Academic Buildings

The renovated Gatton College of Business and Economics building was officially dedicated on October 7, 2016. This $65 million renovation and expansion has resulted in one of the finest business facilities in the country with high-tech classrooms, a simulated trading floor and places for our campus to congregate and exchange ideas.

At the start of the project, the Gatton College was serving a total of 2,800 students. The new facility allows the college to serve nearly 4,000.

Some highlights of the new facility are listed below:

• The footprint of the college expands by 40 percent to 210,000 square feet
• The 500-seat Kincaid Auditorium designed for special events and large lectures
• The new Seale Finance Learning Center which includes an advanced classroom with a simulated trading environment featuring digital displays feeding real-time financial and market information
• Twenty new classrooms, including 10 45-seat classrooms; six 85-seat classrooms; three 70-seat classrooms; and one 65-seat classroom
• Forty-two collaborative study or breakout rooms
• The Woodward Special Events Hall with audio-visual components to accommodate dinners and lectures seating anywhere from 75-200 people
• The Don and Cathy Jacobs Executive Education Center, serving as the center for the college’s outreach to the business community
• An outdoor garden plaza, serving as a gathering place for students, faculty and staff

The Jacobs Science Building (JSB) opened in Fall 2016 and is home to the largest active learning space on campus, where students have the opportunity to experience and engage with science. JSB was designed to emphasize environmental responsibility, utilizing natural light, outdoor teaching areas and rainwater recycling.

But the value of JSB's design extends far beyond its construction — the innovative lecture halls and classrooms inside helps the College of Arts and Sciences realize its vision of improving science education through exciting new models of engaged in-class teaching. The teaching space in JSB is composed of next-generation lecture halls and groundbreaking TEAL (technology enabled active learning) classrooms. 

Components of JSB include: 

• Premier interdisciplinary undergraduate science teaching labs and classrooms
• Student oriented, open environment that encourages interaction and collaboration beyond the classroom
• Cutting edge learning environments to carry out contemporary science teaching methods and collaborative student learning
• Student commons space, group and individual study rooms and other amenities
• Modern research laboratories
• Shelled floor space

This new building houses most of the introductory science laboratory courses allowing students to learn the commonalities of multiple science disciplines in an interdisciplinary fashion and begin modeling "team problem-solving." It was made possible through a $65 million gift from UK Athletics and a generous $10 million gift from the Jacobs family.

The College of Fine Arts’ School of Art and Visual Studies moved into its new home on Bolivar Street in September 2015. This space is a 21st century research laboratory that fosters collaborative, interdisciplinary projects, with student and faculty studios housed close together. In the last several years, due to significant structural problems and limitations on teaching during summer months in the aging former warehouse, the college and university began looking for a solution that would not only meet the needs of the institution's students, faculty and staff, but would also save money in necessary renovations to Reynolds Building No. 1. UK proposed and was given state approval to purchase and convert the University Lofts property for the school.

The end product, housed in a historic tobacco processing plant, is a game changer. The UK Art and Visual Studies Building is more than 20,000 square feet larger than the school's former home in Reynolds and features not only traditional artist studios and instructional spaces, but several other amentities, including:

• Five digital media labs
• A multipurpose 3D fabrication lab
• A photography suite
• A ceramics facility
• A print media shop
• A wood shop
• Drawing, painting and foundation design workshops

These advances will allow the school to ramp up digital pedagogy by offering new courses and degrees in digital media and design, animation, new media and motion graphics.

Modernization of the University of Kentucky's largest classroom building to create flexible, technology-enabled learning spaces that support student success and collaborative instruction.

• Classification: Academic Building
• Size: 147,000 sq. ft.
• Classrooms: 46 modern classrooms
• Capacity: Six large lecture halls (290-, 126-, and 100-seat)
• Status: Opens Fall 2026

Pence Hall serves as the new home for the College of Communication and Information, bringing together academic programs, student media, technology services, and student success resources in a modern collaborative learning environment.

• Classification: Academic Building
• Completed: 2026
• Investment: $60 million
• Size: 66,000 sq. ft.
• Campus Impact: Houses 15 classrooms, student success services, and academic programs in a centralized learning environment.

The Martin-Gatton Agricultural Sciences Building serves as the college's primary teaching facility and student center, bringing together classrooms, student success resources, and collaborative learning spaces for agriculture and life sciences students.

• Classification: Academic Building
• Completed: 2025
• Investment: $32 million
• Features: Five classrooms, auditorium, seminar room, two computer labs, Whitebox studio
• Campus Impact: Creates a unified home for the College of Communication and Information while expanding collaborative learning and student media spaces.

The Chemistry-Physics Building Modernization is one of the University's largest academic renovation projects and a cornerstone of UK's Campus Modernization Initiative. The phased renovation upgrades research laboratories, classrooms and building infrastructure to support world-class teaching and scientific research while preserving one of UK's most important academic facilities.

• Classification: Academic & Research
• Timeline: 2019–Present
• Investment: Approximately $59 million
• Features: New research laboratories, renovated classrooms, three-story entrance and atrium, modern building systems and collaborative learning spaces
• Campus Impact: Expands research capacity while providing modern learning environments for future generations of science students and faculty.

The Miller Hall Renovation transformed one of the University of Kentucky's oldest and most historic buildings into the permanent home of the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration. Completed in 2025, the renovation preserves the historic character of the 1898 building while creating modern classrooms, collaborative study spaces and faculty offices to support the Martin School's expanding undergraduate and graduate programs. The renovated facility also houses the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce and the Henry Clay Center, creating a collaborative hub for public policy, diplomacy and civic leadership.

• Classification: Academic Building
• Completed: 2025
• Building Heritage: Originally constructed in 1898 as Science Hall; one of only four 19th-century buildings remaining on UK's campus
• Features: Modern classrooms, collaborative student spaces, faculty and administrative offices, meeting spaces and restored historic architecture
• Campus Impact: Establishes a permanent home for the Martin School while creating a shared academic environment that strengthens education, research and leadership development in public policy, diplomacy and public service.