By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lift up a rock by a lake, and you may find planarians: complex, light-hating flatworms that prefer damp, dark hideouts. But what has Elizabeth Duncan so interested in them is their remarkable ability to reconstruct themselves when severed or injured.

“If we cut one of these worms into three pieces, each piece will create an entirely new worm,” said Duncan, assistant professor of biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. “They regenerate a fairly complex body plan.”

That ability may lead Duncan and other researchers to fresh insights into biological regeneration. As a result, she recently earned a five-year, $250,000-a-year National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award. The award will help her explore how specific enzyme activity affects stem cells’ ability

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A recent study by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education lauded the International Studies B.A. program in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences as a top program in preparing under-represented minority students for early career success. 

The report is titled “Analysis on Workforce Preparedness and Early Career Outcomes for Under-represented Minority and Low-Income Status Students in Kentucky.” The study’s authors identified the International Studies Program as “exemplary in preparing underrepresented minority students for early career success,” said Matthew K. Vetter, a senior research analyst with the council. 

“Our analysis indicates that under-

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nothing like a baby jaguar caught on camera to get college students screaming with glee.  

These college students – a group of eight – were deep in Central America’s nation of Belize learning how to assess wildlife populations using cameras. Led by Emily Croteau, lecturer in biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, the students hit pay dirt on their first foray into this wild ecosphere this summer. Just getting the cameras in place was an adventure. 

“It was actually really, really exciting, the first time that we went into the jungle to recover our camera traps,” said Quincy Ipsaro, a junior biology major from Cincinnati. “The first day we did probably a seven-to-10-mile hike into the

LEXINGTON 9/15/2021 - Beginning today, the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center, in collaboration with campus partners and student organizations, will honor National Hispanic Heritage Month.

This year, in response to student preference to acknowledge the entire Latin American diaspora, and not only the Hispanic — or Spanish-speaking — communities/countries, the university will stray away from using the phrase "Hispanic Heritage Month" and instead will celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, broadening the month to include a larger population. 

“We could not be more excited to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month juntos — together,” said Ruth González Jiménez, Latino student community specialist with the MLK King

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

UK undergraduate researchers Bridget Bolt and Gretchen Ruschman. Students are encouraged to explore undergraduate research opportunities at the Research + Creative Experience Expo.

At the University of Kentucky, undergraduates have access to outstanding research and creative work activities led by world-class faculty and staff that promote self-discovery, experiential learning and lifelong achievement.

Explore exciting undergraduate opportunities at the first annual UK Research + Creative Experience Expo 3-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, around the Gatton Student Center’s Social Staircase.

“The goal of the Research + Creative Experience Expo is to introduce undergraduates to the diversity of research and creative work conducted at UK,” said Chad Risko, faculty

By Jenny Wells

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and the University of Kentucky Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC programs are remembering those who lost their lives in the deadliest terrorist attack in human history. 

Zach St. Hilaire, company commander of UK’s Pershing Rifles chapter, says cadets will continue their annual tradition on Saturday, dressing in uniform and placing small flags in memory of each of the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11 on the front lawn of UK's Main Building. From a podium, cadets will also read the name of each victim throughout the day. They will begin reading the names at 8:46 a.m., when the first attack occurred.

The Lexington Fire Department will be present during the opening of the ceremony

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 9, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has selected 23 undergraduates for the 2021-2022 Undergraduate Research Ambassador program.

The newly redesigned ambassador program’s mission is to increase awareness and create opportunities for students to actively engage in research and creative scholarship. Ambassadors must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership and be involved in mentored research or creative work. This year's ambassadors represent seven colleges, 15 disciplines and 19 research areas.

“Mentored research and creative work provide distinct opportunities for UK undergraduates to put to practice knowledge from the classroom and develop new skills,” says Chad Risko, director of the UK Office

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2021) — In California, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly obvious. Turn on the news and you will hear about extreme heat waves, droughts and frequent wildfires plaguing the state.

"Climate change is one of the grand challenges facing society,” said Michael McGlue, associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “California, our most populous state and one of the largest economies globally, faces major threats from hot, dry conditions. This is manifested in the four major fires burning, largely uncontained, in the state right now

What drew you to the University of Kentucky graduate program?

I have a Licenciatura degree in archaeology from the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico, my country of origin, obtained in May 2016. I moved to the United States in 2017, when I was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology with a Research Excellence stipend at the University of Kentucky.

I have been part of several archaeological projects in Mexico since 2013 as an undergraduate and graduate student. At the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, where I focus on for my dissertation research, I was part of all the field and laboratory seasons of the Recorrido Regional Arqueológico Tres Zapotes project (Tres Zapotes Regional Archaeological Survey, RRATZ), directed by University of Kentucky professor Christopher Pool and staff archaeologist Michael Loughlin. My interest in populations under Aztec

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2021) — University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced biology and Lewis Honors College student Kayli Bolton is one of 2021’s 60 recipients to be awarded a scholarship of up to $15,000 from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). The ASF Scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).

A nonprofit organization, ASF was established by the Mercury Astronauts in 1984. Its goal is to aid the U.S. in retaining its world

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- This fall, Emily Beaulieu Bacchus is helping the Political Science Department at the University of Kentucky select a graduate to honor with the first Outstanding Alumni Award.  

She welcomes the opportunity to connect with graduates just as she enjoys mentoring students as director of the College’s International Studies Program.  

"Engaging with alumni and students is something I already do for the international studies majors,” said Bacchus, who’s also associate professor of comparative politics and associate chair.  “Also, I, have been working with poli-sci students for years. But now is a chance for me to also start to engage more with political science

Sept. 5, 1950 – Aug. 15, 2021

Dr. Linda Kraus Worley, professor of German Studies and Folklore/Myth in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures and Classics, died after 13-month-long battle with a rare leukemia on Aug. 15, 2021. She died under UK hospice care and with loving friends at her bedside.

Linda was born in Cleveland to German immigrants Hans and Elizabeth Kraus, who modeled the importance of hard work and dedication to family and friends. Hans was employed at a heating and air conditioning company for nearly 50 years, and Betty worked in the Borromeo College library and as a homemaker. Linda's parents encouraged her to read at an early age and she easily came to love words and stories.

She graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English literature at Miami

By C. Lynn Hiler

 The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence announces the 2021 class of Chellgren Student Fellows. Twenty fellows are from the College of Arts & Sciences.

The Chellgren Center Student Fellows Program aligns with the university’s goal of cultivating undergraduate excellence. By providing experiences that go beyond the classroom, students become prepared for the next phase of their career, whether it be graduate school, a position in their field, or a gap year dedicated to service. Created in 2005 with a gift from Paul Chellgren, a UK graduate, and his family, the Chellgren Center creates unique educational opportunities for outstanding undergraduate students and professors at the university. Chellgren’s commitment to undergraduate

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky.. – The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences has named its 2021-22 Student Ambassadors. Ambassadors have a wide range of responsibilities, including:  

Participating in such UK recruiting efforts at preview nights and open houses. 

Serving fellow students through programs including Merit Weekends, K-week and Admitted Student Day. 

Assisting with all College international initiatives. 

Representing the College during Homecoming and at other alumni meetings, receptions, Advisory Board activities and similar events. 

Creating content for the A&S Ambassador website. 

Coordinating a college-wide service project. 

The 2021-22 UK

By University Press of Kentucky and Danielle Donham

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2021) — University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences associate professor and Kentucky Poet Laureate Crystal Wilkinson’s latest title and first poetry collection, “Perfect Black,” is now available from the University Press of Kentucky.

On Aug. 12, 2021, The New York Times listed “Perfect Black” as one of the four

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A University of Kentucky professor has dug into the websites of universities in Australia and the United States and found some odd things lurking there. Programmers in charge of concerns that produce illicit papers for students are finding ways to redirect students from university help sites to their own “paper mills.” 

These illicit techniques insert software into vulnerable university websites so that students get redirected to sites that offer to help with papers. Instead, the sites end up selling papers to misled students, said Jim Ridolfo, director of composition and associate professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences.  

“A lot of what we're looking at is similar to what pharma hacks have

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center hosted a symposium last week featuring its first class of African American Research Training Scholars. The five scholars each gave a presentation on their research in neurotrauma.

“This scholarship program was established by support from the Kentucky Spinal Cord and Head Injury Research Trust to provide vital research opportunities for Black undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky,” said Joe Springer, professor and interim director of the research center. “This is part of the SCoBIRC’s continued efforts to promote diversity in neuroscience, a field in which Black and African American students and faculty are underrepresented nationwide. The goal is to provide

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 11, 2021) — New pilot grants at the University of Kentucky are supporting innovative research to further understand causes and treatments of substance use disorders.

Since they were launched last year, UK’s Substance Use Research Priority Area pilot grants have already assisted 16 faculty and student researchers. Their projects support the area's mission to prevent and reduce the burdens of substance use disorders through conducting and translating transdisciplinary and innovative research to inform clinical services, public health practice and policy.

“We have several SUPRA pilot grant mechanisms that are affording opportunities for more undergraduate and graduate students to get involved in

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 6, 2021) — Before you know it, summer will be coming to a close. But there’s still time to get lost in a good book.

We asked the University of Kentucky community to recommend books they feel would make good additions to anyone’s summer reading list.

In the descriptions below, faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences share the books they can’t put down. Pulling from the worlds of history and fiction — their picks explore timely themes while providing intriguing insights.

“A Time of Gifts” by Patrick Leigh Fermor

Recommended by Phil Harling, chair of the Department

The Physics and Astronomy Department has welcomed Bill Gannon as assistant professor of Physics and Astronomy in the fall of 2019 after postdoctoral fellowships at Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory, Texas A&M University and the University of British Columbia.

Gannon received his B.S. degree in physics from the University of Michigan and his Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He is originally from Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C.

Gannon’s primary research interests are in the synthesis of materials with interesting quantum magnetic properties, which he studies using neutron scattering. Interactions among electrons in a material can lead to a variety of magnetic properties that cannot be understood by considering each individual electron on its own. Of particular interest to Gannon are those whose