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19 Years

of cultivating extraordinary academic achievement through our Chellgren Fellows

600+ Students

have participated in the Chellgren Student Fellowship since its start in 2007

400+ Faculty

have lent their expertise to students by acting as mentors, fellows and endowed professors

Our Mission

The mission of the Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence is to advance the University of Kentucky's commitment to three broad areas: Student Excellence, Teaching Excellence, and Program Excellence.

The ultimate goal is for the University to be nationally recognized as a beacon of undergraduate excellence. The Chellgren Center contributes to that goal by raising aspirations of UK students; assisting students in realizing their highest academic potential; inspiring progressive reform and innovation in teaching, learning, and curriculum development; and fostering creative and productive collaborations across the many programs and departments engaged in the undergraduate mission.

Teaching Excellence

Support the creation and dissemination of the best educational practices and teaching innovations.

Faculty Resources

Student Excellence

Enhance the University's ability to recruit and retain exceptional students from within the Commonwealth of Kentucky, across the nation, and throughout the world.

Student Resources

Program Excellence

Foster collaborations among the University's most successful and prestigious undergraduate programs.

Student Fellows Program

Vision & Goals

A truly exceptional research university expresses excellence in each of its missions: teaching, research, and service. The University of Kentucky is therefore committed to creating a world-class undergraduate experience as part of its aspiration to be among the very best research universities.

The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence was created to help realize that aspiration. The vision of the Center is to create and implement strategies for assuring that the institutional assets of UK, as a land-grant, flagship, world-class research university, are aligned to support undergraduate excellence. 

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What's New

Advancing undergraduate research through the Chellgren Endowed Professorship: Robin Cooper

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 1, 2025)  Throughout his career, Robin Cooper, Ph.D., has always been guided by curiosity. As a comparative physiologist in the Department of Biology in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, he has spent decades asking questions about how living systems work and encouraging students to ask their own.

Chellgren Center opens applications for endowed professorships

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 2, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence is now accepting applications for the next cohort of Chellgren Endowed Professors. These prestigious appointments, supported by the Chellgren Endowment, will fund five new professorships beginning in the Fall 2026 semester. Read more...

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

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 17, 2025) — 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. Read more on UKNow...