By Will Wright

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President Eli Capilouto’s growing legacy of big donations and new buildings was reaffirmed Thursday with the announcement of UK’s biggest donation ever.

The $23 million donation was courtesy of a UK alumnus and donor Thomas W. Lewis and his wife Jan, of Arizona, and will be used to create an honors college.

The number of students in the honors program has about doubled in the past five years, and so has the number of applicants.

“The word is out there that this is an exciting program to be a part of,” said Benjamin Withers, UK’s associate provost and a professor of art history.

The honors program is designed to allow top-notch students to branch out from their major or minor classes and to meet students from other colleges.

About half of SEC schools have honors colleges. UK will join their ranks with a new residence hall near W.T. Young Library to house the college.

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Honors classes allow professors to create curriculums that would not fit in their ordinary curriculums.

Withers, for example, taught an honors class about the apocalypse. The course combined art history, stories from the middle ages and more modern examples like AMC’s “The Walking Dead.”

Combining all the best parts of different colleges allows students to break through the bubble of their own major.

“Maybe they’re an art major but have interest in a science program,” Withers said. “We want students who are going to come in and ask intriguing questions to other students.”

Withers said the Honors College will “belong to everybody,” and hopefully continue the already growing interest in honors classes.

For Peter Kirk, a mechanical engineering freshman living in an honors dorm, the new college has its upsides and its downsides.

Kirk, who is taking an honors course about 20th century music and art, said he wants more students to try out honors courses, but also is wary to see more construction on campus.

Kirk is from Lexington, and said he would like to see the amount of construction slow down.

“UK already has so many new buildings,” Kirk said. “I really don’t think it’s a necessity.”

Central Hall I and II house honors students near W.T. Young Library and have classrooms for honors classes. Kirk said he likes his honors class and his classrooms, but would rather see the donation go toward more scholarships or incentives for students to join the honors program.

Though the donation dollars will not directly target scholarships, some of the money may be used to support undergraduate research, service learning and studying abroad.

Creating a college for the honors program would allow the students to be represented by a dean who would report directly to the provost.

This would give honors students more pull and influence, and would allow deans to coordinate on creating more honors classes, Withers said.

“Honors allows faculty to experiment a little bit more,” Withers said.

Faculty and administration have talked about creating an honors college for about three years, and the donation finally made it possible.

Withers said the decision to create a college highlights President Eli Capilouto’s dedication to promoting undergraduate students.

Monica Allen, a chemical engineering freshman, said her honors course about genetic mutations and cancer allows students to be involved in the classwork.

“It’s really hands on,” Allen said. “It’s a discussion based class.”

It’s these kinds of hands on, fun classroom settings that Withers said will hopefully attract more freshman and other undergraduate students. Kirk said he hopes for the same, but does not want to see the donation spent in the wrong way.

“I’d like to be well rounded, so that’s why I’m in honors,” Kirk said. “I think (the new college) is really cool, but I’m also worried.”