It's an exciting time to be a part of the University of Louisville.

We are a 200-year-old institution steeped in tradition, yet noted for innovation, one with a strong history and an exciting future. We constantly challenge ourselves to achieve high goals--and then meet them ahead of schedule.

We are a university community of faculty and staff who possess exceptional talents and skills--people dedicated to the highest teaching standards, devoted to ensuring the university runs efficiently and engaged in leading-edge research, often in collaboration with others inside or outside of the university.

We believe that no matter who is behind the research or what the subject, the goal is the same--find new and improved ways to make the world a better place.

With a diverse student body of more than 20,000, a growing research capacity, a solid athletics program committed to gender equity, and devoted faculty, staff and friends, U of L is well positioned for continued success.

The university consists of three campuses. The main site--the 177-acre Belknap Campus, housing seven of the university's 11 colleges and schools--is an attractive, comfortable setting in the heart of Kentucky's largest city. The Health Sciences Center, situated in downtown Louisville's medical complex, is home of the university's health-related programs and the University of Louisville Hospital, while the 243-acre Shelby Campus in eastern Jefferson County is in the early stages of being developed into a business and technology park. In recent years, the university also has offered expanded campus courses at Fort Knox.

And then there is the city of Louisville itself. Louisville is an exciting, vibrant metropolitan area of nearly 1 million, yet it still retains its strong sense of Southern charm. Situated on the Ohio River, it is an ideal place to live, with a cost of living consistently lower than the national average and a nationally recognized public school system. There is also much to see and do, from the cultural arts to sports, making it a major tourist destination and an exciting place to call home.

In May 1997, Kentucky legislators took a historic step to advance higher education throughout the commonwealth. House Bill I outlined the agenda to reform Kentucky's postsecondary education system by the year 2020, giving each of its colleges and universities a clearly defined mission for the future.

The University of Louisville's mission is to become a premier metropolitan research university, nationally recognized for advancing the intellectual, social and economic development of our community.

We also are committed to never losing sight of our primary mission: providing students with a well-rounded, excellent education. By fully engaging students at every level in hands-on learning and research and combining that with traditional classroom teaching, we have been able to successfully achieve all of the challenges we were presented.

In response to the legislature's directive, we mapped out a plan called the Challenge for Excellence, giving ourselves until the year 2008 to achieve a number of major goals.

And through the strong support of our faculty, staff, community, state legislature and friends, many have already been realized years ahead of schedule.

Just a few key accomplishments to date are:

• attaining Carnegie status as a doctoral research-extensive institution (we did this in 2000)
• having 87 endowed chairs and professorships in key fields (our initial goal was 75 by 2008; our new goal is 125)
• earning membership in the Association of Research Libraries (achieved in June 2002)
• increasing our endowment from $255 million to $500 million (achieved in 2001; our target is now $1 billion by 2010)