By Blair Hoover, Rebecca Stratton

(May 8, 2015) — Three University of Kentucky students have received the Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarship (UGRAS), which will support their international independent research projects during the 2015 summer session.

Annie Griggs, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Faith VanMeter, a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and Marcel Roman, a political science and international studies double major in the College of Arts and Sciences are the recipients of the scholarship — chosen because they demonstrate the ability to explore exceptional academic undergraduate research abroad with the support of UK faculty mentors.  UGRAS is a result of funding from a collaboration between the

By Blair Hoover, Rebecca Stratton

(April 17, 2015) — Provost Tim Tracy honored seven faculty members and three teaching assistants with Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2015 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony.  The ceremony took place Wednesday, April 15, in the Lexmark Public Room in the Main Building.

This annual award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory.  Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the Provost's Office of Faculty Advancement.

Winners received cash prizes of $5,000 for regular and special title series faculty and $1,000 for teaching

By Kelli Elam, Amy Jones-Timoney, Whitney Harder

(April 17, 2015) — What makes a university thrive as a community and a center for knowledge? At the University of Kentucky, it's the people, and not only the outstanding faculty, staff and students, but the alumni who create and continue a legacy of excellence. This year, the UK Alumni Association is recognizing 23 former UK students — leaders who have impacted the Commonwealth, the nation and the world through their work — with induction into the 2015 Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

This year’s class will be honored tonight, Friday, April 17, at the Hilton Lexington Downtown Hotel,

By Provost blog

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
 

These words by Albert Einstein ring especially true today as our community honors seven faculty members and three teaching assistants who have dedicated themselves to preparing, advising and inspiring our students.

I will have the honor of recognizing these 10 individuals at the 2015 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony this afternoon. 

The Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series faculty for outstanding teaching performance. The 2015 winners are:

By Lydia Whitman

(March 12, 2015)   The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 12 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 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,

By Yan Wang

(Feb. 23, 2015) — A panel discussion about Cuba and U.S. relations will be held at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 24, in the UK Athletics Association Auditorium in Young Library.

“We have such an incredible variety of perspectives and areas of expertise across the UK community, and the shift in US-Cuba relations is an ideal opportunity to let faculty, staff and students benefit from that expertise,” said Susan Carvalho, associate provost for internationalization, interim associate provost and dean of the graduate school and moderator of the panel discussion. “I know that the discussion will be enlightening for all of us, as we re-examine our own views, as well as broaden our understanding of alternative viewpoints.”

The panel discussion

 by: Jay Blanton and Whitney Hale

(Jan. 22, 2015) — Former U.S. Senator Wendell H. Ford not only left an indelible mark on the Commonwealth, but on his university — the University of Kentucky.

For decades, he was intimately involved with the Martin School for Public Policy and Administration, and a public policy research center in UK Libraries bears his name.

UK Libraries also is home to his correspondence, papers and oral histories that document his long public service career

by Jenny Wells

(Dec. 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Office for Undergraduate Research has presented 17 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards.

"There is so much high quality research being done by UK undergraduate students," said Diane Snow, director of the Office for Undergraduate Research. "We're very grateful for funding through the Oswald Awards to be able to recognize and reward these exceptional individuals!"

Established in 1964 by then-UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Program encourages research and creative activities by undergraduate students at UK. The objectives of the program are to stimulate creative work by undergraduate students and to recognize individuals who demonstrate

by Whitney Hale

(Dec. 3, 2014) — Two University of Kentucky students were recently named finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship. Luke Glaser, a 2013 English and Hispanic studies graduate from Louisville, Kentucky, and Grace Trimble, a political science senior and UK Women's Tennis Team member from Winchester, Kentucky, interviewed for the prestigious scholarship that funds graduate study at the University

Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing. 

by Gail Hairston, Jenny Wells

(Nov. 4, 2014) — Stephen Voss, associate professor in the Department of Political Science in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, discusses the 2014 Kentucky Senate race in the video above.

"The interest in this Senate campaign has been intense," said Voss, who specializes in elections and voting behavior. "Everyone knew this race was likely to be close. We only have a little time left and still the polls show this thing neck and neck. We won't know who's winning this Senate race until the results come back from the voters."

by Gail Hairston

(Nov. 5, 2014) — “Democracy at Risk Around the World” will be examined at the next University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Year of the Middle East: Crossroads of the World event Nov. 7.

The Quantitative Initiative in Political and Social Research (QIPSR) contributes to The Year of the Middle East calendar with this fifth annual conference, featuring:

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to the

by Gail Hairston

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2014) — The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women (OPSVAW) in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recently announced that it will support the largest number of graduate and professional students within its relatively short history.  One of the top priorities of the OPSVAW is the support of students, and the 2014-2015 academic year will see the program support five individuals through graduate fellowships and research assistantships.

“It is an extraordinary opportunity to advance the careers of these young scholars while also teaching them that there are real women behind the work that they do,” said Carol Jordan executive director of OPSVAW. “I believe we help give real purpose and inspiration to their academic careers while they also

by Kathy Johnson, Jenny Wells

(July 8, 2014) — A book by two University of Kentucky professors was highlighted recently in a Huffington Post blog by author Janet Mason.

"A Positive View of LGBTQ: Embracing Identity and Cultivating Well-Being" by Sharon Rostosky, professor of counseling psychology in the UK College of Education and Ellen Riggle, professor of political science in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, is one of two books Mason focused on as exhibiting the importance of identity in the LGBTQ community.

Mason said the book "talks about the unique strengths that being LGBTQ can engender

by Jenny Wells

(July 8, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Honors Program has selected nine incoming freshmen as recipients of the T.W. Lewis Scholarship. Representing Fayette County and a select group of Appalachian counties in Kentucky, these "Lewis Scholars" will serve as the first cohort of Honors students to receive the prestigious scholarship.

While T.W. Lewis has offered a scholarship program in his name and his mother's, Ruth Jones Lewis, since 2006, this year marks the implementation of the new Lewis Scholars program, housed in UK Honors. This January, the UK Board of Trustees accepted a pledge of $1 million from the T.W. Lewis Foundation to create and endow the fund.

"Mr. Lewis' generous endowment

by Benjamin Kandt, photo by Kiran Lannagadda

(June 13, 2014) - The University of Kentucky is proud to host a Confucius Institute (UKCI), a center dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of Chinese culture throughout the University of Kentucky and the Lexington community. UKCI’s offerings include Chinese language classes and cultural outreach events. It also serves as a bridge for the University of Kentucky to make connections with institutions

Interview with Carol Mason
by Cheyenne Hohman

The popular Netflix series “Orange is the New Black” tells the story of a woman in prison and her fellow inmates, at least one of whom gets pregnant. It’s also course material for Carol Mason’s new course, GWS 700/595: Pregnancy and Prisons in Literature and Law. The Fall 2014 course, also called “Knocked Up and Locked Up,” will examine the political, racial and social contexts that pregnant women in prison experience.

“What I like about this class is that it reflects a relatively new way of looking at such issues, casting the net wide to include concerns that are not usually thought about as ‘reproductive rights,’” Mason

by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(June 2, 2014) — For more than a century, Kentucky women have fought for the right to vote, to own property, to earn and control their wages, and to be safe at home and in the workplace. Tragically, many of them have been silenced by abuse and violence.

In "Violence Against Women in Kentucky: A History of U.S. and State Legislative Reform," Carol E. Jordan, executive director of University of Kentucky's Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women, gives Kentucky women — specifically victims of rape, domestic violence and stalking — a voice. Their stories punctuate her account of the struggles of advocates and legislators to bring legal protections to these Kentuckians. Written for those engaged in the anti-rape and

by Derrick Meads

(May 27, 2014) — Fifteen UK faculty members will teach students at Shanghai University (SHU) in China for a week this summer through the UK Confucius Institute’s (UKCI) “UK Faculty China Short-Term Teaching Program,” during the week of June 16-20.

The program fosters global literacy throughout UK’s multiple disciplines by embedding UK faculty members in SHU’s departments where they teach students for one week, meet professional colleagues, identify shared research interests and gain key insights into China that they can then share with their students in Kentucky.

"Students need to know how knowledge is created, disseminated and used in a commercial and global environment of commerce," said Susan Carvalho, associate provost for internationalization. "By

by Whitney Hale

(May 27, 2014) — University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships has announced that four UK students have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 1,800 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2014-2015 academic year through the prestigious program.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department