Residence Hall Incident
Over winter break, university officials became aware that a housing employee inappropriately accessed approximately 860 residence hall suites without permission and allegedly committed theft.
The employee, who now has been terminated from UK housing, has been charged with burglary, criminal trespassing and possession of a deadly weapon (brass knuckles). UK Police’s investigation is still ongoing.
The former employee’s actions are not reflective of the university’s values. University officials are working directly with impacted students to ensure appropriate renumeration as quickly as possible. UK teams are ready to help these students and provide additional support.
Additionally, all impacted students have been contacted directly. If students have not received a direct email from the university, this means that their rooms were not impacted. If you did receive this email, you may submit a loss form here.
UK will continue to investigate processes and policies and make improvements where necessary, providing transparent information to the campus community throughout this process.
Submit a Loss Form
Impacted students may submit a loss form here. If you did not receive a direct email from the university, you have not been impacted.
Contact
Questions regarding this incident can be directed to student_support@uky.edu or 859-562-3098 (toll-free at 833-510-0030).
Call center hours:
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Today, Wed. Jan. 5: 1 p.m. - 5 p.m.
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Thursday and Friday: 9 a.m. - 5p.m.
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Saturday and Sunday: 1p.m. - 4 p.m.
FAQs
What is the university doing to support the students impacted?
- The University of Kentucky has reached out directly to the students impacted and will continue to communicate with them to ensure the quick return of any stolen belongings or appropriate remuneration. Students and members of the community can contact student_support@uky.edu or 859-562-3098 (toll-free at 833-510-0030) for questions.
How and why did this employee have access to the residence hall rooms?
- The former employee was a maintenance technician who had access to residence hall rooms for completing routine work orders.
How many rooms were impacted?
- The former employee entered approximately 860 rooms. The impacted residence halls are confined to the north side of campus (Blazer Hall, Boyd Hall, Holmes Hall and Jewell Hall).
How many students were impacted?
- Approximately 1,650 students may have been impacted, as multiple individuals can inhabit a single room. We will be working directly with students to determine who was impacted by this unfortunate event.
Which residence halls were impacted?
- The impacted residence halls are confined to the north side of campus (Blazer Hall, Boyd Hall, Holmes Hall and Jewell Hall).
How long was this occurring?
- Data suggest that this incident was isolated to the 2021-2022 winter break – approximately two weeks.
What items were taken?
- We are working to determine that now through our investigation.
What are the consequences for the person responsible?
- The individual has been arrested and charged with criminal charges, and UK Police are undertaking further investigations.
Media Statement:
UK Police made an arrest this week after allegations were made about missing items from a residence hall room on our campus over the holiday break. We are continuing that investigation and will be communicating directly with anyone potentially impacted by these thefts shortly. – Jay Blanton, spokesperson