FEATURED PARTNERSHIP
One scholarship program. Two exceptional campuses. Unlimited opportunity.
The Brown Fellows Program, a premier four-year merit scholarship, was established by the James Graham Brown Foundation in partnership with Centre College and the University of Louisville.
FEATURED GRANT
University of Pikeville’s new Kentucky College of Optometry
is defining the standard for excellence in optometric education and vision care. As the first college of optometry in Kentucky and one of only two colleges of optometry in the nation that allows laser as a scope of practice, the Kentucky College of Optometry provides students with the exclusive opportunity to learn at a state-of-the-art learning and teaching center while having a cultural impact on rural communities throughout Kentucky.
Students are already applying their unparalleled knowledge of clinical care and vision science in Appalachia and rural America.
University of Pikeville - Kentucky College of Optometry seeks to foster an effective and integrative learning-centered environment that provides opportunities for intellectual, personal and professional growth for students, staff and faculty through innovative educational programs. The school’s top-class education furnishes students with the tools and experience needed for a high-quality optometry practice anywhere in Kentucky.
Kentucky is one of only three states nationwide that allow students to participate in medical procedures through the Better Access to Quality Healthcare Act, giving the University of Pikeville’s students the opportunity to participate in unique clinical experiences throughout rural Kentucky in order to provide better access to quality eye care to residents in need.
“As the only college of optometry in Kentucky, the University of Pikeville-Kentucky College of Optometry (KYCO) emphasizes caring for the Commonwealth’s most rural and underserved populations. By effectively preparing students to apply unparalleled knowledge of clinical care and vision science in rural communities across the U.S., KYCO is creating a reputation for Kentucky as a national leader in eye health. With the generous support of foundations like the James Graham Brown Foundation, KYCO has built a state-of-the art program that is redefining optometric care for generations to come.”
Though University of Pikeville – Kentucky College of Optometry is only in its second year of operation, it is already making an impact across the country. With over 800 applications from twenty-nine states for the inaugural class of sixty-five students, school administrators are optimistic that their program can transform rural eye care in America. By the time the first class graduates in 2020, the school is expecting to have provided care to 12,000 patients and brought in $26,000,000 of direct economic impact to the Appalachian economy.
In this cutting-edge initiative, Jefferson County Public Schools is working with the University of Virginia to implement a curriculum of meditation, yoga, and mindfulness throughout classrooms populated by traditionally underserved and underperforming students. JCPS and UVA will study the outcomes that this curriculum has on these students throughout their twelve years in Louisville’s public education system, paying close attention to grades, attendance, and behavior.
Mayor Greg Fischer’s yearly SummerWorks program works with employers across Kentuckiana to provide thousands of young adults with a wide range of meaningful summer job opportunities. This effort, which is one of Mayor Fischer’s signature initiatives to reduce delinquency around the region, keeps kids focused on their future during the summer months when they’re out of school.
The National Center for Families Learning has been headquartered in Louisville for decades, and after years of implementing innovative two-generation learning strategies across the country, it has begun to expand its efforts in its hometown. In partnership with a number of other Louisville nonprofits, NCFL has begun to work especially closely with African American men to increase literacy and job skills while working with their children to make sure they’re keeping up in school.
Does your organization have an idea that aligns with our mission to bring about transformational change in Louisville and throughout Kentucky? We would love to hear more about it. Begin a dialogue with us and learn more about the Foundation’s process of empowering citizens to improve the quality of life and well-being of all Kentuckians.
