By Guy Spriggs

Brittany Shaver says she’s always been a hard worker. However, when she began her undergraduate study at the University of Kentucky as a biology major and then switched to chemistry, Shaver didn’t find fulfillment or results that matched her effort.

So at the end of her freshman year, Shaver tried to figure out her ideal major – what course of study would be just right for her.

“I thought, ‘If there was a Brittany major out there in the world, what would it be?’ One of the answers was German,” Shaver explained. “I always wanted to study German, but I first started the language at the University of Kentucky my sophomore year.”

While she says her path to studying German wasn’t clear or easy, Shaver’s interest in German language and culture dates back to her participation in

By Gail Hairston

(April 17, 2015) ‒ Mark Kornbluh, dean of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, announced today that Sue Roberts, professor of geography, has accepted the positions of associate dean for international affairs and director of the international studies program for the college. Roberts’ term begins July 1, 2015.

“The new associate dean position will enable the college to enhance its internationalization efforts and to consolidate oversight of and initiatives regarding international activities,” Kornbluh wrote in a message to his college faculty and staff.

Roberts will provide vision and coordination for all international programs, travel, exchanges, and more for the College of Arts and Sciences faculty, students and staff.

With the support of the college’s Executive Committee and Council of Chairs, the new

By Clark Bellar

(April 20, 2015) — Slavina Goleva, an undergraduate biology student at the University of Kentucky, recently received the highly competitive David S. Bruce Award for Undergraduate Research Excellence from the American Physiological Society (APS) at the 2015 Experimental Biology International Meeting held in Boston, Massachusetts.

Ninety abstracts were submitted to the APS by undergraduate students from across the globe. From those, 30 were selected for the David S. Bruce Outstanding Undergraduate

By Gail Hairston

(April 17, 2015) — Charles R. Carlson, professor of psychology in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the 2015-16 Distinguished Professor in Arts and Sciences. The recognition honors Carlson’s distinction as a scholar, as a teacher and mentor, and by his service to the university and the profession.

Much of Carlson’s research focuses on helping people better manage and control their responses to physical — especially orofacial — and psychological pain. He has published more than 115 papers in this area, including examinations of diaphragmatic breathing strategies. He also developed a virtual reality paradigm that mimics high-risk situations for young women (e.g., sexual assault) and used it to study

By Blair Hoover, Rebecca Stratton

(April 17, 2015) — Provost Tim Tracy honored seven faculty members and three teaching assistants with Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2015 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony.  The ceremony took place Wednesday, April 15, in the Lexmark Public Room in the Main Building.

This annual award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory.  Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the Provost's Office of Faculty Advancement.

Winners received cash prizes of $5,000 for regular and special title series faculty and $1,000 for teaching assistants.

The Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award

By Kathy Johnson

(April 17, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  Today, Godell talks to Lexington Herald-Leader columnist Tom Eblen and Peter Brackney, author of “Lost Lexington,” — both are winners of Excellence in Writing awards from UK's Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRD).  Jenny Rice, associate professor and director of composition, WRD, also joins the conversation.

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/excellence-writing.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45

By Kelli Elam, Amy Jones-Timoney, Whitney Harder

(April 17, 2015) — What makes a university thrive as a community and a center for knowledge? At the University of Kentucky, it's the people, and not only the outstanding faculty, staff and students, but the alumni who create and continue a legacy of excellence. This year, the UK Alumni Association is recognizing 23 former UK students — leaders who have impacted the Commonwealth, the nation and the world through their work — with induction into the 2015 Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

This year’s class will be honored tonight, Friday, April 17, at the

By Whitney Harder

(April 16, 2015) — Recognizing their outstanding contributions to teaching and scholarship at the University of Kentucky, two UK faculty members were honored with the William B. Sturgill Award and Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize yesterday, Wednesday, April 15, at the annual Faculty Awards Ceremony in the Lexmark Room of the Main Building.

Thomas R. Zentall, professor of psychology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, was awarded the 2015 William B. Sturgill Award, given each year to a graduate faculty member who has

By Clark Bellar

(April 16, 2015) — On April 23, the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky and the Department of English will host a talk by Eugenia Zuroski Jenkins, titled "How Chinese Things Became Oriental." The presentation will begin at 3 p.m. Thursday, at the Alumni Gallery in the William T. Young Library.

Following the presentation there will be a Q&A session as well as refreshments.

Jenkins is an associate professor of English and cultural studies at McMaster University

By Whitney Hale

(April 15, 2015) — University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center will host an opening reception for an exhibit highlighting four undergraduates' Learning Lab internship projects from 3-4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library Building. The event will feature presentations from the four Learning Lab interns, including commentary on their scholarly projects.

The Learning Lab internship, now in its third year, is an experiential learning program that introduces undergraduate students to archival processing and theory using rare and

By Provost blog

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
 

These words by Albert Einstein ring especially true today as our community honors seven faculty members and three teaching assistants who have dedicated themselves to preparing, advising and inspiring our students.

I will have the honor of recognizing these 10 individuals at the 2015 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony this afternoon. 

The Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series faculty for outstanding teaching performance. The 2015 winners are:

•  Matthew J. Beck, College of Engineering, Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering

•  Daniel S. Morey,

By Gail Hairston

(April 14, 2015) — As history-shattering events have a tendency to do, a quiet little revolution has been developing on the horizon. It has dodged in and out of the headlines for a couple of decades without a great deal of notice in the mainstream. And yet, it could be the biggest news in human creativity since Gutenberg invented the printing press.

Experts haven’t quite settled on a name just yet — digital writing, network publishing — but both the New York Times bestselling wanna-be and the frustrated young graduate student, pounding on their keyboards in the dark hours before dawn, have a name for it — freedom. No longer must a new writer seek out attorneys and publicists and agents. All they must do now to reach the masses is press “enter.”

Of course, doing something well is never that easy

By Katy Bennett

(April 14, 2015) — Join the University of Kentucky Student Activities Board's Multicultural Affairs Committee in enjoying poetry readings by the Affrilachian Poets at 6:30 p.m. Wednesay, April 15, in the auditorium of William T. Young Library.

Students, faculty and staff can enjoy exciting and culturally captivating poetry by a group of talented poets brought together by Danville native and UK faculty member, Frank X Walker, who has also served as Kentucky's poet laureate. Five of the poets will share their personal history of being a minority in the Appalachian area and how their identity has been shaped because of their ethnicity. Light refreshments will be served.

“This poetry gives a voice to the Appalachian area,” Lee Mengistu, associate director of

By Mike Farrell, Blair Hoover

(April 14, 2015) — James C. Duff, director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts and a one-time walk-on for the University of Kentucky freshman basketball team, will deliver the annual State of the First Amendment Address Tuesday, April 14, on UK's campus.

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. appointed Duff to a second term as director of the courts effective in January. He also served from 2006 to 2011. Between terms he served as president and CEO of the Freedom Forum and CEO of the Newseum in Washington, D.C. The Freedom Forum, a nonpartisan foundation, champions the First Amendment as a cornerstone of democracy.

The First Amendment Celebration is sponsored annually by the Scripps

By Whitney Harder

(April 13, 2015) — How can Kentucky tackle its chronic health disparities — cancer, heart and pulmonary disease, stroke and other preventable illnesses — and create long-lasting solutions?

Targeting adults who deal with these diseases most often is necessary, but so too is engaging teenagers, the next generation of Kentuckians, in the conversation.

One outreach program at the University of Kentucky is doing just that by delivering new STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education experiences to Kentucky middle and high schools, illuminating the science behind diseases. The "Muscle Health Project" integrates new teaching methods, technology in the classroom, and access to researchers and students at UK in hopes of educating students early on to prevent problems later.

By Gail Hairston

(April 13, 2015) — On April 3, the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recognized about 1,400 current students who earned a place on the Dean’s List for their academic achievements. The honor is reserved for the highest achieving students in the college who have obtained a 3.6 or higher grade point average the previous semester.

Many family and friends were on hand to celebrate the hard work of these exceptional students.

Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, spoke about the value of a liberal arts education, and was joined by Connor Appleman, a biology senior and A&S Ambassador co-coordinator. Appleman spoke about his experiences in the college and the wealth of knowledge it has provided as he prepares for

The College of Arts & Sciences is proud to announce the recipients of this year’s College teaching awards, They are Renee Fatemi, physics and astronomy (Outstanding Teaching Award), Moisés Castillo, Hispanic Studies (Outstanding Teaching Award), Charley Carlson, psychology (Outstanding Teaching Award), Anna Voskresensky,

By Kathy Johnson

(April 10, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  On today's program, UK sustainability coordinator Shane Tedder talks about Earth Days in the Bluegrass, a compilation of events during April celebrating sustainability and responsible global citizenship. 

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/earth-days-bluegrass-0.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

By Gail Hairston

University colleges typically only celebrate the writing of their students.

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRD), however, presented its Excellence in Writing Awards to UK undergraduates as well as faculty and community writers.

Two UK faculty members and two writers who are well known to Lexingtonians were honored April 13, in the Colombia Room of the Boone Center (view the full program).   

Typically, faculty are honored only in their disciplines for achievements and contributions and not for their writing. WRD is proud to step out of that box to honor Shannon Bell

By Gail Hairston

(April 10, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences hosts its annual Alumni Speaker Series to coincide with one of the speaker’s induction into the UK Alumni Association’s Hall of Distinguished Alumni, April 17.

The college’s honored guests will be the U.S. ambassador to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in France from 1997-2001, Amy L. Bondurant, and her husband David E. Dunn, an international advisor to the sultan of Oman and a partner at Patton Boggs LLP since 1980.

Addressing a range of topics about their careers, Bondurant and Dunn will speak at 10 a.m. Friday, April 17, in the UK Athletics Association Auditorium in the William T. Young Library. A reception will follow in the gallery, next to the auditorium.

The UK Alumni Association will induct