By Addison Cave

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Second Lt. Ryan Millard knew the University of Kentucky would take him places – just not quite so high. Millard, a recent December 2020 graduate, is the first University of Kentucky student to be commissioned directly into the U.S. Space Force.

“I want to be on the leading edge of technology, and that is exactly what the U.S. Space Force is allowing me to do,” Millard said.

Millard had always had the thought of joining the military. Both of his uncles served in the U.S. Navy and when his high school graduation neared, he was prompted to make important decision regarding his future. Joining the military was always a thought in the back of his mind, and at UK he got to act on his idea. With scholarship support from the Air Force ROTC program, Millard found doors were opened to a number of opportunities. Millard chose to embark on

Note: Photo is courtesy of Katie Kelley of the Hazard Herald. Photo shows Gurney Norman with Mandi Fugate Sheffel.

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Gurney Norman received an unusual honor of late when a Kentucky town named an affordable-housing development after him. 

Norman, professor of English in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, was named Poet Laureate for the Commonwealth of Kentucky 2009 and is known for such works as “Kinfolks: The Wilgus Stories” and “Divine Right’s Trip: A Folk-Tale.” His most recent book, “Allegiance: Stories,” is due out in the summer of 2021 in hardcover from Old Cove Press, distributed by Ohio University Press. 

And now he's the namesake of Gurney’s Bend outside Hazard, Kentucky. 

Work on the 15-house

By Akhira Umar

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 20, 2021) — Leaning into his excitement to showcase “America and her people,” one University of Kentucky  alumnus has graduated from the Big Blue Nation to the big screen.

Academy Award and Emmy Award winning filmmaker Paul Wagner, who earned a master’s in communication in 1972 from the College of Communication and Information and a bachelor's in English in 1970 from the College of Arts & Sciences, has produced and directed more than 40 films in his over 40-year career. His affinity for film, however, arose not from a specific passion but from a general interest in communication.

Growing up, Wagner wasn’t always the best student, until he started UK 's master’s program in communication. The atmosphere of respectable faculty and likable peers

His father’s terrible workplace injury started Anthony Jones on a path that led him to UK, the Truman Scholarship, the U.S. Department of Labor and now to the drug policy arm of the the White House. Read how Jones got the boost he needed from UK’s Political Science Department.

By Julie Wrinn

When Anthony Jones enrolled at the University of Kentucky at 18, he was already on a mission: He wanted to become a labor lawyer and help people who experienced workplace injustices, because his father had lost a hand in a workplace incident at a manufacturing plant in Paducah.

“I wouldn’t call it an accident because it was a dangerous condition that his employer knew about but failed to fix,” Jones said. “As a result, my dad’s hand was completely severed at the wrist. Seeing what my dad went through made me want to go to law school so I could be a lawyer and help

By Todd Stoltzfus

The University of Kentucky has named College of Arts & Sciences junior Lauren Hudson Intern of the Year. Hudson, a neuroscience and biology dual major from Edgewood, Kentucky, was honored for her internship work with Nathan Vanderford, assistant director for research at the Markey Cancer Center and assistant professor in the College of Medicine's Department of Toxicology and Cancer Biology.

Hudson’s internship with Vanderford focused on cancer research. Since 2020, Hudson has published seven peer-reviewed journal articles, four as first author. She also co-edited a book, "The Cancer Crisis in Appalachia: Kentucky Students take ACTION" (2020), with Vanderford and has participated in several cancer research presentations. 

“I am not aware of any other undergraduate

By Danielle Donham

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 17, 2021) ­— The University of Kentucky honored two winners for the Otis A. Singletary Outstanding Senior Award, Auburn Mattingly and Ngoc Phan, and two finalists, Lily Hurt and Courtney Wheeler, along with many other students and staff members during the hybrid Lead Blue: Student Organizations Celebration and Award Ceremony on April 28.

The Otis A. Singletary Outstanding Senior Award was established in 1978 as the first award recognizing overall student leadership at UK. The award is named after former University of Kentucky President Otis A. Singletary.

Students nominated for this award have displayed outstanding leadership while attending the University of Kentucky, made significant contributions to academics and are dedicated to service through

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2021) — Per University of Kentucky tradition, UK President Eli Capilouto has selected student representatives to speak at the UK Commencement Ceremonies May 14-16, at Rupp Arena. 

Five speakers were selected. Each speaker will address two of the 10 ceremonies. Given limitations on the number of people allowed on the stage, the speeches will be pre-recorded. One is a College of Arts & Sciences major, and two have minors in the College. 

Among them is Bilal Shaikh. Shaikh, from Louisville, Kentucky, is graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science from the UK College of Arts and Sciences, and a minor in biology. He is also a student

By C. Lynn Hiler and Savina Williams

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2021) — The University of Kentucky chapter of Phi Beta Kappa inducted 19 new members into the prestigious academic honor society. This year’s induction ceremony was held virtually Thursday, April 15, 2021. 

“I want to congratulate all of our students who are being honored here today for their hard work, their grit, their determination and continuing to maintain the highest standards in their coursework and their campus engagement, even under these extraordinary circumstances,” said Anna Bosch, chapter president, associate dean for undergraduate programs in the College of Arts and Sciences and professor of linguistics, during the induction ceremony. “All of

By Emily Sallee

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2021) —  Kayden Jenson has received a 2021 Boren Fellowship to study Turkish. Jenson is pursuing joint degrees in law and diplomacy and international commerce through the Rosenberg College of Law and the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.

The Boren Awards fund up to $25,000 for undergraduates and graduate students to support language study, research and study abroad in world regions critical to U.S. interests. Jenson’s award is part of the Turkish Flagship Language Initiative (TURFLI), which funds a summer

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2021) — The University of Kentucky’s Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) recently announced the recipients of its first Equity Changemaker Award for Graduate Students, Professional Students and Postdoctoral Scholars and Undergraduate Essay Competition. The two new awards honor UK scholars who are advancing health equity. 

The Equity Changemaker Award recognizes research by UK postdoctoral scholars, graduate and professional students. The award honors scholars whose research seeks to

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – The University of Kentucky’s Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps Detachment 290 commissioned 15 students May 13 in the Gatton Student Center Ballroom. The detachment is part of UK’s College of Arts & Sciences. Photos of the event can be found here. 

“Our mission is to develop exceptional leaders of character for tomorrow's Air and Space Force,” said Lt. Col. Richard K. Harrop, commander of the UK detachment. “At the University of Kentucky, Detachment 290 it is important we develop stronger leaders for tomorrow while strengthening our bonds through teamwork and camaraderie. This commissioning class of second lieutenants will drive future innovations, strengthen alliances, and lead the world's most

By Carl Nathe and Kody Kiser

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 11, 2021) — Four decades ago, Northern Ireland native Jonathan Allison earned an exchange scholarship to pursue graduate study in the United States.

His original plan was to earn a master’s degree then return to his homeland to resume his career of teaching literature and poetry to high school students. Instead he wound up earning a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan and decided to become a college professor in America.

It became the good fortune of the University of Kentucky to hire Allison to join the faculty of the Department of English in the College of Arts and Sciences in 1988. He’s been at UK ever since and currently serves as chair of this esteemed department.

As a 6th grade student in his hometown of Greencastle, Indiana, Jack Steele realized that his life ambition was to be a chemist and, when time came to go to college, he pursued a BA in chemistry at DePauw University. Jack worked on electrochemistry with Prof. Eugene Schwartz at DePauw the summer of 1964 after getting his BA. Following his work at DePauw, Jack opted to pursue a Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky. He had a great appreciation for Prof. Donald H. Williams who directed his graduate research at UK. While he considers himself a coordination chemist, his coursework and research reflected broad interests – from electrochemistry to biochemistry. Dr. Steele has said that Professors Don Sands and Joe Wilson of UK Chemistry were “without a doubt” the best teachers he ever had. 

After receiving his doctoral degree in 1968, Dr. Steele accepted a postdoctoral

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Disparities in Appalachian property tax assessments – and the inability of counties to raise them because of a Kentucky law – has drawn the ire of Michelle Starkey, who delved into the subject with all the passion an undergraduate history major could muster.

The resulting essay, “Bleeding Eastern Kentucky,” received the first Ireland Paper Prize in History at the University of Kentucky. The award, from the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences, carries a $10,000 prize.

The prize honors Robert M. Ireland, a retired UK history faculty member who taught at UK for 41 years. Wm. Joseph Foran, a UK alumnus who was a student of Ireland’s, established the award to encourage and reward outstanding historical research and writing by history students.

Although Starkey, who graduated as a history major in

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 10, 2021) — It’s 3 p.m. in Lexington, and class is in session for the 19 students enrolled in the ANT 536: Global Appalachia course taught by Professor Ann Kingsolver.

Meanwhile, it’s 8:30 p.m. across the Atlantic in County Kildare, Ireland, where Chandana Mathur, a professor at Maynooth University, began her own course. A few moments — and a few clicks later — students in Lexington and in Ireland are connected.

Through the innovation of Zoom, a rich exchange ensued around the politics of water.

Kingsolver, a professor in the Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences, regularly intertwines her own courses with

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Brad Nally

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 7, 2021) — If you ask Matthew Farmer what inspired him to pursue a degree in chemistry, his answer is simple:

“My childhood.”

Farmer, from Harlan, Kentucky, would often play outside as a child, exploring his surroundings and observing how things worked in nature. For him, it wasn’t enough to be told that something “just happens” — he had to know the mechanisms behind why it happened.

“I became interested in chemistry because it deals with the minutia of how things interact with other things, and also themselves,” Farmer said. “Chemistry is the best way to explain how things happen at the ground level, and then work your way up.”

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 10, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that 10 students and recent graduates have been selected to receive government-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. In addition, a UK doctoral student and four alumni received honorable mention recognition from the NSF. Among them were several College of Arts & Sciences students.

As part of the five-year fellowship, NSF Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees for a research-based master's or doctoral degree in a STEM (science, technology

By Alicia Gregory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 4, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees at a May 4 meeting announced that two College of Arts & Sciences faculty members have received University Research Professorship Awards.  These awards recognize excellence in research and creative work that addresses scientific, social, cultural, economic and health challenges in our region and around the world.

The faculty members are Anne-Frances Miller, professor of chemistry and biochemistry; and Carol Mason, professor of Gender and Women's Studies and English.

The University Research Professorships were established by the UK Board of Trustees in 1976 to recognize outstanding

By Susan West and Danielle Donham

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 4, 2021) ­— The University of Kentucky Beta Iota Chapter of the national leadership honor society Order of Omega inducted its largest class with 59 new members Sunday, April 18. Order of Omega recognizes juniors and seniors who have attained a high standard of leadership within the fraternity and sorority community.

Membership selection is usually conducted each semester, but no more than 3% of the total number of enrolled full-time fraternity and sorority undergraduates may be initiated into membership in any one year. The Beta Iota Chapter was established at the University of Kentucky March 28, 1978.

“This year, Order of Omega has expanded as an organization

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Usually one part of a semester is sure to bring happiness to students: the end. But in one University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences class, students are learning tools – backed by real science -- that will help them cultivate happiness throughout their academic year and even beyond. In fact, the class’s professor, Shannon Sauer-Zavala, wants her students to use the course material to find their own happy places.  

“I feel like every single thing that we learned about in my class, I have been trying to attempt in my own life,” said Sohayla Elhusseini, a senior psychology major from Lexington who’s taking the class this spring. “That’s definitely encouraged by Shannon as well.” 

The class where