Dear Thorobred Family,

This is an auspicious week, marking the 140th anniversary of the founding of Kentucky State University.

On May 18, 1886, the Commonwealth authorized the creation of the State Normal School for Colored Persons, giving the institution a specific public purpose: preparing teachers for Kentucky schools. The language reflected its time, but the goal was clear. Kentucky needed trained teachers, and this new institution was created to help meet that need.

This anniversary offers an opportunity to recognize Dr. John A. Hardin’s important history, The Pursuit of Excellence: Kentucky State University, 1886-2020, which preserves the early story of this University. His work shows that Kentucky State was made possible both by legislative action and by educators and civic leaders who organized persistently for teacher preparation and service.

Long before the act became law, teachers were making the case for stronger preparation. A statewide organization formed in Frankfort in 1877, and John Henry Jackson of Lexington, who had studied at Berea College and would later become Kentucky State’s first president, was among its central figures. For several years, educators pressed lawmakers for a state-supported normal school.

By 1886, that work had reached a decisive moment. William J. Simmons, who led State Colored Baptist University in Louisville, an institutional predecessor of today’s Simmons College of Kentucky, appeared before the Kentucky House of Representatives in support of the proposed school. Later that year, a committee of teachers petitioned the legislature, and on May 18, Gov. J. Proctor Knott approved the act.

The law set expectations that still sound familiar in spirit: preparation, character, and service. Students were expected to meet admission requirements, demonstrate good character, and commit, when able, to teach after completing their studies. The Commonwealth supported teachers, operations, and the first building, while Frankfort helped secure a hilltop site near state government.

From that bluff — and on The Hill — Kentucky State began its work. With Jackson serving as president and faculty member, the first session enrolled 55 students from 21 Kentucky counties.

Those beginnings were modest, but the charge was not. Kentucky State began as a normal school, became an 1890 land-grant institution, and grew into a public university with responsibilities across teaching, research, Extension, agriculture, health, technology, workforce development, and public service.

Through that change, the heart of our mission has remained steady. Kentucky State University has consistently prioritized opportunity through education, preparation for meaningful work, and service beyond oneself. Over generations, the purpose remained clear: to educate students whose lives and leadership strengthen the world around them.

Today, Kentucky State is again being asked to meet the needs of its time. Our students need strong academic foundations joined with applied learning, research experience, technical skill, sound judgment, and career-connected preparation. Our communities need graduates who can solve real problems, strengthen institutions, serve the Commonwealth, and contribute beyond Kentucky.

That is what a polytechnic university focus means in this moment. It is not simply a label, and it is not a departure from who we are. It connects applied theory and practice so students gain the knowledge and abilities essential to their chosen careers through project-based learning, prototyping, case studies, data-informed decision-making, collaborative engagement, research, and applied problem-solving.

Kentucky State has already been moving in this direction through its offerings in agriculture and aquaculture; nursing and health sciences; engineering pathways; computer science, cybersecurity, data, geospatial and drone technology, and artificial intelligence; and business, education, and other applied fields. We see it in Extension work, research that connects knowledge to real needs, and students preparing for careers, leadership, service, and lifelong growth.

The educators who first made the case for Kentucky State University understood their moment. They saw a need, organized around it, and helped build an institution to answer it. With implementation of Senate Bill 185 continuing, our responsibility is to understand our moment with the same seriousness and spirit of service by determining where Kentucky State should build, strengthen, and focus so our programs best serve students and the Commonwealth. That is how we steward taxpayer dollars, our public mission, our role as the Commonwealth’s only public HBCU, our 1890 land-grant responsibility, and the trust students and families place in this University.

In celebrating 140 years, we are grateful for those who built Kentucky State, those who sustained it through changing times, and those who will inherit it from us. This fall, a yearlong celebration will begin around October 11, the anniversary of the University’s first day of classes with three teachers and 55 students.

Our anniversary is not only a look back. It is a call forward.

Kentucky State University has always answered the needs of its time. We enter this next chapter with a clear understanding of our history, a firm commitment to our students, and confidence in the future we are building together.

Onward and Upward,

Koffi C. Akakpo, Ph.D.
President
Kentucky State University