Interview with Otis A. Singletary, October 25, 1989

Interview Summary

In session Twenty-Six, Dr. Singletary continues the chronological discussion of his term as president at the University of Kentucky. During the academic year 1977-1978, he appointed Terry Mobley as director of Central Development at the University of Kentucky. Private donations to the university also increased dramatically during that year. Singletary discusses the dispute that arose upon granting Bob McKeown an honorary degree. It was also during this time that financial support aided in the establishment of the Markey Cancer Center and the Gaines Center for the Humanities. The research institutes at Kentucky, according to Singletary, are a "reflection of grant support and the private money."

The decision to expand student housing was a concern facing the administration. Space was already limited on campus, and further student housing would create changed for parking and traffic flow on campus. Singletary recounts the debate between making the campus convenient or allowing it to grow with the students. Gov. Julian Carroll suggested cutbacks in the university budget, but Singletary argued that higher education should be seen as an investment and less as an expense. The matter of establishing a quota system came up during this time as well. This system applied not only to minorities, but also to the numbers of in-state and out-of-state students. In April of 1978, the Honors Program at the University of Kentucky started undergoing some changes. Singletary describes about how his experiences at the University of Texas at Austin impacted the changes his oversaw here.

Interview LC Subject

Singletary, Otis A., 1921-2003 Singletary, Otis A., 1921-2003--Interviews

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