In 2001, Robert Lipman ’74 established the Research Fund for the Prevention of Drug and Alcohol Abuse within the UK Department of Psychology to support graduate students studying alcohol abuse treatment and prevention. In 2017, he expanded his support with the Robert S. Lipman Graduate Fellowships in the Department of Psychology and the Robert S. Lipman Graduate Fellowships in the Department of History. Thanks to the Robert’s generosity, over 50 graduate students have received critical funding that has accelerated their progress to completing their degrees. Moreover, these fellowships have been instrumental in attracting talented graduate students, fostering impactful research contributions, and nurturing the next generation of scholars.
Support for the Department of History
“Robert Lipman’s generous contributions have allowed me to succeed academically and further develop as a scholar. I am on track with completing my required coursework and achieved a 4.0 GPA during my first semester, and I am currently progressing toward developing my research agenda. As a Lipman Fellow, I have also had the opportunity to participate in campus initiatives and events. I am a mentor in the Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives’ Start-to-Finish Mentorship Program, which allows me to contribute meaningfully on campus. I also frequently attend departmental and Graduate School professional development workshops, contributing to my scholarly development. My success and involvement are made possible by the funding that I receive through the fellowship.”
Kayla Heard
Lipman Fellow in History
“The History Department’s graduate program began conferring PhD degrees in 1931 and M.A. degrees more than ten years prior to that date. The department continues to be a leader in producing researchers and scholars in U.S. History and European History. Recently, the department has carved out new fields of expertise in the history Appalachia and Africana History. While we continue to attract interest in our program, graduate recruitment and training has become more costly. In addition, the rising cost of living presents significant challenges for graduate students to support themselves during this critical time in their education. The Lipman Fellowship provides the department with critical resources to supplement teaching assistantship stipends. Robert Lipman’s generosity enables us to remain competitive with other national History programs. This fellowship enables us to recruit top students and to fulfill the department’s goal of providing exceptional graduate training in History so that they will be competitive on the national and regional job market, without having to take out student loans. The cohort of Lipman Fellows recognize the importance of the award for allowing them to concentrate on making progress in their program. The department values the award for helping us to recruit better students which makes for a more robust, collegial, and rigorous graduate program. The Lipman Fellowship is an essential component of History graduate training at the University of Kentucky.”
Dr. Hilary Jones
Associate Professor of History and African American and Africana Studies and Director of Graduate Studies
Department of History
Lipman Graduate Fellowships in History
Support for the Department of Psychology
“The Lipman Graduate Fellowship in Psychology Fund was used to support my graduate student Koby Shaykin in data collection for completion of his master’s thesis. Using laboratory rats, he was able to show that exposure to alcohol during adolescence has detrimental effects on drinking in adulthood. We are delighted to acknowledge Mr. Lipman’s generosity! Beyond the direct effect on Koby being able to complete his master’s thesis, thanks to this fund and the Research Fund for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Abuse, the research portfolio in the department has been enhanced significantly in the alcohol field. In particular, since the funds were made available, the department has been able to secure an external training grant for graduate students from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). The Lipman funds were leveraged with this federal agency to demonstrate the support we have generated in the alcohol field and it is helping us train the next generation of alcohol researchers."
Dr. Michael T. Bardo
University Research Professor and Director of Graduate Studies
Department of Psychology