With the tenacity of his grandfather who had the audacity to buy his own freedom from slavery, and the commitment to educational excellence set by his father who was his school principal, Lyman T. Johnson challenged the status quo in his landmark court case and opened the University of Kentucky to African-American students in 1949.
To honor his work to open the door for thousands of minority students to attend UK, the Lyman T. Johnson African-American Alumni Group established an undergraduate scholarship in his name to provide minority students financial assistance in their pursuit of higher education.
Since 2008, the alumni group has awarded one or two scholarships each year based upon the funds available. Financial need remains the biggest obstacle for our students. Our goal is to ultimately raise $500,000 to fund approximately 20 scholarships annually for minority students. Together we can enable more students to succeed.
| Rank | State | Gifts |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | KY | 68 |
| 2 | OH | 4 |
| 3 | IL | 3 |
