Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce
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| Motto |
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|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1959 |
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Parent institution
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University of Kentucky |
| Director | Carey Cavanaugh |
| Students | 75 graduate students |
| Location | Lexington, Kentucky |
| Mission | The Patterson School serves the state, nation and world by the rigorous education of future leaders to work in international diplomacy, commerce, development, intelligence and security. This is accomplished in a flexible, intimate learning environment that integrates academic studies, practical training, and real world experience. |
| Website | www.PattersonSchool.uky.edu |
The Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce is part of the University of Kentucky located in Lexington, Kentucky. It is a graduate program devoted to the study of diplomacy, international affairs and commerce. With a small and select student body, only 35 students are admitted annually to pursue full-time study towards a master's degree.
The vision to create a school of diplomacy and international commerce came from Dr. James Kennedy Patterson, the first president of the University of Kentucky. The 1898 Spanish–American War convinced Patterson a new school was needed that "shall have for its special object the preparation of young men for the diplomatic and consular service of the United States. It shall also provide special training for those who may seek employment in extending upon rational and scientific lines the commercial relations of America." Patterson took as his model the programs he saw then being established at Harvard, Stanford, Chicago, Cornell and Yale.
Patterson understood the United States was becoming a political and commercial world power and believed new institutions were needed to properly prepare Americans for this role. He also had a clear vision about how they should be educated. In 1903, speaking in Washington, DC on "Education and Empire," Patterson declared students must be educated not only as scholars and scientists, but as citizens who will be engaged in shaping the destinies of the world. This philosophy - requiring that students be exposed to both theory and practice - has always been at the core of the Patterson School.
Plans for a new institution centered on diplomatic and commercial training ran afoul of an abysmal budget situation at the start of the 20th century. The new state university Patterson led was struggling to survive. Indeed, he tapped his own personal resources to construct the university's first buildings. When he retired in 1910, his dream remained unfulfilled, but not forgotten. A trust established by Patterson's will in 1922 with almost his entire estate called for the creation of a college of diplomacy. He named the school after his only child, William Andrew Patterson, who died of illness as a young man. To make his vision a reality, however, the funds had to be invested for decades. While the endowment was not large enough to fully fund Patterson's ambitious vision, by 1959 it had increased enough - with additional funding from the Commonwealth of Kentucky - to launch the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.
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