The Bill Gatton Foundation has committed $30 million to The Arboretum, State Botanical Garden of Kentucky, funding new and renovated facilities along with landscape improvements across the 100-acre Lexington site. UK President Eli Capilouto announced the gift at a celebration at The Arboretum on Thursday, and the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees formally accepted it the previous week, on Oct. 23.
A Partnership Four Decades in the Making
The Arboretum operates as a partnership between the University of Kentucky and the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, according to UKNow. It is managed through UK's Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment and describes itself as a space connecting university teaching and research with opportunities for people of all ages to explore Kentucky's natural world. UK and Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government are marking 40 years since the 1986 agreement that established the partnership, and the garden has become part of everyday life for generations of visitors over those four decades.
Lexington Mayor Linda Gorton said the foundation's gift assures the community that The Arboretum will remain for generations to come. The site draws more than 500,000 visitors annually, the same report notes, a figure that has grown alongside the garden's footprint and programming over the years.
New Education Building Will Carry Former Dean's Name
Among the planned improvements is a new education building that will be named in honor of Scott Smith, a former dean of Martin-Gatton CAFE who served in that role from 2001 to 2013. Smith is credited with helping lead significant growth at The Arboretum during his tenure, including the opening of the Kentucky Children's Garden. The new building will include dedicated classrooms and an immersive exhibit experience, and an integrated landscape will connect it to a renovated Dorotha Smith Oatts Visitor Center.
The renovated Visitor Center is intended for expanded event use, creating opportunities for conservation programs, extension training, student presentations, arts programming and community events. Together, the two facilities are meant to provide spaces for instruction, exhibits, community programs and gatherings, strengthening what organizers describe as The Arboretum's environmental and horticultural education, research and conservation mission.
Trails, Entrance and Parking Also Part of the Plan
The gift also funds enhancements to the Walk Across Kentucky living museum and native plant collection, adding gathering areas for outdoor instruction and quiet reflection along the way. Pathways throughout the grounds will feature educational features designed to enhance the visitor experience. The project additionally includes a reconfigured main entrance along with improved parking and accessibility.
Part of the investment will support relocating operational facilities off-site, which organizers say will allow more of The Arboretum's grounds to be dedicated to its public mission while still maintaining needed infrastructure. More than 75 UK classes, representing more than 1,300 students, used The Arboretum grounds last year, underscoring the garden's role as a teaching space alongside its public draw.
Foundation Trustee Sees a Century of Impact Ahead
Danny Dunn, a trustee of the Bill Gatton Foundation, said the improvements will position The Arboretum to serve the university and broader community for the next 100 years and beyond. Laura Stephenson, vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of Martin-Gatton CAFE, and Michael Wall, director of The Arboretum, were also named in connection with the announcement.
The $30 million commitment follows the foundation's earlier $14.5 million pledge to Lexington's Town Branch Park, a 10-acre park behind Rupp Arena that will include an amphitheater, as reported by The Lane Report. That donation was intended to support the first two phases of the park's capital campaign, including $7 million for an operational reserve and seed funding for the park's endowment, with construction anticipated to wrap in late summer 2025. The foundation reported $931 million in assets on its 2024 IRS filing, according to Inside Philanthropy.
A Long Road From Stalled Plans to Groundbreaking Gift
The scale of the new gift stands in contrast to The Arboretum's earlier, more modest fundraising efforts. A Visitor Center project update from The Arboretum noted that as of March 27, 2024, the campaign had collected $2,916,471 from almost 700 donors, inching toward a $3.5 million goal with $583,529 still to raise. That campaign traced back to schematic design documents completed in spring 2020, though planning had since been frozen pending resolution of significant budget questions, according to a separate Arboretum update.
That same update identified Sasaki and Lord Aeck Sargent as the two firms leading development of The Arboretum's new master plan, with completion of that plan serving as a prerequisite for moving forward with final design work on the Visitor Center expansion. Design on the newly funded projects is now underway, and completion is anticipated in the third quarter of 2028.
