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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.

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 are diverse, 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

Showcase to spotlight undergraduate research

Next week, more than 500 University of Kentucky undergraduates will converge for the 19th annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars. The Showcase empowers undergraduates to share their discoveries, ideas and creative works with the campus community and public. The event, 1-5 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 in the Gatton Student Center Grand Ballroom, will feature 501 students and 416 presentations representing 110 disciplines and 17 colleges.

2 UK Lewis Honors College students honored with prestigious Goldwater Scholarships

University of Kentucky students Sophia Zhou and Blake Byer were awarded Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships. Zhou and Byer were among 441 college students across the United States to earn Goldwater Scholarships for the 2025-26 academic year. The Goldwater Scholarship awards up to $7,500 per year to sophomores or juniors planning to pursue research careers in mathematics, engineering or a natural science, according to information from the UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards.

Chellgren Center welcomes new student and faculty fellows, celebrates graduating students

The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence at the University of Kentucky has selected the 2025 Class of Chellgren Student Fellows (Chellows) and the 2025-26 Chellgren Faculty Fellows. Dedicated to advancing the University of Kentucky’s commitment to student, teaching and program excellence, the center works toward that mission through several programs.

Models of Student Leadership Development at UK

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Lewis Scholars Lounge

Cook Your Finals

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The Food Connection in The 90

LHC Medal Ceremony

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Memorial Coliseum

Ave of Champions, Lexington, KY 40508

Blue Outline Checkerboard

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