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Overview

The University of Kentucky Lewis Honors College provides an enhanced course of instruction for outstanding, highly motivated students from all programs of study. Honors education is, at its heart, a liberal arts education that, coupled with the resources available at the major research land-grant University of Kentucky, make Lewis Honors College a unique experience. Regardless of major, the fundamental goal of Honors education is to provide all students with a broad, critical intellectual base from which they can then engage more deeply and thoughtfully in their chosen fields while prioritizing their health and well-being.

The mission of the Lewis Honors College is to better the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the world by helping students to explore their purpose, develop intellectually, and lead with integrity.

Honors students, made up of people with different backgrounds and experiences, are innovative, intellectually engaged, and interested in creative thought. They are expected to be citizens of their University and their world and to possess an inquisitive attitude toward a wide range of ideas and intellectual concepts.

News and Events

Feed the blood supply: Donate during Big Blue Crush Nov. 16-20

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2026) — Kentucky fans know the key to winning on the football field is to feed the studs. To feed the blood supply and save local lives, donors need to step up and give blood during Big Blue Crush, Kentucky Blood Center’s (KBC) competition against rival Tennessee to collect the most blood. Stop by the Lewis Honors College Scholars Lounge on November 19 and 20 from 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

From UK Gatton College to the Super Bowl: How Harrison Swinney built a career in the business of entertainment

Global Scholars Honors Pathway alum Harrison Swinney '13 is the chief financial officer of Medium Rare, a live entertainment company that partners with athletes, artists and major brands to produce festivals and events across the country. Read more about his career!

Worth unearthed: How the Groppos meld mining and history

Long before Jack Groppo, Ph.D., a mining engineer, and his daughter, Martha Groppo, Ph.D., a historian from the Honors program, shared a classroom, they shared a philosophy around the family dinner table.  That philosophy was to “unearth worth” — to ask big questions, stay curious and find value in connections, even when it isn’t obvious.  

CPD MCAT Prep Tips

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Lewis Hall Room U136

420 Hilltop Ave

KY Blood Center Drive

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Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

Breakfast with Buss!

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T.W. Lewis

Thomas W. Lewis is a seventh-generation Kentuckian who grew up in Lexington. He graduated from Bryan Station High School in 1967 and the University of Kentucky in 1971 with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. He received his Master’s in Business Administration in 1973 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tom began his career in real estate development. After 18 years with four different companies and building upon those experiences, he started his own home building business in 1991 in Phoenix, Arizona. T. W. Lewis Company built approximately 250 homes per year from 1991 through 2011 and received many awards during this period, including America’s Best Builder in 1998 and the National Housing Quality Gold Award in 2009. 

In 2001, Tom and his wife, Jan, formed T.W. Lewis Foundation to support higher education, children and families in need, youth education and a variety of community nonprofit organizations. In 2015, in order to give back to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, Tom and Jan made a generous gift to the University of Kentucky to establish the Lewis Honors College. 

Mr. Lewis’ vision for the Lewis Honors College is to provide a world-class Honors experience that is known for the success of its students, the quality of its faculty and curriculum, the respect of its peers and the economic and social progress of the Commonwealth of Kentucky

Tom Lewis