By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 22,  2015) — A new assessment of the lasting impact of Hernán Cortés and the Spanish Empire’s conquest of the Aztec Empire will be discussed at “New Perspectives on Spanish Conquest and Empire: From the 16th to the 21st Centuries.” The event begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the Great Hall of the Margaret King Library at the University of Kentucky.

The event also kicks off the King Library’s November exhibition of singular photographs of Steve Raymer and event presenter Kathleen Myers. As the name suggests, the exhibition, “In the Shadow of Cortés: From Veracruz to Mexico City,” is a modern pictorial tour of the route Cortés marched from the sea to doomed Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.

By Whitney Hale

(Oct. 22, 2015) — A new play by Lydia Blaisdell will have its world premiere in the Bluegrass Nov. 5–7, in four performances at Lexington's Downtown Arts Center. Produced and directed by Eric Seale, "The Silent Woman" is the winner of the biennial Prize for Women Playwrights from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference.

"'The Silent Woman' is a deeply assured work, funny and strange and beautiful in turns. It will make a thrilling production," said

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 20, 2015) — Gerald Smith, University of Kentucky professor of history, the UK Martin Luther King Center scholar-in residence and the Theodore A. Hallam Professor (2015-2017) received the Campbellsville University Racial Reconciliation Award on Oct. 14.

The Campbellsville University Racial Reconciliation Award is given to those who have shown outstanding characteristics of servant leadership in bringing people together past racial matters and across lines of ethnicity, and who have been significant bridge builders for the community, according to John Chowning, vice president for church and external relations and executive assistant to the president at Campbellsville University.

Smith, pastor of Pilgrim Baptist Church in Lexington, was the

By Whitney Hale

(Oct. 20, 2015) — The University of Kentucky's Gaines Center for the Humanities and the Department of Gender and Women's Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences are teaming up with the Office of LGBTQ* Resources, the Martin Luther King Center, the African American and Africana Studies Program and Black Student Union to present three events

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 19, 2015) — University of Kentucky students and faculty are well represented during “Celebrating Isaac Murphy Week,” Oct. 19-24, a city-sponsored schedule of events honoring the legendary 19th century African-American jockey. Murphy’s career spanned from the mid-1870s through the mid-1890s; he rode in 11 Kentucky Derbies, winning three of them. By his account, he won 44 percent of his 1,412 races, a victory rate never equaled in 120 years.  

UK English and African American and Africana Studies professor and former Kentucky poet laureate, Frank X Walker’s poetry brought to life Murphy’s story in “I Dedicate This Ride.” Excerpts

By Whitney Harder

(Oct. 19, 2015) — Capturing the attention of little minds and chem-enthusiasts across Lexington, the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry will once again host its Chemistry Demonstration Show at 7 p.m. this Friday, Oct. 23. The show will take place in Room 139 of the UK Chemistry-Physics Building, 505 Rose Street.

Chemistry students, faculty and staff will conduct interactive and exciting demonstrations that showcase chemistry. The event celebrates National Chemistry Week and Mole Day, which commemorates Avogadro's Number (6.02 x 1023), a basic measuring unit in chemistry. The theme for this year is "

By Tasha Ramsey

Populism, a political discourse that promises to empower and include the poor and the excluded, is one of the most important political forces in Latin America, Europe, and the U.S. According to Dr. Carlos de la Torre, a sociology professor in the College of Arts & Sciences, populism is “a Manichaean political rhetoric that aims to rupture the existing institutional system to include the excluded.”

Carlos de la Torre received his Ph.D. in sociology at the New School for Social Research, New York, in 1993. He has been a fellow of the Guggenheim Foundation, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Fulbright Foundation. Since 1989 he has published on the relationship between populism, authoritarianism and democratization.

Dr. de la Torre released his new book titled, “De Velasco a Correa, insurrecciones, populismo, y elecciones

By Tiera Carlock

(Oct. 14, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Confucius Institute will present a lecture on the historical development and manifestations of [the notion of] "yinyang" and its origins in Chinese thought and culture by Robin R. Wang as a part of its Distinguished Scholar Lecture Series. The free public lecture, titled "Yinyang: The Way of Ways," is from 2:30-4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, in the Patterson Office Tower 18th Floor, West-End Lobby, with a reception to follow.

Wang, philosophy professor and director of the 

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 14, 2015) — The University of Kentucky’s Department of Geography celebrates its inaugural Distinguished Alumni Lecture Series and Award Friday, Oct. 16. The premiere honoree is professor of geography and development Vincent del Casino Jr., University of Arizona’s vice provost of Digital Learning and Student Engagement and associate vice president of Student Affairs and Enrollment Management.

Del Casino will deliver the department’s premiere Distinguished Alumni Lecture at 3 p.m. Friday in the William T. Young Library Auditorium. A generous gift earlier this year formed the Harrison and Eva Lewis Bailey Alumni Lecture Series in Geography Endowment Fund.

By Weston Loyd

(Oct. 14, 2015) — The University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, College of Fine Arts and The Education Abroad Network (TEAN) have teamed up to create "Bluegrass Down Under," an innovative, 12-week education abroad experience in Sydney and Cairns, Australia, which will allow students to select courses that best fit their degree requirements.

Mack Maynard, an advisor in UK Education Abroad, said, "'Bluegrass Down Under' is an innovative

By Dara Vance

At the American Sociological Association (ASA) 2015 annual meeting in Chicago, Ill., in August, Sociology Associate Professor Carrie Oser received the “Senior Scholar Award” from the Alcohol, Drugs, & Tobacco section. This award is given annually to one scholar for their outstanding scientific contributions to the sociological examination of alcohol, drugs, and/or tobacco.  Oser, who is the youngest scholar to ever receive the award, was selected from an international field of scholars. 

Carrie Oser has been a faculty member in the Department of Sociology at UK since 2006. Her research interests include addiction health services, health disparities, HIV risk behaviors/interventions, as well as drug use among rural, minority, and criminal justice populations. 

As part of her commitment to innovation in education, she

By Kathryn Mason

(Oct. 13, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Women's Forum 2015 conference takes on the theme "Memoirs of a UK woman… write your own" featuring Kirsten Turner, chief of staff and assistant dean in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. The conference will begin with breakfast at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, at the Hilary J. Boone Center and end with giveaways at 3 p.m.  The registration deadline is Oct. 16.

Turner will present the conference keynote address at 9 a.m. In her position in the College of Arts and Sciences, she is responsible for the organizational and administrative areas of the college. Turner

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 12, 2015) — The continent of Europe has a fascinating past, but it is also a vital part of the contemporary world and will undoubtedly play a considerable role in shaping the future. This year, the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Passport to the World program will focus on the Year of Europe.

Passport to the World enables the college to embark on yearlong explorations of the culture and history of a particular region or country. The current series promotes understanding of the problems and prospects of the European continent and Europe’s relationship to the United States and other parts of the world. Past programs have focused on South Africa, China, Russia's Realms,

(Oct. 9, 2015) — Robert Grossman, professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry, and Christopher L. Schardl, professor and chair of the UK Department of Plant Pathology, are collaborators on a $461,237 National Institutes of Health grant to study oxidizing enzymes.

Led by Pennsylvania State University’s J. Martin Bollinger, the project will reveal the structures and mechanisms of iron- and 2-(oxo)glutarate-dependent oxygenase enzymes from plants, fungi and soil bacteria.

According to Bollinger's project description,

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 8, 2015) — Roxane Gay was born in Nebraska, of Haitian descent, but her family moved quite a bit during her childhood. That doesn’t completely explain the divergent, eclectic nature of her writing, but perhaps it’s a starting point.

Like many children who felt a bit isolated from their peers, Gay turned to books to find friends. By the time she was in her teens, she was already writing essays. But it’s only been in the past few years that her books and stories began flying from bookstore shelves and garnering the favorable attention of critics.

She is the author of the short story collection "Ayiti" (2011), the novel “An Untamed State” (2014), the essay collection "Bad Feminist" (2014), and “Hunger” (forthcoming 2016). She also edited the book “Girl Crush: Women's Erotic Fantasies.”

By Lori Johnson

Oftentimes, students find themselves struggling to pick a direction to take once they have received their degree. On October 2, 2015, the Chemistry Alumni Board helped to answer some common questions students may have about life after graduation during an informal luncheon with the chemistry graduate students. All graduate students were invited to attend and chat with some alumni board representatives about their respective fields and the paths they took to get there. There were four alumni board members in attendance: Peter Nickias ‘87, Amy Wong ‘94, Jeff Lomprey ‘93 and Hugh Huffman ‘72. Together these individuals represented the wide spectrum of options students may choose from upon entering the workforce.

A large portion of the discussion gravitated towards being a post-doc, and if that was necessary and valuable or if a young scientist could be

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 6, 2015) — The images of untold thousands of people — many of them children — escaping the horror and despair of the war-ravaged Middle East are seared in the memories of anyone even semi-aware of global events in recent months.

Newscasters and reporters around the world have failed to find the words to adequately describe and explain the tsunami of humanity that washed upon the shores or stumbled across the borders of European nations. So many questions and so few answers.

A panel of nine experts from six disciplines was formed by the University of Kentucky’s International Studies Program and its director Sue

By Whitney Harder

(Oct. 6, 2015) — With "Banned Books Week" celebrated last week and "Teen Read Week" coming up Oct.18-24, exploring the world through literature seems to always be in season. For professors at the University of Kentucky, books have impacted their lives and careers in surprising ways.

Read below for the third and final piece in a series of professors reflecting on the books that shaped them. 

Ashley Seifert

Assistant Professor of Biology 

For me, the most influential books have been all about timing. As a young college graduate, I came upon Benjamin Hoff’s "The Te of Piglet." Hoff’s condemnation of man’s disharmony with the natural world resonated deeply with me. But it was his elegant illumination of Taoist philosophy

(Oct. 5, 2015) — Michael W. Young, an esteemed geneticist known best for identifying the genes that regulate circadian rhythms, will deliver two lectures at the University of Kentucky this week as part of the 2015 Thomas Hunt Morgan Lecture Series sponsored by the UK Department of Biology.

Young, vice president for academic affairs and Richard and Jeanne Fisher Professor at The Rockefeller University, will speak Thursday, Oct. 8, and Friday, Oct. 9.

His first lecture, "Genes Controlling Sleep and Circadian Rhythms in Drosophila," will take place at 4 p.m. Thursday in Room 116 of the Thomas Hunt Morgan Biological Sciences Building. His second lecture, "Genetic Pathways to Understanding Human Sleep