Dr. Lee Todd announced Wednesday he'll be retiring as president of UK next June.

He became the eleventh president of the University of Kentucky on July 1, 2001. The very next day he was already showing staff his passion for people. President Todd launched UK's Top 20 Business Plan in 2005, wanting to make his alma mater one of the top public research universities in the nation.

His tenure at UK was clouded with wage freezes and tuition hikes all too familiar for a public university in a harsh economic time, but President Todd pushed through, helping to double the amount of research money in UK's budget. He started a presidential scholarship initiative, working with Coach Cal to get folks to donate to need-based academic scholarships. During Move In Day 2010, President Todd continued his tradition of being the first face freshmen meet at his UK.

He called a press conference to discuss his retirement, staying true to his promise to the community.

He wanted to tell everyone his announcement face to face, instead of through a letter or an email.