UK welcomed its three newest Board of Trustees members at the Bill Gatton Student Center’s Senate Chambers on Thursday. 

On Sept. 13, 2018, Rachel Watts Webb, Michael Hamilton and Kimberly Scott McCann were sworn in by UK’s General Counsel Bill Thro to officially become part of the UK Board of Trustees.

Webb is part of the UK Alumni Association and received a B.A. in Integrated Strategic Communications in 2005. As a student, she was student body president for two terms and served the UK Board of Trustees for two years.

She has received multiple awards through UK, such as the College of Communication and Information Dean’s Award and the Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award, which is awarded by the UK Alumni Association and given to someone who they believe has spent a large portion of their time dedicated to serving UK students.

Webb is currently a substitute teacher for the Shelby County Public School system. She has three children: Walker, Warner and Wells.

When an alumni association position opens, past presidents of the board will nominate six individuals to fill the position. Once this process begins, they narrow it down to three candidates.      

Webb was appointed to the board by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin. At the end of 2017, she was told that she would be one of the three candidates to fill the alumni position in the Board of Trustees. Eight months later, Bevin informed her that she had been selected. Her term began in July of 2018 and will expire in 2024..

“I feel very honored,” Webb said. “I mean, the other two candidates are so capable so I’m glad to have the opportunity to represent alumni. I have a lot on my shoulders, so I hope I can represent them well.”

Hamilton, a junior at UK, is the Student Government Association president. He is currently pursuing a double major in political science and international law studies.

“Becoming a member of the Board of Trustees at this distinguished institution as a junior is fairly intimidating,” Hamilton said. “I am surrounded by these amazing, accomplished and experienced professionals who are at the top of their fields, and I don’t even have a bachelor’s degree.”

Hamilton will serve as a student member on the board, with his term expiring in June of 2019.

McCann is a former attorney and graduated from Eastern Kentucky University—she then attended law school at UK.

She represented public school districts in Kentucky while working as an attorney. She is an executive member of Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR), an organization that seeks to improve working conditions and job growth in Eastern Kentucky.  She is also on the board of directors for King’s Daughters Medical Center.

McCann was also appointed to the board by Bevin, and her term will end in 2024.

Prior to swearing in the new board members, the new Gatton Student Center’s Senate Chamber was dedicated to UK Board Chair and Former SGA President, E. Britt Brockman, M.D.

“Thanks to his incredible generosity, I am pleased to announce the naming of this Senate Chamber for Dr. E. Britt Brockman,” UK President Eli Capilouto said.

Capilouto and Brockman pulled off a cloth to reveal the new name of the chambers that stands over the doors of the right-wing entrance, the E. Britt Brockman MD Senate Chamber.

“In this chamber, ideas will be discussed and contested,” Brockman said. “Debates will rage. And a consensus on the questions facing students on a host of issues will be formed. Differences will melt away as leaders from student organizations across our campus come together within a quenchable commitment to resolving common problems.”

The E. Britt Brockman MD Senate Chamber is located on the second floor of the Gatton Student Center and is where Board of Trustees meetings will be taking place.

“This afternoon I have the honor of helping dedicate a new technology-rich center for student government, as well as other student organizations and university departments,” Brockman said. “It is fitting that this chamber is located in the heart of the new living room of our campus, the Gatton Student Center.”