Karyn Czar: Doctor Capaluto, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your time.
Dr. Capilouto: Glad to be here. Always.
K Czar: It is the start of a new school year, and the population is about to very much increase here in Lexington.
Dr. Capilouto: You know, when they be gone all summer, you start to miss them.
K Czar: What can students expect, especially the freshmen coming in?
Dr. Capilouto: First of all, they can expect students from all 120 counties, 50 states, and probably a 100 countries. And that's what makes this so precious. You get to meet people who, will seem similar and familiar, but you get to meet folks who, are going to share their story. You're going to share your story, and that's what makes our campus a family.
K Czar: And what are you most looking forward to?
Dr. Capilouto: Believe it or not, I look forward to a little more noise. It's a little too quiet. But when people show up with high expectations, anticipation, some trepidation, and to watch what this community does. Faculty, staff, and students come together to welcome new members of the UK community, make them feel welcome and at home, and start them on what I know is going to be a journey towards a life of meaning and purpose.
K Czar: Students are already moving in on campus. What do parents and students need to know who haven't started that process yet?
Dr. Capilouto: Well, I know they're fully prepared because our teams start working a year earlier learning what they did in the last move in to make sure the next move in is flawless. So I am sure there are going to be a lot of helping hands and kind hearts and, embracing families, some of whom will, tear up at times, but our team will be there for them to help in any way. I also get to hear parents who say, you know, I moved my child in at another university a year ago or maybe last week. And they always compare us and say we are top of our class.
K Czar: You and I have talked about this before because when I went to UK, which was...years ago, the process was a little bit more challenging.
And my car got towed, actually, and now it is a well-oiled machine.
Dr. Capilouto: I think we still have your car, though, Karyn.
K Czar: I want it back. I loved that car.
Dr. Capilouto: Okay. Good. Okay. I wanna make sure. It is incredible. The signage, the timing, you know, you don't have to wait. We're expecting you, that team within the residence hall, and our campus volunteers to do this, so you have it from every department. That's because we care, and it's very gratifying.
K Czar: There have been some changes, one being DEI, another being some budgetary changes. How is the university navigating those changes?
Dr. Capilouto: It is a time where what we do is undergoing greater scrutiny. I appreciate the campus coming together. I got a lot of advice last year in how we approach legislation before the session. I think that served me well as we went through the session. I'm pleased to say that thus far our budgets are relatively stable, shown some growth. And that's because in many ways we've earned that.
Our research funding remained relatively stable at a time when, you know, there have been certain changes, pauses in grants and so forth. So that's been encouraging, a reflection of the hard work, creativity, curiosity of our faculty. They still go out and compete against the best. Because more students make the University of Kentucky first choice, we have growing enrollments. Again, record numbers. People come here because of excellent faculty, staff, and what they hear from students and their families.
And then, you know, a need that we can't always meet is health care. We are still a place for the sickest of the sick. Last year, we had to turn away 2,000 transfers. We are preparing for the future in terms of additional beds, greater services to reduce length of stay, free up beds. We're sort of 95% full all of the time. That's not where a hospital needs to be. You need to have that flex space for when people need urgent care, turn over properly, give people time to come in and and exit with family members and all. Our teams are working incredibly hard to meet any challenge that comes our way.
K Czar: Since you brought up the school of medicine and all the things that the hospital does here at the University of Kentucky, I know we've done several stories about making sure that patients who live in other parts of the state have the the best health care possible, and UK is expanding into those areas. Do you think that there's going to be a shift because of possible cuts, or do you think things are still moving in a good direction?
Dr. Capilouto: We accept what comes our way, and our North Star remains the same. No Kentuckian should have to leave home for the very best of care on their worst days. We have new partners. We've always had partners for the last fifteen, twenty years. Now you know that we've acquired two additional hospitals. They're doing quite well in being able to serve the needs of patients in their area. When we say we don't want you to have to leave home, we mean your doorstep. And now we have King's Daughters in Moorhead. We have Saint Claire as wonderful partners. And because we are now part of one another, the issue of referrals and transfers is much improved.
K Czar: If there's one thing you could say about why the University of Kentucky is one of the best choices, not only in the state, but as you said internationally, what would it be?
Dr. Capilouto: We are one of only about eight universities in the country that has on a contiguous campus the array of disciplines and colleges. It's really remarkable to have a land grant university that birthed a medical center over sixty years ago, and the inter and transdisciplinary research that goes on here, all the problems we face really can't be solved by one discipline. That's an opportunity we make available early to students who want to do research across disciplines. That's just one example.
And I think the other thing is the commitment to student success. We have grown enrollment significantly. At the same time, we have grown student success in terms of your likelihood of graduating. It's now in what we would call the top 100 universities of our type in the country. We're going to get you here, get you out sooner, save you money for your family, make sure you don't incur debt. And while you're here, we're going to teach you how to invest if you'd like to.
So we do some remarkable things, but undergirding all of this is a commitment to advance Kentucky. We are here. We bear the name of our state that comes with a responsibility we never ever lose sight of.
K Czar: And one of the top questions, how excited are you for the football season?
Dr. Capilouto: I am very excited, encouraged. I went to, our kickoff luncheon, and I can't wait for the first game. I hope to see a lot of people there.
K Czar: It really says fall is here.
Dr. Capilouto: Most definitely. We have a little tease in the weather. I know it'll probably be hot by that first game, but, we need everyone to show up and cheer on our Wildcats.
K Czar: Dr. Capilouto, thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it, and have a great 2025-26 academic year.
Dr. Capilouto: You too.
K Czar: This is one on one with WUKY.