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'Conversations with Gurney' Series Continues This Fall

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

Gurney Norman (left) featured author Robert Gipe last semester as part of the UK Appalachian Center's "Conversations with Gurney" speaker series. Photo courtesy of Morris Grubbs.

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is pleased to announce that its scholar-in-residence, Gurney Norman, will continue his "Conversations with Gurney" speaker series this semester. The series features premier authors from the Appalachian region.

The series will kick off at 5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 23, with former Kentucky Poet Laureate George Ella Lyon. The event will take place in the John Jacob Niles Gallery in the Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center on campus.

On Nov. 11, Norman will join his UK English department colleague, Crystal Wilkinson, who is an Appalachian Center affiliate and acclaimed author. Read more about Wilkinson at https://uknow.uky.edu/professional-news/womenofuk-writer-crystal-wilkinson-has-banner-year.

Last year's series featured Anne Shelby, Robert Gipe and Chris Holbrook, and videos of the talks may be viewed at https://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/gurney-series.

Read more about Norman at https://english.as.uky.edu/users/gnorman

"Conversations with Gurney" is sponsored by the Appalachian Center with funding from the College of Arts and Sciences. The Appalachian Center fosters research, learning and engagement between the UK community and Appalachian communities. It provides a space for students, faculty, staff and community members to learn and educate others about the unique opportunities and challenges the Appalachian region faces as it works toward sustainable development in a globalized context.

This spring, the center will host the 2020 Appalachian Studies Association conference on the UK campus. Proposals for the conference are currently being accepted. More information available at www.appalachianstudies.org/annualconference/.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity and INSIGHT into Diversity recognized us as a Diversity Champion two years running. UK is ranked among the top 30 campuses in the nation for LGBTQ* inclusion and safety. The Chronicle of Higher Education judged us a “Great College to Work for,”  and UK is among only 22 universities in the country on Forbes' list of "America's Best Employers."  We are ranked among the top 10 percent of public institutions for research expenditures — a tangible symbol of our breadth and depth as a university focused on discovery that changes lives and communities. And our patients know and appreciate the fact that UK HealthCare has been named the state’s top hospital for three straight years. Accolades and honors are great. But they are more important for what they represent: the idea that creating a community of belonging and commitment to excellence is how we honor our mission to be not simply the University of Kentucky, but the University for Kentucky.