Union College News

Speaker Kenneth Lee Ramsey drives home a point during his Fall Convocation address to the Union College community.

Entrepreneur Ken Ramsey Sends Union Students ‘Out of the Gate’ for Historic Year at Union

Keynote speaker Kenneth Lee Ramsey helped kick-off Union College’s new academic year by addressing the entire campus community on Thursday, Sept.2, at the college’s Fall Convocation.

The Artemus native, Union alumnus and star of the thoroughbred industry outlined for students the qualities necessary for success as an entrepreneur.

“You have to have a big ego,” he said. “You have to be a risk-taker, a dependable leader, a self-starter and a good judge of people.

“You have to send some ships out, not just wait for your ship to come in.”

Ramsey established himself as a successful entrepreneur early in his career when he started a lucrative real estate company in Lexington. Later, he entered the cellular telephone industry in its earliest days, making him a national-level player and pioneer in cellular telephone communications. Though he still has businesses in real estate and radio, he spends the majority of his time fine-tuning the art of buying, selling, breeding and racing thoroughbred horses. Ramsey and his wife, Sarah Kathern Ramsey, own Ramsey Farm in Nicholasville. Mrs. Ramsey is also a native of Artemus and a Union alumna.

The Ramseys’ horses have competed in the world’s top races, including two appearances in the Kentucky Derby and a first-place win at the world’s richest race, the Dubai World Cup. In 2005, they were North America’s leading owners by earnings.

Ramsey addressed a record-breaking undergraduate student body. Though enrollment numbers are not yet final, Union currently shows a full-time undergraduate student enrollment of 775. That represents an increase of 18.8 percent since fall of 2006.

Union’s faculty has increased as well. Prior to Ramsey’s remarks, Tom McFarland, vice president for academic affairs, introduced nine new faculty members.

Ed de Rosset, Union’s president, said this an “historic year” and reviewed some of the milestones already met in the first few weeks of the fall semester: $2 million in grant awards for student academic programs and services, the successful reaccreditation of the college’s education programs, and the recent addition of new housing facilities for the growing student body.

The annual Fall Convocation marks the official beginning of each academic year at Union. This is the 132nd academic year for the college.

Union College is a private, liberal arts college related to The United Methodist Church and located in Barbourville, Ky.
 

September 16, 2010

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