LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences recognized three alumni and one emeriti faculty Friday, April 11, with membership in its Hall of Fame. The honor recognizes UK Arts and Sciences alumni and faculty who exemplify the foundational importance of an arts and sciences education and who have contributed significantly to their professions, their communities and UK.  

"Our Hall of Fame inductees exemplify the strength and versatility of an arts and sciences education," said Ana Franco-Watkins, Ph.D., dean of the College. "Their enduring commitment to service, scholarship and leadership has enriched their professions and communities in profound ways. We are proud to celebrate their achievements and the meaningful connection they maintain with the College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Kentucky." 

Bright Futures Leadership Award inductee:   

Christine Smith, M.A. Geography ’10, Ph.D. Geography ’15 

Christine Smith is the executive director of Seedleaf, a community gardening organization that nourishes communities through sustainable agriculture. Trained as a geographer, she joined Seedleaf in 2017 and has served as its director since 2019. Seedleaf operates 13 U-pick community gardens in Northeast Lexington and provides a variety of adult and youth workshops, classes and agricultural assistance to support its mission. 

Smith oversees all day-to-day operations and manages a team of three staff members. Additionally, she serves as an urban agricultural consultant for Tunnel, Spanger Wash & Associates in Ohio, where she wrote a best-practice report on the infrastructure and community relationships needed to sustain urban agriculture in food-insecure areas. 

Before she worked with Seedleaf, Smith’s career focused on community and state violence, urban geography and the Middle East. She has held faculty positions at both the University of Kentucky and Bucknell University. Smith earned a master’s degree in geography from the University of Kentucky in 2010 and a doctorate in 2015, following her bachelor’s degree from Syracuse University. Her honors include the Honorable Order of Kentucky Colonels and the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award. 

Distinguished Alumni Award inductees:  

Redonna K. Chandler, B.A. History and Psychology ’86 

Redonna Chandler, a native of Crittenden County in Western Kentucky, received a B.A. in history and psychology in 1986 and a Ph.D. in counseling psychology in 1993 from the University of Kentucky. Throughout her career, Chandler has demonstrated a commitment to public service and is recognized both nationally and internationally for her work on substance use and HIV. She has contributed to research and the implementation of integrated care, health services and evidence-based practices. 

Chandler began her career as a junior faculty member at Berea College before taking on leadership roles in drug treatment programs for individuals with substance use disorders and serious mental illness at the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Prisons. In 2002, she joined the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she held several positions, including chief of the Services Research Branch and acting director of the Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research at the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). She also served as deputy director of the Clinical Research Program at the National Center for Advancing Translational Science and is the director of the HIV Research Program and the HEALing Communities Study. 

Chandler developed the first NIH network connecting researchers with criminal-legal settings to address addiction and related health issues. She was a founding member of the NIH work group that established the Dissemination and Implementation Science program and helped expand NIDA's HIV basic science research portfolio. As director of the HEALing Communities Study, she led the largest implementation study in addiction, working to reduce overdose fatalities in 67 counties across four states, including Kentucky. 

Chandler has written numerous manuscripts, research guidelines and book chapters and has received 14 National Institute on Drug Abuse Director’s Awards of Merit. She co-wrote the treatises “Treating Drug Abusers in the Criminal Justice” and “System and Principles of Effective Treatment for Drug-Abusing Adolescents.” She has contributed to editorial activities for peer-reviewed journals and has presented at numerous scientific conferences. 

Derrick K. Ramsey, Bachelor of General Studies ’77: 

Derrick K. Ramsey is a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, where he focuses on developing apprenticeship programs for inner cities. From 2020 to 2021, he served as the special assistant to the president for Strategic Partnerships at the Kentucky Community and Technical College System. From 2018 to 2020, he was the secretary of the Kentucky Education and Workforce Development Cabinet. Ramsey also served on the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees from 2018 to 2023. 

He holds a Bachelor of Arts in general studies from UK and a master’s degree in sports administration from Eastern Kentucky University. In 1975, was the first African-American starting quarterback at UK. Two years later, he led the Wildcats to a 10-1 season and earned First Team All-Southeastern Conference and Third-Team All-American honors. Following a nine-year NFL career, including a Super Bowl win in 1981, Ramsey moved to small business ownership, managing real estate and investment portfolios. 

In 1994, Ramsey returned to UK as a community relations officer, where he fostered partnerships between the African-American community in Lexington and the university. In 1999, he became the athletics director at Kentucky State University, where he played a key role in planning and building a 5,000-square-foot academic, fitness, and weight training center for student-athletes. 

Ramsey began his career in state government in 2004 when he was appointed deputy secretary of commerce under Gov. Ernie Fletcher, overseeing a $50 million budget and managing human resources for the cabinet. He also participated in the bid to bring the 2010 World Equestrian Games to Kentucky. After leaving government service, Ramsey served as athletic director at Coppin State University in Baltimore from 2008 to 2015. 

Ramsey is a member of the Camden County. N.J., Hall of Fame and the UK Athletics Hall of Fame.  He is also the recipient of the Kentucky Governor’s Cup and the UK Lyman T. Johnson Award. 

Emeriti Faculty Award inductee:  

Ellen B. Rosenman, Ph.D., Department of English 

Ellen Rosenman is a professor emerita of English. She taught at the University of Kentucky for 32 years. She received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her Ph.D. in English from the University of Virginia. After beginning her teaching career at Dickinson College, she came to UK as an assistant professor in 1985 and rose to full professor in 2004.  Rosenman served as director of the Women’s Studies Program and became the first woman chair in the Department of English in 2004. 

Recognized as a major scholar of Victorian Literature and culture, she is the author of the study “Unauthorized Pleasures: Accounts of Victorian Erotic Experience, A Room of One's Own: Women Writers” and the “Politics of Creativity and The Invisible Presence: Virginia Woolf and the Mother-Daughter Relationship,” among other titles.  

She mentored many graduate students in her capacity as editor of the academic journal Victorian Institute Journal, where she advised students and trained them as editorial assistants in this field. Her dedication to teaching was recognized by awards including the UK Teachers Who Made a Difference Award (2008) and the Sturgill Award for Contribution to Graduate Education (2007). She was a finalist for the Provost’s Teaching Award in 2007. 

In recognition of her contributions in the three key areas of teaching, research and service, the Department of English established the biennial Rosenman Award to  recognize the faculty member who has the best all-around record of teaching, research and service.