by Keith Hautala

(June 3, 2014) — The University of Kentucky has been awarded a $1.9 million grant to improve retention of students in the STEM disciplines: science, technology, engineering and mathematics, through a collection of initiatives dubbed "STEMCats."

UK is one of 37 research institutions selected by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) to receive an award, from among 170 institutions competing for a share of $60 million in total funding. The five-year awards, ranging from $1.2 to $2.4 million, are intended to enable schools to focus on "significant and sustained improvement in retaining students" in the STEM disciplines.

Although the need for STEM graduates is growing nationally, fewer than half of all students who enter college with the intention of

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

This story originally ran in the Herald-Leader on Saturday, May 31, and appears courtesy of Linda Blackford and the Lexington Herald-Leader.

by Linda Blackford

In 1976, Geoffrey Manley dropped out of Lafayette High School. He was only a sophomore, but money was tight and he felt like he needed to help support his mom and brother. He'd always enjoyed working with his hands, so he got a job as an auto mechanic at a Texaco station in Gardenside.

"No one in my family had gone to college, so growing up in Lexington, I don't think there was an expectation for me to go to college," Manley, now 53, said recently. "My mom was a single mom and there was a lot of financial burden on our family. I felt a need to go out there and make some money."

He began to

by Jenny Wells and Whitney Hale

(May 30, 2014) — Before embarking on a two-week tour of China, the University of Kentucky’s Jazz Ensemble will take a Bluegrass stage to present a preview concert of music they plan to perform on tour. The free public concert will begin 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 2, at the Singletary Center for the Arts.

The concert, featuring everything from big band swing music to more contemporary jazz performed by the UK Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Miles Osland, is designed to showcase the tremendous breadth of the American art form for Chinese audiences, who have become major fans of the genre but rarely get to hear live American performances. 

by Gail Hairston

(May 28, 2014) — Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker was recently honored by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) as the recipient of the 2014 Honor Book for Poetry for his “Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers: Poems.” The 2014 BCALA Literary Awards recognize excellence in adult fiction and nonfiction by African-American authors published in 2013.

“This honor is extra special to me because of the reverence I have for libraries and librarians,” Walker said. “When I was a kid I wanted to grow up and drive the bookmobile. Recently, the Boyle County Public Library made my dream come true.

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

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.

by Kathy Johnson

(May 23, 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 Diane Follingstad, new director of UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women.

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 Gail Hairston

(May 21, 2014) -- Today’s maps aren’t the finite, two-dimensional, frustrating-to-fold piece of paper you or (if you are younger than 30) your parents tucked behind the sun visor of the family car. Today, a map of virtually anywhere on the planet can be accessed by one’s smart phone or even the computer installed in your car’s console.

Today’s geographers and their research are just as different as their predecessors’ paper maps. Their work is conducted totally in cyberspace and it has provided insightful snapshots of our world. 

One young University of Kentucky research team led by geography professor Matthew Zook spent more than two years collecting and analyzing 6.5 billion globally geotagged tweets (messages with a location specified by the sender or by GPS), and remarkable pictures of our world, its people and cultures

(May 15, 2014) — From the first day of their lives, most of us treat boys and girls differently. Those differences begin with a pink versus blue nursery, clothes with laces rather than ribbons, sports equipment or dance lessons, and on and on right through to “manly” careers versus “feminine” jobs.

Across the country, devoted parents routinely treat boys and girls differently because their parents, sundry child rearing experts and psychiatrists, and ultimately all of society has taught us to believe that boys and girls are fundamentally and radically different. But what if we are all wrong? What if treating boys like boys and girls like girls is not a good approach to bringing out the best in every child?

In “Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue: How to Raise Your Kids

By Brian Connors Manke

Nathan Moore was recently interviewed for an A&S podcast about his experiences with the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute. Listen here, and read the story below.

Originally from Indianapolis, Nathan Moore and his mother moved to Louisville when he was around 12. Growing up on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line, Moore is somewhat conflicted as northern southerner, or is that southern northerner?

Regardless, one direction that Moore is certainly moving is up. The UK Junior was recently named a fellow for the Schomburg-Mellon Humanities Summer Institute in New York City, and as one of only 10 recipients to be bestowed that honor, it is helping to further define who Nathan Moore is

by Robbie Clark

(May 12, 2014) — Fresh fruit and vegetables will soon be available on the University of Kentucky campus again as producers from the Lexington Farmers’ Market set up shop at Commonwealth Stadium once a week through the growing season.

This will be the third season for the program, called Lexington Farmers’ Market @ UK. The market will run from 3-6 p.m. every Wednesday from May 14 through Aug.13, rain or shine, at the corner of Alumni Drive and University Drive.

Along with fresh fruit and vegetables, farmers will have other farm products including meats, eggs, honey, and jams and jellies available for purchase.

The market, a partnership between UK Health and Wellness and the

by Will Kindred

(May 8, 2014) — After an outstanding career with the University of Kentucky rifle team, Emily Holsopple has been awarded a $7,500 part-time or full-time postgraduate scholarship at a university or professional school by the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Committee.  

"It's a great honor to receive this scholarship and I owe thanks to many people for helping me along the way," Holsopple said. "I truly appreciate Mr. (Mitch) Barnhart nominating me for the scholarship, as well as Mr. (Joe) Sharpe and Robin Cooper (UK biology professor), for helping me throughout the application process, and, of course, I am thankful for all that Coach (Harry) Mullins has done for me over these past four years."

Majoring in biology with a minor in neuroscience, Holsopple boasts an impressive 3.491 GPA. The senior has been recognized academically by

by Keith Hautala, Ashley Tabb

(May 2, 2014) — Ricoh USA, the contracted print vendor for the University of Kentucky, hosted a video contest this semester offering current UK students a chance to win one of four $5,000 scholarships for the 2014-15 academic year. Entrants were asked to create a short video on the theme “see blue. print green.”

The videos were judged by various staff members from Ricoh, UK Purchasing, UK Admissions and Registrar, UK Analytics and Technologies, and the UK Sustainability Office. Ricoh representatives said they appreciated the judges' taking time to view and rate each entry, and they were impressed by the number of students who created and submitted a video.

The winners and their videos are described below. The judges also selected two honorable mentions. 

Kendra Sanders, topical major, College of Arts

WAMC Northeast Public Radio Station recently featured UK Appalachian Center’s new project “Las Voces de los Apalaches.” Anne Kingsolver—Director of the Appalachian Center—and Pedro Martínez—project leader were interviewed by Celeste Headlee.

Kingsolver and Martínez talk about how “Las Voces de los Apalaches” started as a project that sought to create awareness and increase knowledge about the Appalachia region. The common conception that Appalachia is full of poor-whites is mistaken, there are different ethnic groups living in Appalachia that have been silenced over the years. “Las Voces de los Apalaches” is a platform that will allow different cultures to share their experiences and their lifestyales in the Appalachia.

One group that has greatly grown since the early 2000s is the Latino community. Over 4% of people living in the Appalachia region identify themselves as

by Whitney Hale

(May 5, 2014) — Undergraduate students who participated in the National Science Foundation-funded Systems Thinking for Sustainability (NSF-STFS) course at the University of Kentucky will present their research findings in a showcase from 10:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 6, in the Lexmark Public Room in UK's Main Building. This project showcase, which is free and open to the public, will display the range of multivalent viewpoints, issues investigated, and potential solutions discovered over the course of the spring 2014 semester.

This is the third year of the curriculum development and the first year including a group of students from Texas A&M University, which were exposed to

by Whitney Haley

(May 5, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships has announced two UK students will study critical languages on scholarship in 2014-15.

Cassidy Henry, a graduate student at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce from Navarre, Fla., has been awarded a National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship of up to $30,000 to study Russian in Irkutsk and Vladivostok, Russia. Henry is one of 106 graduate student award winners selected nationally from a pool of 497 applicants.

Samuel Northrup, a 

 by Sarah Geegan

(May 1, 2014) – Provost Christine Riordan will honor three tenured faculty members, two lecturers and six teaching assistants today at the 2014 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony. The ceremony will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Lexmark Public Room.

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

Winners receive cash prizes of $5,000 for regular and special title series faculty, $3,000 for lecturer and clinical title series, and $1,000 for teaching assistants.

The Category One Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series

by Gail Hairston

(April 29, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recently announced the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women.

The office’s purpose is to shape the creation, implementation and evaluation of public policy as it relates to intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking. Specifically, the office will work to enhance direct services to victims, legal response and legislative reform related to violence against women through policy research and analysis, and empirically driven advocacy and practice.

“The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women is a creative opportunity to weave together the interests of several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences with the policy expertise the office affords,” said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The

by Whitney Hale

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference (KWWC) will offer cash prizes and other benefits in writing contests and scholarships again this year, each with a postmark deadline of June 2. The deadline is one month earlier than prior years in order to allow winners more time to make appropriate travel plans. 

Now in its 36th year, the KWWC  is an annual event known for bringing notable women writers to Lexington for readings, writing workshops and discussions. A program housed in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, the conference is made possible in part by continued community partnerships, including its primary venue, the