Carol E. Jordan, executive director of the University of Kentucky's Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women, taught a Political Science seminar during the fall semester 2017 based on her book, "Violence Against Women in Kentucky: A History of U.S. and State Legislative Reform." The seminar, which Jordan has also taught in previous fall semesters through the Political Science Department, takes a hands-on approach to teaching students about legislative reforms accomplished to advance the end of violence in narrow terms, and the advancement of social justice in broader terms.

Jordan says her book, Violence

S. Sidney Ulmer, 94, Professor Emeritus of Political Science at the University of Kentucky, passed away at his home in Lexington on 19 January 2018. Although frail of body, his mind was sharp and lucid to the end.

Prof. Ulmer was born on 15 April 1923 in North, South Carolina, to Shirley S. and Anna Reed Ulmer. Ulmer came of age during World War II and he served in the U.S. Army Air Force as a tail gunner on B-24 bombers for 44 missions during 1943-45 in the South Pacific. He earned a number of medals and citations and afterward he was an active member of the 31st Bomb Squadron Association.

Following the war, Ulmer worked his way through Furman University with the help of the G.I. Bill, graduating cum laude

By Amaya DeVicente

While on a University of Kentucky Education Abroad and Exchanges (UK EA) program, UK student, Natalie St.Clair, immersed herself in her new community in Mexico, and giving back any way that she could.

St.Clair, a senior from Louisville, Kentucky, is a foreign language and international economics major and political science minor who studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico.

St.Clair’s two-month program in Oaxaca during summer 2016 was not enough. "I decided to return to Oaxaca to strengthen my relationships with friends and the community, and become more deeply involved," St.Clair said. She studied abroad again in fall 2017 on a UK EA partner program: Study Abroad and Spanish Immersion in Mexico – Intensive Language with Sol Education Abroad.

"The program and academic staff were a

By Jenny Wells

Martha Tillson (left) and Sarah Gossett will deliver speeches at the December 2017 Commencement Ceremonies Friday, Dec. 15.

In what has become a University of Kentucky Commencement tradition, two students have been selected to serve as speakers for the UK December Commencement ceremonies this Friday, Dec. 15. Because doctoral, master's and baccalaureate degree recipients are now recognized together based on their colleges, the selection committee accepted applications from students with all degree types, not just undergraduate students as in past years.

Martha Tillson will speak at the 10 a.m. ceremony and Sarah Gossett will speak at the 2 p.m. ceremony. Tillson and Gossett were selected among several candidates by UK President Eli Capilouto to represent the December

By Julie Wrinn

Judge Deborah Deweese grew up in a blue collar neighborhood in the south end of Louisville and remembers watching TV most nights with her parents and brothers. The family’s favorite show was Perry Mason, and one night her dad said to young Deborah, “Why don’t you be a lawyer like him?”

“That resonated with me,” remembers Judge Deweese, “and I can’t say that I ever wanted to do anything else.” It was typical of her father’s insistence that she could do anything, “that there was no difference between me and my two brothers”—not an ordinary viewpoint at the time.

A 1981 Political Science major at UK, Deborah Deweese came on the bench in 1994 when there were just five women judges on the District Court in Jefferson County out of 21 total. Now the majority of the District Court judges are women, the Circuit Court is about half women, and the Family

By Gail Hairston

Organizers of the University of Kentucky’s Constitution Day activities last week have announced the winners of the essay contest associated with the national holiday.

Political science freshman RyAnn Schoenbaechler won the 2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest with her article titled “Donald Trump: The Modern Day Killer of the First Amendment.”

Schoenbaechler won $500 for her essay, which was evaluated by a panel of judges chosen by the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center. Their assessment was based on the following criteria: historical and legal accuracy of the content; the strength and logic of the argument; the original ideas presented; the organization of the argument, including the thesis; and the quality of the writing.

The second place winner Kelsey Mattingly, a

By Gail Hairston

All educational institutions receiving federal funding are required to conduct educational programming about the U.S. Constitution in recognition of Constitution Day, which this year falls on Sept. 17. The University of Kentucky chose Monday, Sept. 18, for its all-day celebration.  

Under the direction of the university’s Office of the President and Office of the Provost, the Office of Academic Excellence led the university’s planning committee with significant contributions from the College of Arts and Sciences. Staff and faculty worked with student organizations and other units on campus to develop a campuswide approach to the celebration of the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens and to develop habits of citizenship in a

By Gail Hairston

The American Political Science Association (APSA) recently announced that Travis N. Taylor, a graduate student at the University of Kentucky, has been named as a 2017-2018 APSA Minority Fellowship Program (MFP) Fellow, Spring Cycle.

Taylor is a second year doctoral student and teaching assistant in the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of Political Science. He is studying American political behavior and public policy. Taylor’s primary research interests lie in campaigns, specifically in campaigns for nonfederal offices. Within the realm of campaigns, Taylor is interested in campaign effects, campaign communication, voter behavior and candidate behavior. More broadly, he is interested in political consultancy, political psychology and U.S. elections.

“

By Amanda Lee

Tiffany Barnes, an associate professor in the University of Kentucky's Department of Political Science, will be honored with the American Political Science Association's (APSA) Alan Rosenthal Prize for her book "Gendering Legislative Behavior." She will be presented with the award at the APSA national meeting in September in California. 

This award encourages young scholars to study questions of importance to legislators and legislative staff. These scholars are also expected to conduct research that has potential application to strengthen the practice of democracy. 

"I am excited to see research about the important role women play in politics

By Karlie Kinneer

Following the completion of her stellar University of Kentucky career, senior swimmer Danielle Galyer was named to the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Academic All-America At-Large First Team for the second consecutive year, the organization announced Thursday afternoon.

“It’s a culmination of her outstanding career both as a student as an athlete at Kentucky,” said head coach Lars Jorgensen. “She’s been a role model for the entire swimming and diving program over the past four years — a perfect example of achieving at the highest level inside and outside of the classroom.”

Galyer is just the second Wildcat in program history to earn First Team Academic All-America in

By Carl Nathe

D. Stephen Voss is the 2017 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, part of the College of Arts and Sciences. The annual honor is given to one person in recognition of a long record of outstanding service to UK, the community and the Commonwealth of Kentucky.

The award is named for the late "Bill" Lyons, a professor of political science and public administration, who during his much-admired tenure at UK served as director of the Martin School and chaired the political science department.

Voss is an is associate

By Gail Hairston

The University of Kentucky will send 59 undergraduate student-researchers to the 31st annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Memphis April 6-8.

The UK group joins young researchers from around the world to showcase their research findings through poster and oral presentations. Each student will be given the opportunity to discuss their display and share their research results, illuminating how their work will have an impact on future research development. UK has been an active NCUR participant since the mid ’90s.

One of the first things these young researchers learn is that most research is not conducted in the traditional laboratory with bubbling beakers and flaming Bunsen burners. But modern research spans all disciplines and majors, and includes a wide variety of activities.

“For some

By Gail Hairston

The second in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ “Civic Life” panel series continues noon to 1 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in the UK Athletics Auditorium of the William T. Young Library. The panel discussion series focuses on a wide range of issues confronting society today. 

Wednesday’s topic is “Emerging Trends in U.S. Defense and Human Rights” led by Associate Professor Clayton Thyne, Assistant Professor Jesse Johnson and Assistant Professor Jillienne Haglund, all members of the UK Department of Political Science.

Thyne is also director the college’s 

By Gail Hairston and Whitney Hale

Ernest Yanarella, chair of the Department of Political Science for the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is one of 10 scholars worldwide who have received a Shanghai Elite Collaborative Research Grant. The grant will allow Yanarella to join his colleague Lu Chao, professor of management at Shanghai University, for a month in China, enhancing their research. Yanarella's research was eligible for this prestigious grant due to the joint effort of UK’s Confucius Institute and the Office of China Initiatives whose mission is to

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes.  Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting www.uky.edu/PR

By Jay Blanton and Kody Kiser

On Jan. 20, the United States of America observed the “peaceful transfer of power” that for more than two centuries has marked the transition from one U.S. president to another.  

Shortly after noon, Donald J. Trump officially became the 45th president of the United States. 

At this moment in the country’s history, UKNOW wanted to get a perspective on the campaign that just occurred and the policy issues — both domestic and foreign — that a new a new president and Congress will likely tackle. 

To explore these issues in depth, we talked with two leading experts — Emily Beaulieu, an associate professor in comparative politics, and Stephen Voss, an associate professor specializing in

By Jordyn Comitor

The University of Kentucky Debate Team had a strong first semester of their 2016-2017 season, led by the exceptionally strong freshmen team of Dan Bannister and Anthony Trufanov.

Their season started at the Georgia State University tournament where, for the fourth year in a row, the team made it to the Sweet 16 round of competition: a recurring achievement for the team this semester. Out of the 105 teams there, the team of Theo Noparstak and Holmes Hampton finished as the 17th overall seed and the team of Bannister and Trufanov finished as the 12th overall seed.

Bannister, a political science major from Saint Paul, Minnesota, was the 19th overall speaker in the Georgia State competition and the only freshman to make it into the top 20

By Gail Hairston

Emily Boulieu's honors class observed Fayette County polling locations as part of a national research project.

For most of the University of Kentucky students observing Lexington’s polling places on Election Day, it was their first experience engaged in the nation’s electoral process. They were taking part in a nationwide review of the voting process, led by Associate Professor of Comparative Politics Emily Beaulieu.

Some students came away with indelible memories.

Eric Bingham noted a young immigrant, obviously voting for her first time with her eyes brimming with tears and pride. “To see the joy she had and the pride she took in voting, made me very proud of my country,” he said.

Those standing in line, waiting, also caught Bingham’s attention. Teenagers voting

By Gail Hairston