LEXINGTON, Ky. â?? A thick loose-leaf book jammed with charts and graphs details Lee T. Todd Jr.â??s ambitious plans for the University of Kentucky. But in a recent speech to a chamber of commerce, Dr. Todd, the universityâ??s president, summed them up in three brisk words: â??Research drives jobs.â?
His own life story encapsulates the idea. Dr. Todd grew up in a small coal-mining and farming town in western Kentucky, graduated from the university and earned a Ph.D. in electrical engineering at M.I.T. He returned to his Kentucky alma mater to teach before leaving to spend 18 years creating two successful high-tech companies here, in a state better known for thoroughbreds and bourbon than for digital innovations.