By Gail Hairston

(April 8, 2015) ‒ Anna Secor, professor of geography, social theory, and gender and women’s studies at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has been named the university’s first Hajja Razia Sharif Sheikh Islamic Studies Professor.

The endowed professorship was created by Dr. Hamid Hussain Sheikh Sr. (a Lexington obstetrics and gynecology specialist) and his wife Amy Lee Sheikh, in memory of his mother Hajja Razia Sharif Sheikh. A native of Lahore, Pakistan, Hajja Sheikh was active in her community and a leader in her faith. Although she did not receive a formal education, she held a strong belief in education and encouraged all eight of her children to pursue a college education.

“One of

By Clark Bellar

(April 8, 2015) — Claudia Roden is said to have revolutionized Western attitudes about Middle Eastern and North African cuisines with "A Book of Middle Eastern Food," published in 1968. Since then, she has written many more internationally acclaimed books on Middle Eastern cooking and the stories behind the global dishes.

Roden will speak at the University of Kentucky at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 16, in the William T. Young Library auditorium as part of the College of Arts and Sciences' Passport to the World: "Year of the Middle East" series. The series presents a multicultural perspective of the region, focusing on interconnections and

By Rebecca Stratton, Yan Wang

(April 2, 2015) — Education Abroad at the University of Kentucky awarded Program Development Grants to four UK faculty members to support their international travels for the purpose of establishing faculty-directed education abroad programs.

“This grant provides program directors with the opportunity to gain on site familiarity with their program details,” said Miko McFarland, assistant director of Education Abroad.

Program Development Grants are reviewed by the Education Abroad Committee (EAC) of the International Advisory Council, who makes the recommendation to the associate provost of international programs for final approval.

“The committee looks to see how the intended program will promote global

By Whitney Harder

(April 1, 2015) — The Southeast Enzyme Conference, also referred to as the SEC, provides a unique opportunity for scientific exchange among faculty, students and researchers working at the forefront of enzymology. This year, the conference is being led by Anne-Frances Miller, professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry and director of the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Facility.

A one-day event, the SEC will be held Saturday, April 11, at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia. The conference will feature eight talks by junior faculty, post-doctoral scholars, and graduate and undergraduate students selected

By Gail Hairston, Guy Spriggs

(March 31, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures (MCLLC) in the College of Arts and Sciences is changing how we think of language studies. Since the college’s recent merger of separate language units into a single entity, the 44-member department has set its sights on becoming a more cohesive intellectual community with a unified teaching and research mission. A brand new core curriculum, for all students regardless of their specific language focus, is the cornerstone of the project. 

A major component of this new curriculum is

By Katy Bennett, Micaha Dean

(March 31, 2015) — The Summer/Fall 2015 priority registration period is now open and continues through Tuesday, April 21.

This year, students may not register for classes until they have completed UK’s two most recent initiatives, the CATS. Survey and Haven training. These initiatives were implemented in early 2015 as support for the university’s ongoing campus safety efforts.

"Campus safety is our top priority at UK," said UK President Eli Capilouto. "But safety means many things. In addition to lights, security cameras, safety officers and technology, we need students, faculty and staff who place safety and inclusion first. All of these things speak to the kind of environment we all want as part of the UK community."

Undergraduate students must have their advisor hold lifted before registering for

By Whitney Harder

(March 30, 2015) — A beautiful campus and a litter-free campus go hand-in-hand, and groups at the University of Kentucky will be able to care for their own piece of Wildcat country during the month of April. A new element of the Pick It Up campaign, the Adopt-a-Spot program encourages registered UK student organizations, UK offices and other groups to participate in weekly clean-ups to eliminate litter at UK.

During the month of April, groups that adopt a spot are responsible for making their defined zone litter-free once a week and documenting their efforts. A photo of the litter collected each week with the front page of that day's Kentucky Kernel newspaper must be sent to

By Jenny Wells

(March 30, 2015) — Pearl James, associate professor in the University of Kentucky Department of English, will deliver the first lecture of this semester's Chellgren Seminar Series. Her talk, "Hollywood's Great War," will take place at 4 p.m. Tuesday, March 31 in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

"As the recent success of 'American Sniper' reminds us, the war film genre has been a staple in Hollywood for a long time," James said. "This talk will use the current 100-year anniversary of World War I to discuss Hollywood portrayals of World War I. Hollywood brought glamour to the war but also, occasionally, showed its costs. This talk will focus particularly on King Vidor’s wildly popular

Since 1972, several generations of faculty members and students have gathered for meetings and examinations around the conference table in Patterson Office Tower 1145 under the imposing gaze of a lady whose portrait once dominated the room. The Lady in the Portrait, Dr. Alberta Wilson Server, entered UK as an undergraduate in 1916. Her professional relationship with the university continued until her retirement as Professor of Spanish in 1966. Her contributions as a faculty member, as well as her financial gifts to the University, constitute an enduring legacy to the institution that she served for a half-century.

Alberta Wilson’s ties to the Spanish language and Mexican culture began shortly after her birth, March 31, 1897, in Ludlow (Kenton County), Kentucky. Her father, Albert Henderson Wilson (1875-1922), was a locomotive engineer for the Cincinnati Southern

Banner Photo: Jacob Welch (center), lifetime member of the Delta of Kentucky chapter at the University of Kentucky, received the XXXIX National Lambda Alpha Scholarship Award honored by a check for $5000, a Charles R. Jenkins Certificate of Distinguished Achievement Award and a plaque. Jacob’s chapter faculty sponsor is George M. Crothers, Ph. D. (right). Also pictured Scott Huston, Ph.D (left).

This story originally appeared in the Lambda Alpha Annual Newsletter (Number 29)

In the fall of 2014, I will begin doctoral studies in anthropology at Yale University. This ambition to further advance my education in archaeology was forged while completing my baccalaureate degree at the University of Kentucky. It was during this time that I was awarded the opportunity to spend two summers carrying out archaeological investigations for the Uci-Cansahcab

By Guy Spriggs

The Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures (MCLLC) is changing how we think of language studies. Since the recent merger of separate language units into a single entity, the 44-member department has set its sights on becoming a more cohesive intellectual community with a unified teaching and research mission. A brand new core curriculum, for all students regardless of their specific language focus, is the cornerstone of the project. 

A major component of this new curriculum is MCL 200 – Reading the World – an innovative team-taught course exposing students to texts from a variety of different cultural traditions and historical periods.

“The course is a new kind of introduction

By Whitney Harder

(March 25, 2015) — On Monday, March 16, construction began on a new 30-kilowatt (kW) solar photovoltaic (PV) array at the Ralph G. Anderson Building on the University of Kentucky campus.

The installation is located on the southwest-facing roof of the building and is visible from the engineering courtyard, F. Paul Anderson Tower, Oliver H. Raymond Civil Engineering Building, and the Advanced Science & Technology Commercialization Center (ASTeCC). The $91,000 installation was jointly funded through a

By Katie Pratt

(March 25, 2015) — This summer, military families can have a great bonding experience at one of three Kentucky camps aimed at strengthening family ties in a fun-filled atmosphere.

The camps are part of two grants that the University of Kentucky Cooperative Extension Service received from the U.S. Department of Defense and Kentucky’s System to Enhance Early Development. This year’s camp offerings are:

·         The “MAMMOTH” Military Family Adventure- June 12-14; Mammoth Cave Hotel in Mammoth Cave

·         Robinson Forest Military Family Early Childhood Adventure- June 26-28; UK’s Robinson Forest in Jackson

·         Live Your

By Jenny Wells

(March 25, 2015) — Keeping with UK tradition, an undergraduate student will be selected to speak at each of two undergraduate Commencement ceremonies, which will take place at 1 p.m. and 6 p.m. Saturday, May 9, in Rupp Arena.

Students interested in speaking must submit their applications by 4 p.m. Friday, March 27.

A Commencement Speaker Selection Committee will determine which students will have the honor of addressing their fellow graduates. Applications are available online at www.uky.edu/Commencement/speakers.html.

To be considered, applicants must be receiving an undergraduate degree from the University of Kentucky at the May 9 Commencement Ceremony. Additionally, the applicants must have contributed to UK through campus or

By Gail Hairston

(March 24, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences 2014-2015 Distinguished Professor Lecture Series presentation is slated at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 25, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

This year’s distinguished professor, Professor Ana Rueda of Hispanic Studies, presents “Orchestrating War: Dissonances of Modernity in Burlesque Musical Pieces on the 1860 War of Africa.”

The Spanish-Moroccan War, known in Spain as the War of Africa, was a colonial military operation that resulted in the surrender of the city of Teto, the beginnings — and also the death throes — of Spanish colonialism on Moroccan territory in modern times. Spain’s military intervention in Morocco inspired

By Clark Bellar

(March 24, 2015) — University of Kentucky Association of Emeriti Faculty (UKAEF) presented fellowship awards to three UK graduate students at a ceremony Feb. 10. Each award includes a stipend of $2,500.

Since 1996, 59 fellowships have been awarded totaling $84,500. Three or four fellowships are presented annually to full-time graduate students. These awards are made possible through donations from UKAEF members as well as from the Commonwealth of Kentucky Research Challenge Trust Fund.

This year's UKAEF Fellowship awards are named in honor of Jean Pival, 25-year faculty member in the

By Shane Tedder

(March 24, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Office of Sustainability has partnered with the Student Sustainability Council and the Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment (TFISE) to launch a rejuvenated student sustainability internship program. The partnership is offering six paid internships for undergraduate students in any degree program for the 2015-2016 academic year.

Applications are due by April 24.

Three internships will be mentored by the Office of Sustainability and three will be mentored by working groups of the TFISE. All interns will be expected to work up to 10 hours per week and will be paid $10 per

By Gail Hairston

(March 24, 2015) — University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Year of the Middle East has scheduled three events this week. They are:

“The Arab Spring: The Youth Revolts of the Arab World Aren't Over” with Juan Cole

Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m.

UK Athletics Association Auditorium, William T. Young Library

The youth revolts of 2011 and after in the Arab world have permanently changed the face of the region. While most observers have mainly interpreted them through the lens of high politics, this lecture argues that the big story here is the rise of a new generation of young Arabs, the Millennials, who have innovated in grassroots organization (including, but not limited to new ways of using social media for politics). It is too soon to know how the political struggles that they initiated will end, but

By Gail Hairston

(March 24, 2015) — Filmmakers Beth Stephens and Annie Sprinkle visit the University of Kentucky today, Tuesday, March 24, to screen and discuss their film “Goodbye Gauley Mountain: An Ecosexual Love Story.”

In a news release about the film, Stephens stated, “MTR (mountaintop renewal) must be stopped in order to ensure a future that includes clean air and water, as well as social justice. Our activist strategy is to switch the metaphor from ‘Earth as mother’ to ‘Earth as lover’ to garner more love and empathy for the mountains. It will take time, but we’ll get there.”

The free event is slated at 2 p.m. today, in the auditorium of William T. Young Library. It is co-sponsored by UK College of Arts and Sciences, American Studies Department,

By Kathy Johnson

(March 20, 2015) — As the 45th anniversary of Earth Day approaches, the newly formed Bluegrass Earth coalition is inviting the public to celebrate sustainability in Lexington throughout March and April.

Bluegrass Earth was initiated by WUKY’s General Manager Tom Godell to bring together environmental groups in Central Kentucky. WUKY is the University of Kentucky's NPR station.

“Having long been a strong advocate of sustainability issues, I saw a need for environmental groups to come together under one umbrella so that they could share resources and have a greater impact with their outreach, education and events,” Godell said.

Bluegrass Earth is promoting multiple events to celebrate environmental sustainability around Earth Day, which is April 22. The first event is the launch