Dr. Joe Young

Director

The Patterson School would like to extend a warm welcome to our new Director Dr. Joe Young! Dr. Young is coming to us from American University where he has held a number of leadership positions over the past 14 years in several different schools. After acting as a department chair for five years, he took on his most recent role as the Associate Dean for Research where he advised people in the School of Public Affairs seeking funded research opportunities. Dr. Young began his academic career receiving a bachelor’s degree in international relations and economics from Stetson University in Florida. After living abroad in Brazil for two years, Dr. Young returned to the United States to get his master’s degree from Ohio University in political science with a focus on international relations, a certificate in contemporary history, and a PhD from Florida State University in political science with a focus on international relations. He is looking forward to being able to apply his vast knowledge in research methods and intelligence towards the classes he will teach at Patterson. 

Dr. Young’s first goal as director is to listen to the Patterson community and understand the perspectives of current students, faculty, and alumni to determine the best long-term strategic plan. He highlighted Patterson’s dedicated alumni base as a factor that drew him to the school initially and as something he is looking forward to working with in the future. To accomplish this goal, Dr. Young plans to start an advisory board consisting of alumni, students, and prominent community members that will help inform him of existing strongpoints and identify areas for change. He also highlights his desire to get to know students and that promoting their career aspirations will always be the number one priority. 

Dr. Young is coming to Lexington with his wife Melissa Scholes Young, who will be joining UK faculty as a professor in the Master of Fine Arts in creative writing program. After enjoying their time in DC, they are ready for a new challenge and are excited to see what opportunities the move to Lexington brings them. As a self-proclaimed sports fanatic, Dr. Young is particularly excited to participate in UK’s unique sports atmosphere and is looking forward to supporting all the sports teams, especially when they compete against the University of Florida! We are excited to welcome Dr. Young, his wife, and two kids to the Patterson family and can’t wait to see what happens next.