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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

Space, science, and Kentucky’s future: “Becoming Martian” author to speak at UK

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 11, 2026) — Evolutionary biologist Scott Solomon will discuss his recently released book “Becoming Martian” 4- 5:30 p.m. Thursday, March 26, in the Lewis Scholars Lounge. Lewis Honors College, Humanity in Deep Space, and Kentucky Space Futures are co-hosting this free public event. Solomon will discuss how living beyond Earth could reshape human bodies, minds, and society. He will also answer questions and sign copies of his book, which is available for purchase on-site. 

48 UK undergrads to present at national research conference

Forty-eight University of Kentucky students will present their research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) on April 13-15 in Richmond, Virginia.

‘I never dreamed I’d see it’: UK Astronaut Scholar conducts research in Madagascar

When she was a child, Jaesylin Stephens, a senior biology major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, saw nature documentaries on Madagascar. She never imagined, though, that she would one day visit the east African county.

Mathews Garden Work Days

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Mathews Garden

Washington Ave, Lexington, KY 40508

Donuts and Fruit with the Dean

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Lewis Scholars Lounge

420 Hilltop Ave, Lexington, KY

UK College of Law Visit

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J. David Rosenberg College of Law

620 South Limestone, Lexington, Kentucky 40506

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