling a record $230 million. Just a few highlights were:

• More than $22 million in funding from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) was awarded to the Schools of Medicine ($16 million) and Nursing ($6.5 million) for physician and nurse training to help increase Kentuckians’ access to health care, particularly in underserved rural and urban areas.  
• An $11.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health was announced for UofL researcher Cheri Levinson to continue her work addressing the devastating effects of eating disorders.
• Research conducted in UofL’s Micro/Nano Technology Center is investigating whether the antibacterial properties of cicada wings can be turned into an antimicrobial for use in places like food service, health care facilities and medical devices.��
• More than 80 of UofL’s top researchers, scholars and artists were honored in October at the 2023 Research, Scholarship and Creative Activity Awards ceremony.

Also in 2023:

• Beloved Hall of Fame basketball coach Denny Crum died on May 9. In the fall of 2022, UofL had opened a new residence hall named in his honor.��
  

  

• The McConnell Center Distinguished Speaker Series, celebrating its 30th year, brought Oksana Markarova, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United States, to Belknap Campus Oct. 30. She gave a public talk during a program at Chao Auditorium and also met separately with the university’s McConnell Scholars.
• Steve Trager, community leader and chairman and CEO of Republic Bank, was named UofL’s 2023 Alumnus of the Year.
• UofL’s Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute teamed up with Simmons College of Kentucky on an 18-month study to identify what makes a neighborhood contribute to the health of its residents. The study is funded by a $500,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
• The Center for Military-Connected Students debuted its newly renovated offices in Brodschi Hall on Belknap Campus. The center focuses on meeting the needs of the more than 2,100 military-connected students enrolled at UofL.
• UofL students, faculty and alumni performed alongside renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma at Kentucky’s Mammoth Cave National Park.
  

  

• raiseRED, UofL’s largest student-run philanthropy, generated more than $551,000 in donations for UofL’s Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute outpatient clinic. The amount brought the cumulative total raised over the 10-year history of the event to more than $4.6 million. The highlight of raiseRED is an 18-hour dance marathon.

View UofL’s Flickr gallery, .

She relied on UofL’s resources, faculty and staff to get her through her toughest challenge—a comprehensive review of all she had learned—leading the way to a bachelor of fine arts from the Hite Institute of Art and Design in the College of Arts & Sciences.

“UofL helped me pass my review and graduate this fall because of the fantastic people … who played a significant role in who I am as an artist and as a future alumnus of UofL,” Ramsey said.

Ramsey, a , worked at the independent student newspaper, , and as a student assistant at Ekstrom Library. Read more about her Fall BFA Thesis Exhibition .

Asked about her favorite class, she said her experience in a directed study working on a project with Professor Mary Carothers of the Hite Institute made a profound impact on her.

The project focused on a Metro United Way/Russell Place of Promise guaranteed income program called YALift! Ramsey and other artists reflected on the meaning of guaranteed income in their work. Called “Take this!” the project included narratives to go with their imagery.

“Paring narratives with imagery greatly influenced my BFA track,” Ramsey said, “which solidified my love for UofL. If I had not gone here, I would have never met Mary Carothers or participated in the PhotoVoice project. It was an experience I will never forget.”

The experience also served as inspiration for her future higher education goals: Ramsey hopes to someday return to UofL for a Master of Fine Arts degree or an individualized major in visual sociology.

Ramsey, of Louisville, said her family has close ties to the university and she feels it has evolved along with the city. Being accepted at UofL was a “dream come true,” she said.

“I loved visiting different places that integrate the community and the university, such as the and the ,” she said.

After graduation, Ramsey plans to open a small business focused on film photography and crochet projects.

UofL President Kim Schatzel will preside at the event, and School of Nursing outstanding student Ellen Tinker will be the student speaker.

The ceremony will be broadcast live at .

In addition, the UofL Graduate School will host a doctoral hooding and graduation ceremony at 2 p.m. on the same day. More than 60 graduates are expected at the ceremony, which will be on Belknap Campus in the Swain Student Activities Center Ballroom, second floor. Schatzel will preside.

UofL’s U.S. Army ROTC cadre, Cardinal Battalion, will hold a commissioning ceremony at 10 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 14, in Ekstrom Library’s Chao Auditorium. Five cadets will be commissioned as second lieutenants at that time.

For more information, visit .

After her 56-year-old mother died of a sudden heart attack when Potter was 18, she knew she wanted to be a cardiologist.��

True to her name, nothing was going to get in the way of that goal.

“There’s always a million reasons not to do something, but there’s always a million reasons to do something,” Potter said with a smile. “If you’re going through a tough time, you deserve to make a better life for yourself, no matter what. … Don’t give up.”

On Dec. 15, Potter will join hundreds of other summer and fall degree candidates at the KFC Yum! Center for exercises. Cheering her on from the stands as she celebrates her biology undergraduate degree will be her three brothers and two sisters.��

“I want to make my Mom proud because she always believed in me,” she said.

After her mother died, Potter’s father turned to drugs to cope. His addictions led her to sever her ties with him.��

Potter, 24, who lives with one of her sisters in Taylorsville and commutes to UofL, said she was determined to get her college degree “no matter what,” even though it meant she would have to  put herself through school. To help lessen the financial burden, the first-generation student began her college career at Jefferson Community & Technical College (JCTC) in Carrollton after graduating from Trimble County High School in 2017. She transferred to UofL two years later, and she works part-time as a certified nursing assistant in Taylorsville.

“I don’t want other people to go through what I did, so I want to do the best that I can to help people protect their health so that other people won’t have their parents pass away when they are young,” Potter said.

Her close-knit siblings have been a strong support system for her. “We support each other and count on each other,” she said.��

She also found a home at UofL, where she conducted field research on insects and developed lasting friendships, including finding fellow Dungeons & Dragons players. Among her favorite faculty members are Mark Running, professor of biology, Sachin Handa, associate professor of organic chemistry, and Steve Yanoviak, who gave her a research position in his entomology lab.��

She readily admits to having trouble focusing sometimes, and found favorite study areas on the quiet third floor of Ekstrom Library as well as in the Miller IT Center. She was not fond of the all-online class formats that were forced to replace in-person classes during the pandemic.

“I prefer an in-class setting,” she said. “When I’m in class I put my phone away and I try not to get distracted.”

But she said she had to learn to adapt because UofL’s many online class offerings have been particularly helpful with her busy schedule of working, studying and commuting.��

After graduation, she plans to take a gap year while she works and studies for her MCATs.��

Onward, toward her destiny.

Commencement exercises for UofL’s summer and fall 2023 candidates is Dec. 15, 7 p.m., at the KFC Yum! Center. For more information, visit the .

Watch the video:

While the eclipse will only be partially visible in Louisville, it can be experienced in its totality in a band about 100 miles wide from Mexico to Newfoundland, including most of southern Indiana like Paoli and Seymour, less than an hour away.��

“This will be so close to us in Louisville,” said Gerard Williger, professor of physics and astronomy, who is teaching the class. “Those who experience a total solar eclipse will remember it forever. It’s completely different from a partial eclipse: The temperature drops, birds go quiet, the wind dies down and a few bright stars and planets become visible.”

is entirely online and worth one college credit. The next time a total solar eclipse will occur this close to Louisville will be on Oct. 17, 2153.

“The course is unusual in that it does not fulfill a degree requirement, but rather is a free elective, like a golf or tennis class,” Williger said. “The goal is to inform people about this once-in-a-lifetime eclipse, and is not meant to take much time.”

“Special Topics: The Great North American Eclipse of 2024,” begins Jan. 8, 2024. The eclipse will be April 8, and the final class April 15. Lectures will be recorded for flexible viewing.

Visit the  for information on pricing and how to enroll. UofL employees may use their tuition remission benefit for the class.

Topics include the sun and the solar system; eclipses in art, literature, folklore, film, music and television; the celestial sphere and exoplanets.

Cities outside the , like Louisville, will experience a partial solar eclipse and see a crescent-shaped sun.��

�ճ���� is gearing up for crowds for the event and is offering five free viewing sites for eclipse-watchers. A festival is planned for the day before.�������Ի���, also within driving distance from Louisville, are planning for eclipse tourists.

For further information, contact Williger at gwilliger@louisville.edu or (502) 852-0821.��

“It’s a win-win for all of us,” she said during an hour-long program in Chao Auditorium that was also .��

“This new Hitler has to be stopped while we can still stop him in Ukraine,” Markarova said. “Otherwise, this conflict will widen and all of us will have to fight.”

Markarova was the latest world figure to come to the McConnell Center as part of its , celebrating its 30th year in 2023.

During that time, more than 60 leaders, beginning with former Secretary of State George P. Schultz, have given talks at the center, said Gary L. Gregg, director of the McConnell Center.

The speakers also meet with the university’s . “I know that the students here really want to make a difference,” Markarova said, praising the students for their insightful questions.��

McConnell introduced Markarova at what he said was “an especially critical moment in the history of our two countries.” 

Markarova repeatedly thanked the United States for its support, especially in the 20 months since Russia invaded Ukraine. She compared Russian aggression with the Hamas attacks on Israel that took place Oct. 7. “We are dealing with the same evil and enemy,” she said.

In her remarks before Markarova’s talk, UofL President Kim Schatzel noted that the McConnell Center has since 1991 been teaching students to be “valued citizens and future leaders.”

The program concluded with an exchange of gifts — a bottle of Old Forester Single Barrel bourbon from UofL to Markarova, and a Ukrainian flag from Markarova to UofL signed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy with the message “Ukraine is brave.”

Of the bourbon, Markarova said, “We’ll keep it at the embassy and we’ll drink it when we win.”

Filled with music and rich academic tradition, the investiture ceremony on The Oval outside Grawemeyer Hall and livestreamed was the highlight of a year that also commemorated the 225th anniversary of UofL’s founding.

“As the world looks for solutions, let the world look to the University of Louisville as a national research powerhouse that creates knowledge and inspires innovation to answer the grand challenges of our time and by doing great work that changes the world,” said Schatzel, who took office Feb. 1 as leader of the $1.6 billion university enterprise that includes the affiliated $2.5 billion UofL Health health care system.��

She is one of only 2% of university presidents nationwide with extensive corporate and entrepreneurial C-suite experience. During her inaugural address, she noted she was the first in her family to go to college “like over 35% of UofL students.”

Dozens of her family members attended, including her husband, Trevor Iles, an entrepreneur and former business executive, and their children and grandchildren.

The presidential platform party included Gov. Andy Beshear, Louisville Mayor Craig Greenberg, Robbin Taylor of U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office, Board of Trustees members, and members of the administration.

McConnell, an alumnus of UofL, delivered remarks on the U.S. Senate floor Sept. 29, recognizing the inauguration of Schatzel.

“UofL is a special place. For me, it was the first place in Kentucky where I felt at home. And it’s somewhere I continue to find fulfillment in my personal and public life,” he said. “Throughout its 225-year history, UofL has hosted a long line of visionary leaders who have shaped its success, and today I’m proud to welcome President Schatzel to these ranks.”

Raymond Burse, vice chair of UofL’s Board of Trustees, invested Schatzel as president and presented the Presidential Medallion. The medallion features the UofL seal, a likeness of Minerva, the Roman goddess of wisdom.

“She serves as an example for the thousands of students who attend the university in hope of gaining the knowledge and insight that will benefit them for the rest of their lives,” Burse said, noting that Minerva was also known as the goddess of trade, the arts, medicine, poetry and strategy in war, symbolizing fearlessness and strength.

“This combination of traits was unique among the gods. And it mirrors the strengths possessed by our president, Dr. Kim Schatzel,” he said.

2023 marks 225 years that UofL has been the higher education leader in Kentucky’s largest metropolitan area. It was April 3, 1798 when a group of Louisvillians declared their intention to establish an education institution called Jefferson Seminary and began raising funds for their plan. Today, more than 22,000 students attend UofL, which boasts three campuses.��

This fall, UofL welcomed 3,130 incoming students, breaking a record for the second year in a row.

UofL researchers win hundreds of millions of dollars annually in competitive research funding. The school is among a small percentage of higher education institutions designated a Research 1 doctoral university with very high research activity by the prestigious Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher ����ֱ��. The funding supports groundbreaking research in areas such as robotics, cybersecurity, climate change and social indicators of public health.

In addition, UofL has earned recognition as a university by the Carnegie Foundation. Of more than 4,000 universities in the country, UofL is one of only 80 that can claim both distinctions.

With 12 schools and colleges, the university offers professional certificates, bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate programs in hundreds of disciplines, is a consistent leader in diversity and inclusion and is recognized nationally as a “Best Value” institution. It has more than 163,000 .

Earlier this month, Schatzel gave her first campus-wide address, outlining her initial eight priorities as president.��

View photos for the event on .��