LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 11, 2020) — Most choose to attend college to earn an education — hoping they will gain knowledge to prepare them for the pursuit of a career. But the path to a degree can unlock more than job opportunities.

Just ask Chris Gorman.

It was fall of 1961, and the University of Kentucky freshman was eager to embark on his six-year plan — a fast-track strategy that would allow him to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree by the age of 24. 

“By nature, I’m a very social person,” he said. “To go from a small elementary school and high school to a major university was like putting a kid in a candy shop.”

Gorman referred to himself as a “bright-eyed kid,” but he was prepared to

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2020) — The Kentucky-West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation, spearheaded by the University of Kentucky, has named nine of its first cohort of Bridge to the Doctorate fellows. Among them are three doctoral students in the College of Arts & Sciences.

The program supports a total of 12 graduate students from underrepresented populations who are pursuing degrees in science, technology, engineering and math disciplines at UK.

Each fellow will receive a $32,000-a -year stipend as well as support for cost of education for two years through the grant. Fellows will receive coaching, academic and community support, professional development, and access to opportunities for

By Richard LeComte

Janice Fernheimer has been interested in archives, since she first set foot in one as an undergraduate English major at the University of Maryland. Her current projects build archives that highlight the influence of minorities in Kentucky’s history.

For her contributions to the archival profession, she has received the Midwest Archives Conference President’s Award for 2020.

“I am very honored that the interdisciplinary, highly collaborative work of building the oral history project has been recognized for its significant contributions to pedagogic innovation, archive building and stewarding,  and community engagement,” said Fernheimer, Zantker Professor and director of the Jewish Studies Program in UK’s College of

By Titus W. Chalk

Pulitzer-prize winning poet Paul Muldoon and author Kiese Laymon, whose memoir Heavy won the 2019 Andrew Carnegie medal for nonfiction, are featured in this year’s University of Kentucky Visiting Writers Series, which will be held online. Laymon will be reading alongside distinguished writers Cinelle Barnes, Minda Honey and UK alumna Joy Priest.

The English Department’s MFA in Creative Writing in the College of Arts & Sciences sponsors the series. Given the health risks associated with live readings, organizers are taking this mainstay of campus literary life online.

“This shows our determination to continue the high calibre and diverse guests our Visiting Writers Series has become known for, in a virtual format,” said Frank X Walker, the new director of Creative Writing. “We’ll also be adding master classes and workshops to

While many find working from home during a global pandemic difficult, others find the change of environment and schedule spurs their creativity. The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities is exploring the of this time on creatives as part of a new video series, “Over Yonder: Conversations with Artists and Scholars on Social Distancing.” “Over Yonder,” which launched on the Gaines Center’s new YouTube channel, features the center’s director, Melynda Price, interviewing Kentucky artists, musicians and scholars on their quarantine experience. As part of the series, Price explores how her guests are working and innovating amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Whitney Hale

Watch the trailer for the 2017 Emmy-nominated documentary "BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez" above.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 7, 2020) — Since the COVID-19 pandemic landed in the United States, organizations have scrambled to maintain their programming while keeping their participants safe and healthy. The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is no different -- it has gone virtual. this year.

Although aspiring writers may not convene in Lexington this fall, they will join online and hear from writers including poet Evie Shockley, author Jami Attenberg, novelist, essayist and filmmaker 

By Lindsey Piercy

As the COVID-19 pandemic persists, children across the country are facing social isolation. With many school districts in the U.S. choosing remote learning, students are likely to consume more mass media.

You might be wondering, should parents be concerned?

“Media images will outnumber — and may outweigh — real-life interactions with children their own age,” Christia Spears Brown, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, said. “Though boys and girls consume the same amount of media, that extra dose of media exposure may have very different consequences — slowing down ongoing progress toward gender equality.”

Spears Brown

By Richard LeComte

Cagney Coomer has three big achievements under her belt:  She earned a doctorate in Biology from the University of Kentucky in the College of Arts & Sciences; she started a nonprofit to encourage kids to pursue science and technology; and her research unlocked the secrets of two genes in the eye – the subject of her dissertation.  

“I studied two genes that had been studied in other organs but their function in the retina was unknown,” said Coomer, who defended her work in July. “I found they’re involved in photoreceptor maintenance, survival and regeneration.”

And with that, Coomer advanced humanity’s knowledge of genes and the eye, under the guidance of her dissertation adviser, Ann C. Morris, associate professor of biology.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Dr. Coomer over the past six years,” Morris

By Kody Kiser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2020) — Beginning Aug. 3 and running through Aug. 22, University of Kentucky offered COVID-19 testing on campus for its approximately 30,000 students — undergraduate, graduate and professional — at no cost to students. The idea was to create a baseline for university officials as plans are implemented for ongoing daily screening, contact tracing and other health measures.

In addition, students moving into residence halls on campus are being provided ‘health kits’, containing digital thermometers, sanitizers, masks and other items, in an effort to promote healthy behavior to reduce transmission of the virus and flatten the curve. This behavior includes washing hands, sanitizing common surfaces, and maintaining at least 6

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 20, 2020) — The Kentucky Women Writers Conference – Virtual Edition runs Sept. 10–13, 2020, and is taking place entirely online.

Julie Wrinn, conference directory, recently wrote an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader about how this event will be different in the context of the pandemic and the protests.The conference features writing workshops, readings and panel discussions. General admission is $25, with options for joining a small-group workshop or meeting with an agent for additional fees.

The conference will continue to include several signature free events, taking place at 7 o'clock, though each will

By Jacqueline J. Greene

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Society of Postdoctoral Scholars (SOPS) hosted their first Research Pitch Competition where 19 postdocs and fellows showcased their research with one-minute elevator pitches. Among the winners are Ajoy Aloysius and Kathryn Everson in Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

The competition was a partnership between SOPS and the Office of Technology Commercialization (OTC) with support from the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs (OPA), and sponsored by the UK International Center

By Aimee Imlay, Matthew Wentz, and Adrian Ho

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2020) — The editorial collective of disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory announces the release of its 29th volume, available on the journal's website. The issue focuses on theories of populism and brings together a wide range of perspectives relating to the phenomenon, experience and study of populism.

The recent uptick in populism signals political, economic or social unrest across the globe. This issue presents conversations about the types and origins of populisms; the editors believe that the development and definition of populism is both historically

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2020) — “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”

The words seem simple enough, but when they were ratified by the states 100 years ago, those words reflected the culmination of decades-long efforts by suffragists of all backgrounds.

On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote — marking a monumental moment in history. But suffrage battles continued as women of color remained barred from casting ballots in states with intimidation tactics.

Today, it’s imperative that we — as a society — reflect on the women’s suffrage movement and those who made meaningful contributions. These figures include Laura Clay, who toured

An alumnus of the University of Kentucky’s doctoral program in statistics recently received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

SUNY Oswego mathematics professor Ampalavanar Nanthakumar was recognized for his skills as an educator, dedication to students and contributions to the field of statistics.

“Professor Nanthakumar has excellent communication skills with an impeccable teaching record at SUNY Oswego,” wrote his nominator, Kamal I. Mohamed, a biology professor and director of Rice Creek Field Station. “As an instructor he can motivate, inspire, encourage and identify with students. Students in his classes described him as caring, fair and encouraging, enthusiastic and well prepared.”

Nanthakumar also has supervised more than 50 student capstone projects, independent study projects, Scholarly and Creative Activity Committee Challenge

Carol E. Jordan, the founding executive director of the University of Kentucky Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women in the College of Arts & Sciences, is one of 12 recipients of Texas A&M University's Distinguished Alumnus Award for 2020. Jordan holds UK faculty appointments in the Department of Psychology and the Department of Psychiatry.

Since  1962, only 303 of Texas A&M’s 527,000 former students have been recognized with the Distinguished Alumnus Award. Awarded jointly by Texas A&M and The Association of Former Students, this honor recognizes those Aggies who have achieved excellence in their chosen professions and made meaningful contributions to Texas A&M University and their local communities.

“We are proud of these

By Richard LeComte

On episode five of “Holler Back!,” Stacie Fugate and Michael Hamilton converse with Montgomery County High School senior Larah Helayne, a singer-songwriter whose activism for LGBTQ issues in Montgomery County, Kentucky, has brought her attention in Appalachia. During the podcast, Fugate talks to the teenager about her strong emotional reaction to hearing Helayne’s songs.

“I’m sitting in the audience and crying,” Fugate says. “It wasn’t just me; everybody around me is crying.”

That kind of emotional attachment to Appalachia and its people sparks the passion Fugate and Hamilton bring to “Holler Back!,” a podcast run by two Appalachian Studies minors in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. The podcasts themselves are part of the programming of UK’s

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 10, 2020) — The discussions over removal of Confederate memorials in the United States have been some of the more prominent ones in our current cultural landscape. Gaining momentum from other recent social movements that are happening concurrently, from Black Lives Matter to #MeToo and beyond, the focus of these discussions now seems to have widened to include memorials and statues that go well further back than the American Civil War, and beyond the borders of this country.

Amy Murrell Taylor, the T. Marshall Hahn Jr. Professor of History at the University of Kentucky, last appeared on "Behind the Blue" in September of 2017. On this newest episode, Taylor returns to discuss how this movement has progressed over the past three years, and how the

By Hillary Smith

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 6, 2020) — Members of the University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC), in collaboration with UK College of Arts and Sciences, are working to increase the representation of Black undergraduate students in neuroscience.

“It is our obligation as professors and scientists to train the next generation of neuroscientists and to promote diversity and inclusivity in doing so,” said Mark Prendergast, director of the neuroscience B.S. degree program within the College of Arts & Sciences.

SCoBIRC is providing $25,000 to fund five yearly research training awards for undergraduate

By Jay Blanton

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2020) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto and faculty leaders in the African American and Africana Studies (AAAS) program on Wednesday announced the establishment of the proposed Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies — a multidisciplinary program that will highlight UK’s growing research around issues of race and racism.

Capilouto and AAAS faculty on Thursday announced an initial $250,000 investment as seed money to leverage additional investment to help the institute move forward with a critical series of initiatives. The creation of a new institute, ultimately, must receive approval from UK’s University Senate.

The interdisciplinary institute will establish research clusters across the campus and promote UK’s growing research and scholarship

The Gaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky recently introduced a project titled "Over Yonder," a video conversation series on a YouTube channel. Center staff members interview Kentucky artists, thinkers and creatives to learn about their work and how they are adapting it to the "new normal" of the COVID-19 crisis. Here is an interview with Nikki Brown,  Brown has been teaching American and African American history since 1999.  She majored in History at Oberlin College, and she earned a PhD in History from Yale University in 2001.  Her book, Private Politics and Public Voices:  Black Women’s Activism from World War I to the New Deal (Indiana University Press) won the Letitia Woods Brown Award for Best Book in African American Women’s in History in 2006.  The major themes in Dr. Brown