By Jennifer T. Allen

Abby Córdova, an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science, is spending the fall semester as a Central America Visiting Scholar at Harvard University. Each year the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies (DRCLAS) selects 10-12 distinguished academics and professionals to spend one or two semesters at Harvard working on their own research and writing projects.

Cordova is focusing her work on “Living in a Hotspot: How Gang Activity in Central American Neighborhoods Impacts Political Participation.”

“This research projects explores the pathways through which gang activity in Central American neighborhoods is affecting the consolidation of democracy in the region. I find

By Gail Hairston and Lydia Moore

By Bryant Welbourne

By Carl Nathe

(April 25, 2016) — Allison Connelly, the James and Mary T. Lassiter Clinical Professor in the College of Law and founding director of the University of Kentucky College of Law Legal Clinic, is the 2016 recipient of the William E. Lyons Award, co-sponsored by the 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

By Rebecca Stratton

(April 12, 2016) — Want to get to know the people behind some of the biggest student leadership positions on campus? We did, too! That's why we're excited to introduce "see blue." #selfie — a brand new series on UKNow that lets student leaders from across campus tell us a little bit more about themselves and their organizations. This week, the 2016 president of the Black Student Union, Jeremiah Pickett.

Jeremiah Pickett, a junior political science major from the south suburbs of Chicago, is this year's Black Student Union (BSU) president at the University of Kentucky. Pickett strives to take on the task of nurturing others during their time at UK. He's always open to helping out where he can, catching a good movie at his favorite theater in Lexington and building community by investing in his friends and

By Dara Vance

The University of Kentucky’s Department of Political Science is serious about research collaboration. According to Associate Professor Clayton Thyne, “the department has invested heavily in promoting professor-student collaborations over the past several years, and we have seen this investment pay off with a number of co-authored working papers, conference presentations, and published articles.”  He adds, “a major goal of the program is to develop students who have excellent research skills and have solid foundation when they enter the job market.”

 An example of professor and student collaboration is a project recently published in International Studies Quarterly (2015). Dr. Thyne and UK Political Science Ph.D. candidate Anup Phayal both study civil war and peace building. Thyne helped guide Phayal and co-author Prabin Khadka in their research

By Gail Hairston

(April 4, 2016) — Students in Stephen Voss’ "PS 476: Legislative Process" course helped craft a watchdog class project to follow legislation through the Kentucky State Legislature.

Voss, University of Kentucky associate professor of political science and a frequent media analyst and commentator on state and national politics, proposed “Frankfort Focus” to engage his students in the day-in, day-out workings of a state government.

The "PS 476" course enrolls a mixture of students. About two-thirds of them major in either political science or related fields. The rest are part of the UK Department of Political Science Kentucky Legislative Internship

By Ashely Cox

(March 31, 2016) — The tumultuous tone of the 2016 presidential race has focused renewed attention on the role of polling — and pollsters — in the political process. Traditionally, polls were internal documents used to shape campaign strategies, fundraising appeals and voter turnout. Today, however, polling has become a very public event — who's ahead, who's behind — supplanting issues, positions and personalities in driving campaign media coverage.

For many years, the standards of measurement used in polling became more accurate over time and usually had a high degree of accuracy. Lately, however, several recent polls, both nationally and in the last two Kentucky statewide elections, have differed considerably from actual election day results. So why are a growing

Tiffany D. Barnes, assistant professor of political science at the University of Kentucky, Lexington was awarded the 2015 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics.

Click here to view the article.

By Rebecca Stratton

(March 16, 2016) — Want to get to know the people behind some of the biggest student leadership positions on campus? We did, too! That's why we're excited to introduce "see blue." #selfie - a brand new series on UKNow that lets student leaders from across campus tell us a little bit more about themselves and their organizations. This week, the 2015-16 Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow and TEAM WILDCAT co-chairs!

Kyle Richardson and Nick Ramos are this year's co-chairs of STAT and TEAM WILDCAT! As chair of Students Today, Alumni Tomorrow (STAT), Kyle, a senior from Williamsburg, Kentucky, works first hand with the University of

By Kathryn Macon

(March 8, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for Humanities has selected 12 exceptional undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 academic years. Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities.

Gaines Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are

By Tasha Ramsey

When given the option, some students would jump at the chance to graduate early. But for Mason King, a senior double majoring in Spanish and political science at the University of Kentucky, the decision to forego an early graduation date in order to take part in an internship with the U.S. Department of State is one he doesn't regret.

In the spring of 2015, King learned that he could choose to participate in the December commencement rather than take another semester of classes to stay on his four-year track. Seeing this as an opportunity to extend his education rather than starting his career search an entire semester early, King set out in search of internships instead.

“I really didn’t care to rush my undergraduate experience and

By Jenny Wells

(Jan. 29, 2016) — A group of University of Kentucky Honors students has been selected as a finalist for the second year in a row in the Knight Cities Challenge. Funded by the Knight Foundation, the challenge is a national call for new ideas to make 26 communities around the country more vibrant places to live and work.  

Clay Thornton, an economics and political science sophomore from Lexington, submitted the proposal on behalf of his UK Honors class, "Citizen Kentucky," taught by Associate Professor Buck Ryan. They are now one of 158 finalists out of more than 4,500 submissions from

              One of the most important components in the evaluation of any university department is the research productivity of its faculty. The Political Science Department is pleased to announce that this past year its faculty has excelled in publishing research on a variety of topics. Not only has the department produced an impressive quantity of research but faculty members are publishing in some of the most highly ranked outlets for their research. In 2015, the faculty had over 30 publications that have appeared in print or are forthcoming. Some of their articles have appeared in such lauded outlets as the American Political Science Review, Journal of Politics, and Political Research Quarterly among others. These titles carry great weight in the discipline of political science and

Donald Grasse, a native of Flossmoor, Illinois, was enticed to come to the University of Kentucky by an academic scholarship and strong debate team.  While he planned originally to major in International Studies, he quickly added Political Science as a second major after taking Prof. Emily Beaulieu’s introduction to Comparative Politics.  Her course, and others that followed, taught him the importance of using systematic research procedures when trying to answer important questions – an insight that, he tells us, can be just as important as understanding the content of the subject matter.

               Donald has excelled since arriving at UK.  A Political Science major with minors concentrating in Islamic Studies and History, he carries a 3.9 GPA while also being a Chellgren Fellow.

                Professors about to start their final semester customarily do not create new course offerings.  But before heading off for his well-earned retirement, Prof. Donald Gross still had something he wanted to say – and something new he wanted to teach.

                A veteran of the cultural and political

              The Detroit neighborhood where Lexington defense attorney Rawl Kazee grew up no longer exists.  A treacherous environment of abandoned buildings and crack houses, it was more likely to send its children to prison – if not to a premature death – than it was to spring them into a legal career.  Kazee still remembers the sporadic sound of gunfire at night and the bullet holes that dotted his grandmother’s front door.

               So Kazee already had beaten the odds by the time he reached the University of Kentucky to start college in the late Nineties.  He brought with him “an edge, a hard edge,” he tells us today: a jaded view of human nature and a fighter’s