The University of Kentucky College of Education is an NCATE and Kentucky Education Professional Standards Board accredited, public school of education located on the campus of the University of Kentucky. The College of Education teaches about 3,000 students with approximately 90 faculty members.
Background and History
Frank McVey, a man who was president of the University of Kentucky in 1917, established himself in the national network, a network of white and educated men who came from small or rural towns. The national network was made up of men who shared similar educational backgrounds and views of science and religion. These men were doctors from Columbia University and the University of Chicago. McVey would later establish himself in the national network and would play a key role in the development of the College of Education and shift the educational leadership within the state of Kentucky (KEA).
McVey went to Kentucky in an effort to bring national professionalism to the local networking members of the state. However, despite his experience and authority in the networking profession, members of the local network would not recognize his level of authority and experience.
After much conflict between the local network and McVey, an assembly was called to establish the guidelines of education for the state of Kentucky in 1920. This assembly would allow McVey a foothold in the local network due to a survey that was conducted by the national network in promoting their ideals of scientific education.
One of McVey's goals was to establish the College of Education at the University of Kentucky. His second goal was to develop a strong relationship with the Department of Education within the state of Kentucky in order to build the college's funding. As the college received students it was apparent the college would need to influence the public educational system, however, in order to do this McVey would need the local network to cooperate. In 1920, a new legislative assembly would give him the opportunity.
In 1923 the University of Kentucky College of Education was founded. However, the University of Kentucky started as an "Agricultural and Mechanical College" in 1865. Then in 1880 The Kentucky General Assembly established produced a Normal School that established a Normal School for the training of teachers at the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky. The School offered courses in the theory and practice of teaching and general subject areas which lead to completion of diplomas rather than degrees. This later became the College of Education. In1908 The Kentucky General Assembly established a Department of Education which replaced the Normal School. This new department was located in the College of Arts and Science, now the College of Arts and Sciences and offered teaching certificates and two new degrees. at this time though the university and college were not united, but in 1919 the university joined the School of Education. Faculty in the university became faculty in the UK School of Education. Then in 1923 the college got its name that we have today, College of Education. This was a four-year course of study. The College of Education's first dean was William S. Taylor, who served from May 1923 to his death in 1949. In Taylor's honor, the College of Education Building was renamed to the Taylor Educational Building. This building continues to educate University of Kentucky students to this day.
Dickey Hall is another significant education building on the University of Kentucky campus. This building was constructed in 1965 and dedicated to the former College of Education President Frank G. Dickey. Dickey not only served as a College of Education president in 1953, he also was the fifth University of Kentucky president from 1956 to 1963. He died in August 2009. The College of Education continues to positively grow today. There has been ten deans in total; the tenth and most current is, Julian Vasquez Heilig, being initiated in 2019.
Notable People
Dorothy Potter and L. B. Shackelford got the first 1 teaching certificates in 1923. The first bachelor's degree in education was awarded to Lawrence Schotta Burnham in 1924. In 1929 James Anderson Yates, a College of Education student and school administrator, earned the first doctoral degree awarded by the University of Kentucky.