By Hiyabel Ghirmay

The University of Kentucky has a growing commitment to being one of the top research institutions in the nation by pursuing excellence in interdisciplinary research and creative efforts that not only enrich lives, but also address the most important challenges of the Commonwealth and beyond. Serving over 5,000 UK undergraduates each year, despite being only four years old, the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies (WRD) has quickly established itself as both an emerging area of strength in creative endeavors, as well as a hub of interdisciplinary research and projects that cross traditional boundaries.

A new and exciting learning space called the “Digital Distillery” is the department’s latest effort in cultivating and supporting scholarship at the undergraduate level. The Distillery is a learning and working space as well as a

The Political Science Department’s investment in undergraduate research started paying major dividends this semester, with students producing and presenting scientific research to an unprecedented degree.

Three students – Gammon Fain, Anne Klette, and Vandenbosch Outstanding Senior finalist Elizabeth Dade – took their research projects to national disciplinary conferences, where they received advice on their work from scholars at top academic institutions around the country.  Fain, in particular, managed an historic achievement: He won the 2018 Rifai Award for best student paper at the annual meeting of the Kentucky Political Science Association – the first time the University of Kentucky has ever

By Lindsey Piercy

The American Council on Education has announced that Chana Akins, professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky, has been named an ACE Fellow for the 2018-19 academic year.

Established in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program is designed to strengthen institutions and leadership in American higher education by identifying and preparing faculty and staff for senior positions in college and university administration through its distinctive and intensive nominator-driven, cohort-based mentorship model. Following nomination by the senior administration of their institutions and a rigorous application process, 45 fellows were selected this year.

More than 2,000 higher education leaders have participated in the ACE Fellows Program over the past five decades, with more than 80 percent of fellows having gone on to serve as senior leaders of

By Lindsey Piercy

Amanda Bunting, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky, is one of 100 doctoral students in the U. S. and Canada selected to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was sponsored by Chapter AO KY of Lexington.

Bunting is from Frederick, Maryland. She received a bachelor's degree from Hood College in 2009 and a master's degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014. At UK, she has received a Presidential Fellowship, the University of Kentucky Association of Emeriti Faculty Endowed Faculty Fellowship Award and is currently supported as a predoctoral scholar on a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) T32 training grant. Bunting is dedicated to research of employment, health and treatment outcomes among substance using individuals returning to society from prison

By Blair Hoover Conner

The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants at the Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2018 University of Kentucky Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 19, in the Lexmark Room at the Main Building. Recipients of Inclusive Excellence Awards, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Diversity, were also recognized.

UK Provost David Blackwell presented the William B. Sturgill Award, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Outstanding Teaching Faculty and Teaching Assistant Awards.

"The diversity of disciplines reflected in the Outstanding Teaching Award winners speaks to the breadth and depth that distinguishes the University of Kentucky," Blackwell said. "But, of course, no matter the discipline, each recipient shares something of lasting importance: the art of great teaching

By Lindsey Piercy

Paul Eakin has been named the 2018 recipient of the William E. Lyons Award, co-sponsored by the University of Kentucky’s Martin School of Public Policy and Administration and the Department of Political Science, in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

This award is given each year to an individual associated with the university who has given outstanding service to UK, the community or the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The award is named in honor of William (Bill) E. Lyons, former professor of political science and public administrator, who during his tenure at UK, also served as director of the Martin School and chair of the Department of Political

By Lindsey Piercy

Two University of Kentucky faculty members were honored for their outstanding contributions to teaching and scholarship at the 2018 Provost Awards ceremony held April 19.

Keh-Fei Liu, professor of physics and astronomy, was presented the 2018 Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, given each year to a faculty member in recognition of outstanding contributions to original research or scholarship, with an emphasis on work produced four years prior to the award.

Dibakar Bhattacharyya, professor of chemical and materials engineering, was presented the 2018 Sturgill Award, given each year to a graduate faculty member who has provided outstanding contributions to graduate education at UK.

Keh-Fei Liu

In his 37 years at UK, Liu has successfully built an internationally recognized

By Stephanie Swarts

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced alumna Elise McConnell was awarded the Academy of Urban School Leadership: Chicago Teacher Residency for the 2018-19 academic school year.

The Chicago Teacher Residency, founded in 2001, is a teacher training program operated by Academy of Urban School Leadership (AUSL), a nonprofit organization partnering with 31 Chicago public schools to give prospective teachers the ability to earn their master’s degree and gain experience in some of the highest needs schools in Chicago. Named the largest teacher residency in the country, selected applicants spend one academic year training

By Jenny Wells and Alicia Gregory

Chad Risko, an assistant professor of chemistry in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, didn’t always know there was a career to be had in doing research – until a mentor encouraged him to study chemistry as an undergraduate.

“From there, and when I went to graduate school, is where I think the research bug really took hold,” Risko said. “Being in the lab, working with people, trying to understand new ways to solve problems – that really motivated me to pursue a career in research.”

Now, as a chemistry professor and affiliated researcher in UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER), Risko says mentoring

By Lindsey Piercy

In front of a crowd of fellow classmates, faculty, staff and local leaders, victimology student Ann Pitts stepped to the podium and began to share a heartfelt story of hurt, hope and healing.

"Beyond protecting society from crime, we need to protect our survivors," Pitts said. "This has inspired a fire in me to keep pushing for change."

Pitts is one of several passionate students who had a hand in organizing the Clothesline Project held on the University of Kentucky campus on April 12.

"I decided to speak because I believe if you want to change things, you have to be brave. I wasn't just being brave for myself but for all of the survivors in the audience," Pitts continued. "I was silent for three years of my life, but I know now that it's time to speak up. I don't want survivors to think speaking out is the only option towards

By Whitney Hale, Amy Jones-Timoney, and Kody Kiser

See how UK Truman Scholar Hadeel Abdallah learned about her Truman Scholarship from UK President Eli Capilouto.

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that political science and Arabic and Islamic studiesjunior Hadeel Abdallah, of Lexington, has been named a 2018 Truman Scholar and will receive $30,000 to support her graduate study. Abdallah is the 14th UK student to receive the honor from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation.  

“The Truman Scholarship is a

Awards are rolling in for Political Science major Hadeel Abdallah.

First, she won entry into the College of Arts & Science's Trunzo Scholars Program, taking the top ($5,000) award so that she could pursue a nationally recognized internship.

Then, she won the university's VanMeter Award for outstanding volunteer and community service.

But the big prize -- and the big surprise -- came today.  A number of top UK administrators joined Hadeel's mentors, Prof. Jesse C. Johnson and Prof. Tiffany Barnes, in a surprise visit to Hadeel's class to announce that she'd received the nationally competitive $30,000 Truman Scholarship for graduate study.  Given to students intending to pursue a career in public service.

By Kaitlyn Summe

Students from the University of Kentucky's Society of Physics Students (SPS) will host Open Lab Day from noon to 5 p.m. Friday, April 13, in the Chemistry-Physics Building. The event is free and open to all students and faculty wishing to learn more about physics, astronomy and science.

“Attendees will tour active research labs in the physics and astronomy department, hearing from professors and graduate students about work such as fundamental particle research, synthesis of complex materials, and current projects in astronomy,” said Cierra Dany Waller, president of the SPS and mathematics senior and research assistant in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. “There will be a

We are proud to announce that Aaron Mueller has been chosen to receive a National Science Foundation Grant via the Graduate Research Fellowship Program. Aaron is one of only seven awardees in Linguistics nationwide. 

The Graduate Research Fellowship Program (GRFP) is a critical program

in the NSF's overall strategy to develop a globally engaged workforce necessary to ensure the nation's leadership in advancing science and engineering

research and innovation.

Former NSF fellows make transformative breakthroughs in STEM, are leaders in their chosen careers, and have been honored as Nobel laureates. A hallmark of GRFP is its contribution to increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce, including geographic districts. The support is for graduate study that leads to a research-based master's or doctoral degree in a STEM field.

Charles P. Roland, alumni professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky, celebrated a major milestone last weekend. On Sunday, the leading scholar turned 100 years old.

Family, friends and colleagues threw a surprise party in his honor. Festivities included a military honor guard and the singing of “Happy Birthday to You” and the Army song by the UK Department of History's faculty. One of Roland's doctoral students, Thomas Appleton, presented a resolution commending Roland on behalf of UK President Eli Capilouto.

Roland, the son and grandson of teachers, holds a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University, a master's degree from George Washington University and a doctoral degree in history from Louisiana State University.

As a former captain in the United States Army, Roland's

Jeramiah Smith, an associate professor of biology in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, will deliver the National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) Early Career Investigator (ECI) lecture next week at the National Institutes of Health.

His talk, "Ancient Bloodsuckers, Disposable Genes, and What It All Means," will explore Smith's research on the genome of sea lampreys.

“Lampreys are representatives of an ancient group of vertebrates that diverged [from most other vertebrates — including humans] more than 500 million years ago,” Smith said. “Unlike most other vertebrates, they also eliminate 20 percent of their genome from most cells during early development. By studying the

By Lindsey Piercy

A group of UK College of Arts & Sciences students in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, are being recognized for outstanding accomplishments on a national level.

Sophia Decker was named the 2018 recipient for best student paper at the Eta Sigma Phi (National Classics Honor Society) convention, held March 23-25, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The paper titled, "Dorians Are Allowed to Speak Doric: Theocritus’ Idyll XV in the Context of Panhellenization" will be published in its entirety in the society's newsletter, NUNTIUS. Developed under the guidance of Jackie Murray, assistant professor of classics at UK, the paper reads the idyll as a manifesto for the survival of Greek regional dialects against the spread of a standardized form of Greek.

Valerio Caldesi Valeri, assistant

By Lindsey Piercy

Nazera Wright, associate professor of English at UK College of Arts & Sciences, has been named the 2018 recipient of the Children's Literature Association's Honor Book Award for her 2016 scholarly book titled, "Black Girlhood in the Nineteenth Century," published by University of Illinois Press.

The book shows how the figure of the black girl in African-American literature provided a powerful avenue for exploring issues like domesticity, femininity and proper conduct. Wright draws on heavy archival research and a wide range of texts about African-American girls to explore the unstudied phenomenon of black girlhood. In doing this, the book documents a literary genealogy of the cultural attitudes toward black girls in the United States.

Science is all around us, from the design of the buildings we drive by on our way to work, to the brewing of our favorite beverages, to the development of pharmaceuticals to help us live longer and healthier lives. But how much do you know about how these everyday commodities actually work?

A group of professors and students at the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy, along with community partners like Keeneland and AllTech are working together to introduce the Lexington community to the science around us. Everything is Science is a science festival that will be held at different locations all throughout the city, with concurrent events happening Thursday, April 26th through Saturday, April 28th.

Everything is Science aims to bridge the gap between scientists and the general public while making science accessible. Their mission is to demonstrate how

By Kaitlyn Summe

The University of Kentucky's #IAmAWomanInSTEM project will host a week of activities featuring speakers and panels to promote STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and careers. This celebration week — #IAmAWomanInSTEMWeek — was created to encourage, empower and motivate women in STEM by sharing their stories and helping them network with other students and professionals.

The week of events was organized by Kayla Kuhfeldt, a senior from Grand Rapids, Michigan, studying biology and health, society and populations in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

“Being a woman pursuing a career in a STEM field can