By Whitney Harder

(Feb. 8, 2016) — A new partnership between the University of Kentucky Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) in the College of Arts and Sciences, UK College of Education and STEAM Academy will prepare a diverse population of high school students for careers in geosciences. The program is being funded by a $300,000 grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is expected to begin fall 2016.

"Many high school students don't realize they can make a living studying rocks, and that it's not just rocks — we study water resources, energy, natural hazards, environmental issues and even focus on community planning," said

By Whitney Hale

(Feb. 5, 2016) — Performances of "Dead Poets Society" will kick off this semester of productions in the University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance Studio Season. The spring portion of the season, which gives UK students the chance to stage their own work or interpretations of work, opens with two showings of "Dead Poets Society" at 5 p.m. today (Friday, Feb. 5) and noon Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Lucille C. Little Black Box Theatre, located in room 102 of the Fine Arts Building.

The UK Theatre and Dance Studio Season provides an opportunity

By Ashley Cox

(Feb. 5, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently recognized and awarded 16 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards. 

Categories include Biological Sciences; Design, including architecture, landscape architecture and interior design; Fine Arts, including film, music, photography, painting and sculpture; Humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; Physical and Engineering Sciences; and Social Sciences. All submissions are sent anonymously to faculty reviewers in related fields and are judged based on a rubric.

Awards in each category are: first place: $350; second place: $200; and honorable

By Kathy Johnson

(Feb. 5, 2016) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell. Today, guest host Chase Cavanaugh speaks with Huajing Maske, director of the University of Kentucky's Confucius Institute, which offers programs on Chinese language and culture. 

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/uk-perspectives-look-confucius-institute.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

By Lauren Henrickson

(Feb. 5, 2016) — To kick off the Year of the Monkey, the University of Kentucky Confucius Institute (UKCI) is hosting its inaugural Chinese New Year Dinner Celebration. The event will take place 5-7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 8, at the Hilary J. Boone Center.

Open to UK faculty and staff, guests will enjoy a delicious Chinese dinner, a performance of Chinese culture and learn more about how UKCI works to fulfill both its core mission and the mission of the university.

"This is our first annual Chinese New Year Dinner Celebration at the Boone Center. We are very excited and hope to take this opportunity to celebrate diversity on campus, as well as announce new UKCI

By Jay Blanton

(Feb. 4, 2016) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto has formed a broad-based committee to recommend a long-term resolution for a mural in UK's Memorial Hall that has sparked dialogue across the campus.

The Mural Committee is co-chaired by Melynda Price, a professor of law and director of the African American and Africana Studies Program at UK, and Terry Allen, interim vice president for institutional diversity.

"I have asked these dedicated members of our campus and broader community to move expeditiously, but thoughtfully, in recommending a long-term step with respect to the mural,"

By Andrea Gils

(Feb. 3, 2016) — February is the month when students at the University of Kentucky begin solidifying their summer plans. For many, those plans will take them abroad to earn course credit from a UK faculty member, complete an internship or service-learning project with an international business or nonprofit, or maybe even teach English at a school abroad.

With 2016 being a leap year, the UK Education Abroad office is launching the “Leap Day Challenge” to UK students which will begin Feb. 4 at the Spring Expo and end Feb. 29 (leap day).

Students are challenged to attend at least five of 10 events or activities that the UK Education Abroad office has selected, encouraging them consider how education abroad can fit into their four-year

By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(Jan. 29, 2016) — Last night, five writers were honored at the fourth annual induction of the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame held at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in downtown Lexington. Created in 2013, the hall recognizes Kentucky writers whose work reflects the character and culture of the Commonwealth and educates Kentuckians about the state’s rich literary heritage. All of this year's class of inductees have had work published by University Press of Kentucky (UPK) and two are celebrated alumnae of the University of Kentucky.

Hear

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

By Chris Shoals

(Jan. 28, 2016) — Student-athletes from all of Kentucky's fall sports teams combined to earn a total of 81 spots on the Southeastern Conference Fall Academic Honor Roll, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Wednesday.

A total of 1,002 student-athletes were named to the 2015 Fall SEC Academic Honor Roll.

Any student-athlete who participates in a Southeastern Conference championship sport or a student-athlete who participates in a sport listed on his/her institution’s NCAA Sports Sponsorship Form is eligible for nomination to the Academic Honor Roll. The following criteria will be followed: (1) A student-athlete must have a grade point average of 3.00 or above for either the preceding academic year (two semesters or three quarters) or have a cumulative grade point average of 3.00 or above at the nominating institution. (2

By Whitney Hale, Jacob Smith

(Jan. 28, 2016) — The Bluegrass community is invited to ring in the Year of the Monkey this weekend with the University of Kentucky Confucius Institute and the Kentucky Chinese American Association (KYCAA). The Chinese New Year celebration featuring Chinese food, art, crafts, displays and performances will fill the Lexington Opera House on Saturday, Jan. 30.

The Chinese New Year program will begin with a holiday market including festival foods, crafts, traditional costumes, calligraphy, mini-Chinese lectures

By Marc C. Whitt

(Jan. 27, 2016) — Eight academic initiatives at the University of Kentucky have been cumulatively awarded $243,035 by the UK Women & Philanthropy Network, an organization committed to bringing together women who “share the ambition of building a better UK” through philanthropy, announced Paula Pope, director of special projects in the UK Office of Philanthropy.

“The selected proposals for 2015 were excellent as the membership found them to demonstrate creativity, innovation and a commitment to student success,” Pope said. “2015 marked a record year for the Women & Philanthropy Network as it awarded nearly $244,000 for academic grants. We are most grateful to this organization’s leaders and members for their commitment to UK’s students and their

By Zada Komara

(Jan. 25, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies Program, and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community are now accepting abstracts for the 2016 UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase. 

The symposium features diverse undergraduate and graduate student research, performances, art, and other projects from across the Appalachian region. Work must be original, produced within the past three years, and related to Appalachia. This year’s symposium theme is "Difference and Affinity: Representing Appalachia,"

By Blair Hoover, Austin Hughes

(Jan. 21, 2016) — University of Kentucky Education Abroad (UK EA) is proud to host its Spring Expo from 3 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 4 in The Hub of the William T. Young Library. This event is open to all students and faculty who are interested in learning more about education abroad at the UK.

The Spring Expo will offer students the chance to explore all facets of UK EA, including study, research, intern, service and teach abroad. This will allow students to easily identify programs that will help them meet their academic or professional goals. In addition to these informational resources, students will be able to enjoy free food and prizes.

“The Education Abroad Expo showcases a variety of international opportunities available to UK students, from faculty-directed programs to internships abroad,” said Miko

By Dara Vance

Kenneth Adams is about to embark on the adventure of a lifetime.  After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Kentucky, he will spend 27 months as a Peace Corps volunteer in Zambia.   He is not sure what his living situation will be, he has no set daily routine, and his access to electricity and the internet will be intermittent at best – but Kenny says he is prepared for the experience. 

Kenny will be working in the Peace Corps organization, Rural Aquaculture Promotion (RAP) that focuses on tilapia farming.  Adams grew up on a dairy farm in Grayson County, Kentucky, but is unfamiliar with aquaculture.  He will most likely be working as a representative of the Zambian government to assist farmers with everything from applying for funding to maintaining existing tilapia farms. “I will get three

In January 2016, Dr. Theodore M. Way will have been teaching at the Center for English as a Second Language (CESL) at the University of Kentucky for four years. Before working at CESL, he worked as a Refugee Resettlement Case Manager for Africa and the Middle East for the International Rescue Committee in Oakland and in San Francisco, California. Driven by the ongoing crisis in Syria and by the recent tragedy in Paris, France (among others), Dr. Way wrote an Op-Ed piece for the Lexington Herald Leader which was published on December 6, 2016. To read the full article, "Refugees Have Suffered Enough", please click here<http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/op-ed/article48051810.html>.

Dr. Way has taught English as a Second Language (ESL) not only here at the University of Kentucky, but in

By Weston Loyd, Whitney Harder

(Jan. 19, 2016) — Catherine Linnen, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Biology, has been awarded a three-year, $468,527 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Institute of Food and Agriculture.

The grant will fund her project, "Comparative Genomics of Specialization: The Genetic Basis of Interspecific Variation in Pine Use in Neodiprion Sawflies."

"The purpose of the research is to increase the understanding of how insects come to prefer or avoid different plant species," Linnen explained. "To a large extent, an insect's willingness to feed on a new host plant is determined by its perception of and response to chemical compounds found in

By Whitney Hale

(Jan. 19, 2016) — Claire K. Oldfather, a University of Kentucky classics and folklore and mythology senior from Madison, Alabama, has been selected to present the 22nd annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 21, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Oldfather's free public lecture focuses on the evolution of the Pandora motif and how woman has gone from being characterized as wondrous to a witch.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK

By Gail Hairston

(Jan. 15, 2016) — A team of faculty from across campus have developed an initial proposal to create a University of Kentucky Center for Equality and Social Justice. 

Inspired and led by psychology Associate Professor Chrisitia Spears Brown with Robert E. Harding Jr. Professor of Law Melynda J. Price, the goal of the center is to create a space on campus to explore issues of equality and social justice from multiple perspectives, disciplines and research traditions. 

The genesis of the center comes at a time when institutions across the country are debating issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.

At UK, those conversations are taking place

Dr. Alan J. DeYoung, professor in the College of Arts & Sciences Department of Sociology and professor of Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation in the College of Education, has been selected by the US Department of State and the International University for the Humanities and Development (IUHD) in Turkmenistan to serve as Fulbright Specialist in the spring 2016 semester. This project is coordinated by the U.S. Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. Dr. DeYoung will work with local university staff on the continued development of their specialization in sociology by reviewing their new curriculum and giving lectures to students of that department as a visiting speaker. 

IUHD is a new educational institution, which started offering its 14 different majors with English as the medium of instruction this academic year. DeYoung will also work with the teaching staff of