LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Dr. Louis Hempel, M.D., exemplifies University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences alumni who are pitching in to guide and inspire current UK undergraduates toward the medical professions. Hempel graduated from the UK in 1982 with a bachelor’s degree in general studies in 1982 and an M.D. from the University of Louisville in 1987. He worked for many years with the Children’s Medical Group in Atlanta and as associate clinical professor of pediatrics in the Augusta University/University of Georgia Medical Partnership.  

How did you start mentoring pre-med UK students?’ 

After coming to Atlanta a couple of times and realizing that she could get me more involved, Laura Sutton brought Dean Ana Franco-Watkins, Ph.D., to have a private dinner with

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Studying the liberal arts and sciences always have benefitted students as they seek careers. QA Commons, a company that matches college curricula to job skills, recently specified just what in the University of Kentucky’s undergraduate curriculum in the Department of History helps students develop their talents in eight basic areas. 

Or, as Napoleon Dynamite once said, “Skills.” 

"QA Commons puts its stamp of approval on programs that are providing students with these skills,” said Melanie Goan, Ph.D., professor in UK's College of Arts and Sciences and director of undergraduate studies in history. "For us in the humanities and history, it's especially important for us to reinforce that message to families and to students who are looking at college choices. And it's something we've been doing for a very

By Katelin Ralenkotter 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2026) — As the world commemorates the 56th annual Earth Day today, the University of Kentucky is highlighting some of its year-round programs, learning opportunities and community events that make sustainability part of everyday life on campus.  

The recently launched Tracy Farmer Scholars Program supports engagement by providing funding support for students who are interested in pursuing sustainability-related research.  

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 20, 2026) — Hunter Coady, a junior from Crestwood, Kentucky, was recently awarded a 2026 English-Speaking Union Scholarship. The award covers full tuition and expenses for the student’s three-week experience at the University of Oxford.

The English-Speaking Union of the United States is a nonprofit, nonpolitical education service organization whose mission is to promote scholarship and the advancement of knowledge using English in an expanding global community.

Coady is an English major in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, a Gaines and Chellgren Fellow and Lewis Honors student. While at Oxford, he will attend educational seminars, gain insights through professionals, work alongside fellow students and participate in social events.

“Being able to study at Oxford in any regard is the opportunity

By Lindsey Piercy and Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 20, 2026) — The College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky inducted four alumni and one emeritus faculty member into its Hall of Fame on Friday, April 17.

The honor recognizes UK Arts and Sciences alumni and faculty who exemplify the foundational importance of an arts and sciences education and who have contributed significantly to their professions,

By Kayla Coffee 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 14, 2026) — The premedical chapter of University of Kentucky’s Phi Delta Epsilon hosted its annual Anatomy Fashion Show April 11 at Central Bank Center. 

Benefitting the Children’s Miracle Network and Golisano Children’s at UK, the Anatomy Fashion Show featured UK students, joined by a patient from UK Golisano Children’s, walking the runway while modeling painted body suits. Each suit showcased a

By Francis Von Mann 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Apr. 9, 2026) - Students from Erik Reece's Ekphrastic Poetry course at the University of Kentucky's MFA Creative Writing program have self-published a collection of poems titled "Provokable: Writing Inspired by the University of Kentucky Art Museum." 

The collection pairs each poem with a full-color reproduction of the artwork that inspired it. It grew out of English 608: Ekphrastic Writing, a graduate course that began in fall 2025, and is the result of a close collaboration with UK Art Museum

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 3, 2026) — Economic transition is reshaping rural America. A public panel at the University of Kentucky will explore how Appalachian communities are responding through research, collaboration and local action.

The UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program, housed in the College of Arts and Sciences, will host the discussion, “Shifting Power in Rural America: Conversations on Just Transitions,” from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 21, in Jacobs Science

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Jermaine Harris Jr., better known around campus as Jay, has had to do some leaping and tumbling to finish his degree at the University of Kentucky – and not just because he’s a cheerleader. Deaths of key family members who were helping him with tuition and expenses left him in the lurch as he approached his last year at UK. 

“I lost my grandfather and my uncle within the span of 11 days,” he said.  "My mom's brother ended up passing away of meningitis. And my grandfather ended up passing away from a rare cancer. I could go to those two and say, ‘Hey, I need money for tuition by the end of the semester ... could you help me out?’ They always found a way. I lost that support.” 

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 1, 2026 ) — Brad Plaster, Ph.D., professor of physics and associate dean for research in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the College of Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor for the 2025-26 academic year, an honor that recognizes excellence in research, teaching, service and leadership. 

As part of the honor, Plaster will present the annual Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Lecture, titled “The Quantum Nature of the Neutron as a Portal to the Cosmos,” 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.

By Emily Houp

LEXINGTON, Ky. — A new research project at the University of Kentucky is examining the impact of the Step-Up Program, an interdisciplinary initiative that connects UK students with K–12 learners across Lexington through tutoring, mentoring and service learning.

The project brings together faculty from UK’s College of Social Work, the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences and Department of Teaching and Learning to explore how participation in the program benefits both the university students who serve as Step-Up fellows and the schools and community organizations where they work.

The Step-Up program is directed by Francis Musoni, Ph.D., in the UK Department of History, who has led the initiative for several years and has helped expand its partnerships across Lexington schools and community

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 27, 2026) — Twelve University of Kentucky students have been selected as the newest Gaines Fellows, representing nine colleges across campus and marking a record number of applications for the highly competitive program.

The Gaines Fellowship in the Humanities is a distinctive two-year program designed to enrich undergraduate education through interdisciplinary coursework, independent research and community engagement. Fellows are selected for their academic achievement, research potential, interest in public issues and commitment to exploring the human condition through the humanities.

This year’s cohort reflects the interdisciplinary nature of the program, bringing together students from the College of Arts and Sciences; College of Fine Arts; Gatton

By Adrienne Clarke 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 27, 2026) — The University of Kentucky’s Phi Beta Kappa chapter inducted 37 members into the academic honor society March 24 and 12 new members in December 2025. This year’s induction ceremony in the Lewis Honors College Scholars Lounge featured a keynote address from Ana Franco-Watkins, Ph.D., dean of UK’s College of Arts and Sciences.

“Election to Phi Beta Kappa marks an important milestone in your academic journey. It reflects the curiosity, discipline and persistence that brought you here — and your willingness to engage deeply with ideas

By Christian Honce 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2026) — Kentuckians drink a lot of bourbon, and that means a lot of fermented grain leftover after distillation. For every bottle of bourbon produced, there’s up to 10 barrels of waste in the form of stillage.

That’s what drove University of Kentucky researchers to develop a way to transform this waste into high-performance components for supercapacitors. This solution repurposes an industrial byproduct in a way that could eventually help stabilize the electrical grid.

The project is a collaboration between Marcelo Guzman, Ph.D., a chemistry professor in the College of Arts and Sciences, and graduate student Josiel Barrios Cossio. By using a technique

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2026) — Beaux Hardin, a University of Kentucky senior in the College of Arts and Sciences, Lewis Honors College student and Gaines Fellow, has been selected to give the 31st annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities.

 Hardin’s lecture will explore poetry as a creative medium that invents new language, connecting people across cultures and creating an immaterial space that redefines identity.

Hardin will deliver the lecture, “Black Que(e)ries: Bridging Communities through Poetic Origins from Black Archives,” at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 9, in the Davis Marksbury Building.

“To me, being able to share my critical theoretical research alongside inspired creative work means other students can see that research can

By Robby Hardesty 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 25, 2026) — University of Kentucky Libraries is honoring award-winning and critically acclaimed novelist, short story writer, essayist, poet and professor Crystal Wilkinson, Ph.D., as the 2026 recipient of the UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement.

Wilkinson will be recognized at the UK Libraries Spring Celebration on May 14.

Born in Hamilton, Ohio, and raised in Indian Creek, Kentucky, Wilkinson’s writing explores Black Appalachia and the rural South.

Her genre-spanning work includes three

By Jackie Wilson 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 19, 2026) — The University Press of Kentucky is now accepting submissions for

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 24, 2026) — Civil Rights and Restorative Justice-Kentucky Legal Clinic and the Appalachian Center at the University of Kentucky have entered a joint partnership to research the history and legal outcomes of the 1919 racial removal in Corbin, Kentucky.

Initiated in the Spring 2025 semester, students from both programs collaborated on annotating legal documents from the 1920 court case which followed the violent removal of approximately 200 Black residents from Corbin on Oct. 30, 1919.

Law students within legal clinic a

By Lindsey Piercy 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 13, 2026) — It’s the familiar March Madness frenzy: bracket predictions, buzzer-beater highlights and, of course, the quirks of fandom.

Basketball fans have long found ways to feel like they can influence the outcome of a game — even from the couch.

We embrace traditions that range from lucky attire to sitting in the same spot.

While some might chalk these behaviors up to coincidence, one researcher at the University of Kentucky suggests there’s more at play.

Jenny Rice, Ph.D., professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences, believes superstitions offer a

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 9, 2026) — Every March, millions of Americans fill out brackets convinced they’re making smart, data-driven picks.

But when the upsets roll in — and our favorite teams advance further on our sheets than the stats suggest they should — it raises a bigger question: are we choosing with our heads, or with our identities?

In the Q&A below, Caroline Brooks, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, unpacks the hidden biases behind our bracket decisions, from in-group favoritism to the powerful pull of belonging.

The result: A closer look at how