By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 11, 2024) — In the summer of 1955, 14-year-old Emmett Till traveled to rural Mississippi to visit extended family. Just a few days after his arrival, the teenager was abducted, beaten and lynched after being accused of offending a white woman in a grocery store. 

Following his murder, his mother, Mamie Till-Mobley, decided to hold an open-casket funeral in their hometown of Chicago. The photo of her son’s corpse was first published in Jet magazine, bringing nationwide attention to the brutality and racial violence.  

Brandon M. Erby, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

The Dr. Bing Zhang Department of Statistics at UK has offered master’s and doctoral degrees, as well as a graduate certificate and an undergraduate minor throughout its history at UK. The new major will be the department’s first bachelor's degree program.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 8, 2024) — The Dr. Bing Zhang Department of Statistics at the University of Kentucky is now offering, for the first time, an undergraduate major for students, addressing a growing demand for skilled professionals in data-driven industries.

Approved by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary

By Dave Melanson 

Robby Pace,  left, senior research scientist; Eduardo Santillan-Jimenez, CAER associate director for research; Great Umenweke, graduate student; and Chad Risko, John C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry. Photo by Dave Melanson.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 9, 2024) — Researchers at the University of Kentucky Center for Applied Energy Research and the Department of Chemistry have received a $1 million grant from the U.S. Department of Energy to advance their innovative biofuels research.

The project is titled “Robust Engineered Catalysts for the Conversion of Waste Oleaginous Biomass Feedstocks to Fuel

By Daniel Flener 

Ahmad Khalid Wardak

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2023) — In August 2021, as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, many students in the country found themselves in limbo — unsure of whether or how to continue their education. As they searched for answers, and many fled their home country, the launch of the Kentucky Innovative Scholarship Pilot Project provided hope, and the University of Kentucky mobilized to provide a home away from home.

The program, funded by a $10 million appropriation by the 2022 Kentucky General Assembly, allows colleges and universities to provide scholarships up to the total cost of attendance for displaced students. One of those students who

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

Cindy Sossa

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2022) —  University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto has selected two student representatives to speak during the UK 2023 December Commencement Ceremonies on Friday, Dec. 15, at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center. 

One of them, Cindy Sossa, is graduating pre-law with a bachelor’s degree in English from the UK College of Arts and Sciences, with a certificate in peace studies.

Sossa, who is from Melbourne, Australia, has been an active member of the

By Steve Shaffer, Vendela Norris, and Jenny Wells-Hosley

Video produced by UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications and Marketing and Brand Strategy. To view captions for this video, push play and click on the CC icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If using a mobile device, click on the "thought bubble" in the same area.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2023) — For graduating senior Devin Thompson, the University of Kentucky educational experience began long before his freshman year.

As a middle schooler in 2014, the

By Alicia Gregory 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 11, 2023) — The University of Kentucky is well-represented on a list of the most-cited researchers in the world. In a database compiled by Stanford University in a partnership with Elsevier, 119 current UK scientists and scholars appear among the top 2% of the most-cited researchers across 22 disciplines.

Citations are one measure of the impact of academic research. For researchers, publishing their work in a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal is a key step in sharing research findings and new discoveries. 

“Being cited is one sign that your work matters to the research community,” said Lisa Cassis, Ph

Each year, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association recognizes six professors for outstanding teaching and honors them with a plaque and a cash award at a recognition luncheon or dinner. It is the oldest, continuously-given award for teachers at the University of Kentucky.

By Kody Kiser and Tiana Thé 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2023) — The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act ) is a pivotal federal law enacted in 1990 that addresses the repatriation and disposition of Native American human remains, funerary objects, sacred objects and cultural patrimony.

With the understanding of the pain caused by historical practices, the University of Kentucky remains dedicated to working closely with Native nations, aiming to repatriate these items ethically. The size of the NAGPRA collections requires extensive

By Jennifer T. Allen

Ana Sampaio has always been interested in technology and, as an international student from Brazil, she also has a deep interest in international relations. Now a senior at the University of Kentucky, Sampaio has combined her passions into three majors: political science and economics in the College of Arts and Sciences and information communication technology (ICT) in the College of Communication and Information. 

“I really like combining political science with economics because I can study international economics and international development. I've also always been interested in technology and exploring that side of things, I just thought I wasn't good enough at math to pursue it. I found out I was overthinking it. Plus, ICT focuses more on the analytical side, and I am completely mesmerized by it,” said Sampaio. 

Sampaio’s passion

By Haven L. Patrick 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently announced the 15 undergraduate winners of the 59th annual Oswald Research and Creativity awards. Chad Risko, faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and Research Ambassadors congratulated the winners and distribute the awards.

Established in 1964 by then-President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Competition encourages undergraduate research and creative activities across all fields of study.

Categories are:

By Jackie Wilson 

Crystal Wilkinson

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2023) — University Press of Kentucky announces the publishing imprint Screen Door Press, which will be edited by Crystal Wilkinson, professor of English in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences. 

Dedicated to discovering exceptional, and varied voices within Black literary traditions, the imprint will include short stories, novellas and novels across a broad range of categories. The goal of Screen Door Press is to publish thought-provoking books that feature relatable characters, strong narratives and

By Richard LeComte 

Lilly Bauer

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- To get a National Institutes of Health research internship, college students need to look through a website and find an investigator to take them on. University of Kentucky junior Lilly Bauer did just that — she spent the summer of 2023 working in the lab of Carole Bewley in Maryland.  

"I've always heard of the National Institutes of Health, and I know it’s a very. big deal in the science community," said Bauer, a junior biology major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. “The cool thing I liked about the NIH internship is that you reach out to the principal investigators yourself. You’re on your own to get accepted. I am really interested in microbiology, so I looked under

By Richard LeComte 

Tyler Patton

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Tyler Patton exemplifies persistence: As a first-generation college student, he has weathered family and personal trauma, dropping out of college, a two-year stint in the U.S. Marine Corps and financial obstacles on the way to a University of Kentucky bachelor’s degree in English and perhaps on to law school.  

Now he’s poised to graduate in May and head off to law school. He credits one faculty member in particular — Michelle Sizemore, associate professor of English — as someone who came through when he needed help, guiding him toward the College of Arts and Sciences’ Finish Line Fund. 

“I have a class with Dr. Sizemore called Reading Dangerously, and she's been very helpful to me,” said Patton, who’s from Lexington and

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will welcome scholar Theresa L. Burriss to campus next week.

Burriss, who is the assistant vice president of community engagement and economic development at Emory & Henry College, will deliver a presentation titled “Appalachia and Eastern Europe: Cross-Cultural Collaborations” at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20, in Taylor Education Building Room 158.

Burriss will discuss the some of the international collaborations in which she has been fortunate to be engaged since 2015. With a primary focus on Romania, Burriss will share her teaching and research experiences in this post-Communist country.

"The UK Appalachian Center and

By Rebekah Frazier 

Large landslide mitigation project members visit near Kandy, Sri Lanka. They are Gina Belair, left (USGS), Corina Cerovski-Darriau (USGS), Laksiri Indrathilaka (NBRO), Matt Crawford (KGS) and Mahesh Somaratne (NRBO).

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 20, 2023) — Geologist Matt Crawford, a landslide researcher at the Kentucky Geological Survey and recipent of a doctorate in geological sciences from the University of Kentucky, took discoveries from Kentucky landslides to international collaborators in Sri Lanka last month.  

Crawford was part of the U.S. Geological Survey Landslide Disaster Assistance Team

By Kody Kiser and Jay Blanton 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 13, 2023) — Another election season has concluded in Kentucky, which means an end — for the moment — to the constant, almost ubiquitous campaign ads.

Another face and voice that was a major presence in most media throughout Kentucky was Stephen Voss, a Univeristy of Kentucky political science professor. Voss is an expert on Kentucky political campaigns and he has been a guest on "Behind the Blue" several times sharing his deep, dispassionate analysis of campaigns and political strategy.

By Amanda Nelson 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 8, 2023) — At the University of Kentucky, STEM Experiences Camps are an opportunity for university faculty to engage with school-age youth to increase their interest and knowledge in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. 

Educators and others who seek to grow students’ interest in STEM celebrated National STEM Day on Nov. 8. Recently, the faculty, students, staff and community partners who collaborate on UK’s STEM Experiences Camps reflected on the impact of making positive STEM experiences accessible to youth. 

“STEM is all around us, everywhere you look. In schools, we are seeing more integration between these subjects and that’s great because that’s real life,”

By Sarah Geegan and Amy Jones-Timoney 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 15, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of the Provost has funded eight transformative projects, supporting an inaugural cohort of IMPACT Award recipients.  

Among the projects is the UK Hub for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The proposed project will transform the educational and research capacity of AI/ML work at UK by building a centralized hub connecting AI/ML method consumers, users, and developers.

 The UK Hub for AI/ML will position UK researchers well for transdisciplinary work, stemming

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Lauren Parsons 

Representatives from the Digital Access Project celebrated the completion of the first milestone of the project at an event at the Old Fayette County Courthouse in Lexington on Nov. 14. Photo by Honeysage Photo Co.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 15, 2023) — More than 77,000 physical pages of Fayette County’s historical records, spanning from the late 1700s through 1865, are now digitized and publicly accessible online, thanks to a project led by University of Kentucky scholars, students and community partners. The project aims to help families and researchers piece together information and previously