Behind The Blue

LEXINGTON, Ky. (February 26, 2025) – As Lexington commemorates its 250th anniversary and the University of Kentucky marks its 160th, UK Libraries’ Deirdre Scaggs helps listeners explore the intertwined history and evolving relationship between the city and its university.  Scaggs is associate dean for research and discovery and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center in UK Libraries’ Special Collections Research Center. She helps navigate UK’s origins in Lexington, the challenges of growing UK and Lexington’s symbiotic relationship, and the importance of the community built between the two.  A key part of that is UK’s mission and charge as the Commonwealth’s land-grant institution.  “Having a land-grant institution in your city is a big draw for development, for businesses to want to come here and invest in the area,” Scaggs said. “The public service mission of a land-grant institution is something that I think the university has always followed through with and has made such a d