A&S Wired: A Liberal Arts Residential College
Mission
In fall 2011, the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences (A&S) opened a residential college that offers first-year UK students a 2020 education today. Students of the 21st century are digital natives. They have never experienced the world without the Internet. They integrate disparate streams of information to solve problems, provided they have the right environment and equipment.
It is at this intersection that A&S Wired Residential College fills an ever-widening educational void. Wired steeps students in the traditions of the liberal arts and harnesses the power of the digital age. This residential community prepares students for the future by fostering a flexible and dynamic skill set, instilling social responsibility, and enhancing their ability and freedom to co-construct knowledge and forge connections with each other, faculty, and local and international communities.
Infrastructure and Facilities
The College of Arts and Sciences has transformed 65 year-old Keeneland Hall into a state-of-the-art Residential College.
The lobby and common spaces have been revamped from floor to ceiling, and a wall display in the lobby streams real-time updates.
Two classrooms incorporate smart media and international telecommunicating and are equipped with interactive smart boards.
Faculty, staff, and advisors float in and out of two meeting rooms during rotating office hours.
Student Body 
The A&S Wired experience is open to all UK first-year students. An arts and sciences education is often heralded by employers and civic leaders as exemplary preparation for life and career. Through critical thinking and communication skills, students immersed in the liberal arts are able to navigate and succeed in a world dominated by change, innovation and complexity.
Curriculum and Co-Curricular Experiences
A&S Wired students reap the established benefits of liberal arts education through a residential experience. Learning, development, and innovation occur fluidly and organically outside of the traditional constraints of semesters, courses, and credit hours and within the halls of a residential building.
Students actively participate in the creation and direction of their own education.
Faculty from across the disciplinary spectrum teach special two-credit hour courses. These special topical classes cover a range of issues, including migration, social connections, science measurement, virtual and "real life" communities, career exploration, food cultures, and oral history.
Ubiquitous technology, seamlessly integrated socialization and education, and meaningful relationships with peers and faculty form the cornerstones of this educational experience.
Students in A&S Wired create lasting bonds with peers, faculty, and staff. Through weekly, informal conversations and activities (e.g., Coffee Chats), students engage with campus and community leaders. They acquire the time management and study skills to 
deftly and successfully make progress toward their
degree and they find their place in the digital knowledge-based economy. All in all, these experiences set stage for the development of a holistically-educated
digital citizen ready for tomorrow’s workforce.
