By Sarah Schuetze

When Virginia Conn was growing up in LaGrange, Ky., the opening of the town’s first Chinese restaurant warranted a school field trip for lunch. At that time, LaGrange was still growing, and it didn’t offer Conn much exposure to different cultures or people. Through reading, however, Conn’s passion for language and culture began to grow.

This fall, Conn took a new step in pursuing this passion as a graduate student in the Comparative Literature Department at Rutgers University. She hopes her degree will allow her to live and work in different countries, “never settling for too long in any one place,” and it’s that process of adapting that interests Conn.

As an English

Hard work pays off! Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and families from around Kentucky gathered Friday, September 26, to celebrate students who excelled in their studies. Five GWS majors made the Dean’s List and were honored at a bountiful reception in the Ballroom of the Student Center. They were: Rebecca Moore; Alexandra Adams; Andrea Marie Stephenson; Destiny Simone Commodore; and Rockia Kiara Harris.

“We are so proud of our Dean’s List students,” said GWS director of undergraduate studies, Carol Mason, at the reception. “Our majors cultivate a truly interdisciplinary perspective and are encouraged to think through a variety of theoretical frameworks, different methodologies, and texts from both the humanities and social sciences. When they make the Dean’s List, they prove they are well-rounded thinkers.”

Alex Adams, a senior, said she attended

by Keith Hautala

(Oct. 1, 2014) — Helen Blau, director of Stanford University's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, will deliver the sixth annual Thomas Hunt Morgan Lecture, presented by the University of Kentucky Department of Biology. 

Blau's lecture, titled "Reprogramming Stem Cell Fate and Function," will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Room 116 of the Thomas Hunt Morgan Building. Blau will give a second talk, "Extended Healthspan Through Regenerative Medicine," at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.  

Blau’s research is focused on the regulation of cell fate. In the 1980s her lab challenged and changed the dogma that the mammalian

by Whitney Hale

(Oct. 1, 2014) – The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is now accepting scripts by women for its 2015 Prize for Women Playwrights, which awards a $500 cash prize and a full theatrical production to the winner. Actors Guild of Lexington will produce the winning script as a world premiere in summer 2015, and playwright Carson Kreitzer will serve as judge.

The submission deadline for the 2015 Prize for Women Playwrights is Nov. 1, and a winner will be announced on Feb. 20, 2015. Scripts must be

By Guy Spriggs

With sea levels rising, will coastal land along the northern Gulf of Mexico naturally build itself up enough to combat the loss of its coastline? As the coastline continues to disappear, where will the rate of loss be worst?

When did pollution in Maine’s Penobscot River begin? Is the polluted material being introduced into our food chain? Are new laws helping reduce the pollution level?

If we wanted to answer these important questions, where would we turn?

These questions – and many more – can be solved by the unique equipment and skilled researchers working in Kevin Yeager’s Sedimentary, Environmental and Radiochemical Research Laboratory (SER2L) at the University of Kentucky.

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

by Whitney Hale

(Sept. 25, 2014) — From Affrilachia to fiddles, the next two performances in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series are sure to entertain. On Friday, Sept. 26, celebrated folk duo Sparky and Rhonda Rucker will perform. The next Friday, Oct. 2, Letcher County's only female fiddle duo, the SkiPdiPPerS, will appear. Both free public concerts will take place at noon at the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

A Folk Concert with Some Spark

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform "Which

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 24, 2014) — Students from across the University of Kentucky have a new opportunity to work for the well-being of children in the 54 Appalachian counties of Kentucky, in the "UK Tomorrow Corps," a service initiative being launched by the UK Appalachian Center.  

The UK Tomorrow Corps program will provide summer employment and professional support for UK students tutoring K-12 students in math and literacy skills, in partnership with local libraries, public schools, and community organizations. The initiative is intended to help young residents of Appalachia gain and retain skills through the summer and work toward their long-term educational goals.

Participants can be from any major and will receive training throughout

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 24, 2014) — The first English translation of the entire Suda lexicon, a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia, is complete after more than 16 years of collaborative, volunteer-driven work by a diverse group of scholars, including key contributors from the University of Kentucky. 

The translation, as well as the first continuous commentary on the Suda's contents in any language, is now searchable and browsable through the Suda On Line (SOL) database. Conceived in 1998, the project grew to comprise more than 31,000 entries, through the contributions of more than 200 volunteers. 

The project was groundbreaking in more ways than one, providing a new model of open, participatory scholarship. The project organizers state:

"From the beginning, the idea

by Abigall Shipp

(Sept. 23, 2014) — Chinese involvement in Africa and female drug dealers in Chinese prisons are the topics of this fall’s Distinguished Scholar Series, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Confucius Institute (UKCI).

Ching Kwan Lee, a sociology professor at University of California, Los Angeles, launches the series with “The Specter of Global China: Contesting the Power and Peril of Chinese State Capital in Zambia,” which explores China’s role in copper and construction in Zambia.

Sheldon Zhang, a sociology professor at San Diego State University follows

by Sarah Schuetze

Subway cards. Receipts from a West End theater. A pamphlet from Mary Arden’s farm in Stratford-upon-Avon. Artifacts of summer travel that University of Kentucky’s Kelsey Potter, a junior majoring in English and integrated strategic communication, found in her raincoat pockets the first rainy week of the semester.

She hadn’t used the jacket since her three-week stay in London where she participated in the prestigious American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS)

by Whitney Hale

(Sept. 19, 2014) — This weekend, Huajing Maske, executive director of the Office of China Initiatives and director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky, will receive the Amici Linguarum (Friend of Languages) Award given by the Kentucky World Language Association (KWLA). The honor recognizes an individual or organization not directly involved in teaching world languages that has made a significant contribution to the profession.

Maske will be presented with the Amici Linguarum Award at the annual KWLA Awards Luncheon scheduled for

by Mallory Powell

(Sept. 19, 2014) —In recent years there has been growing concern that terrorist threats could involve "agents of opportunity," or materials that are readily available in most communities around the country. An upcoming course, "REAC/TS Training: Radiation Emergency Response - Are You Prepared?" will train public health personnel, emergency management folks, physicians, nurses, and other workers involved with radiological hazards in how to respond to such incidents. The course will be held 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday, Oct. 10, at the UK Chandler Hospital Pavilion A Auditorium. It is provided by the Central Appalachian Regional Education and Research Center (CARERC) in the UK College of Public Health and has been approved for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit.

by Kathy Johnson

(Sept. 19, 2014) — 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's program features UK senior Nathan Moore who spent the past summer in New York as a fellow for the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute. He discusses his experience there and his research into slave narratives and their coded references.

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, click here.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:35 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

 by Diane Comer

(Sept. 17, 2014) – Gov. Steve Beshear has proclaimed September as Kentucky Archaeology Month to commemorate the contributions made through the professional practice of archaeology toward the public’s understanding of – and appreciation for – the Commonwealth’s rich cultural heritage.

The designation also recognizes the success of Living Archaeology Weekend (LAW), Kentucky’s oldest and largest public archaeology event, which has taken place since 1989 in Red River Gorge. The 26th annual free event will be Sept. 19-20 at Gladie Visitor Center.

During Living Archaeology Weekend, hundreds of preregistered school students will take part in demonstrations Friday, Sept. 19, including how to tan

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 17, 2014) — A new program at the University of Kentucky will provide up to $100,000 in internal funding for sustainability projects on campus. 

The UK Sustainability Challenge Grant Program, announced by the President’s Sustainability Committee, is designed to engage multidisciplinary teams from the university community in the creation and implementation of ideas that will simultaneously advance economic vitality, ecological integrity and social equity, now and into the future.  

All members of the university community are encouraged to develop project ideas. Project teams must be led by a faculty or staff member whose home unit/department agrees to manage the dispersal of funds. Student involvement is strongly encouraged. Teams must include representatives from at least two distinct organizational units.

by Jenny Wells

(Sept. 17, 2014) — University of Kentucky Education Abroad (EA) will hold its annual fall fair today from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Center Ballroom.

From A to Z, the Education Abroad Fair showcases every international education opportunity available at the University of Kentucky.  Students will find a range of options, including study, intern, research, teach, and service abroad programs.  In addition, campus offices involved in the education abroad planning process, such as Financial Aid, the Stuckert Career Center and others, will be available to answer questions. 

"To meet the diverse academic needs of UK's study body, we

Video produced by Hive, College of Arts & Sciences Creative and Technical Services

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 15, 2014) — The University of Kentucky is launching the “Pick it Up” campaign this week, urging participation from the entire UK community to help make our campus litter-free. The program was developed by a group of campus partners and is funded by the Office of the Executive Vice President for Finance and Administration.

"The University of Kentucky has one of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the nation," said Eric N. Monday, executive vice president for Finance and Administration. "We hope that Pick it Up will not only help us to preserve the natural beauty of our campus, but also encourage