Behind the Headlines

An important part of public leadership is helping others envision the future. Since he became president of the University of Kentucky in 2001, Lee Todd’s vision has been for UK to break into the ranks of the nation’s top 20 public research universities. But Todd knows UK can’t do it alone.  Lexington must create an environment that will attract the best and brightest students, faculty and staff to UK. In return, a top-rated university will enrich Lexington, both economically and culturally.

That begs the question: For UK to reach it’s goal, what changes must happen in Lexington, which has always kept a civic distance from its largest employer?  As Herald-Leader journalists discussed that question several months ago, they decided they should look for a model elsewhere:  Another university town about Lexington’s size, which has created a successful partnership with a top-rated public university in its midst.  That led to Madison, Wisconsin, which staff writer Jamie Gumbrecht profiles in last Sunday’s newspaper.  The package included photographs by chief photographer Charles Bertram. It was edited by enterprise editor Sharon Walsh and put together by news designer Jeff Bowen.

Were we trying to say that Lexington should be just like Madison?  Of course not.  Lexington and Madison are different cities, with different cultures, assets and challenges.  Lexington must work with UK to create its own version of success, borrowing ideas from Madison and other successful college towns.  But it won’t happen without a lot of discussion, debate and hard work.  We hope this story provokes some of that.  After all, that’s one of the things a good newspaper is supposed to do.

Tom Eblen
Managing Editor