I would like to invite everyone to attend this year’s A&S Distinguished Professor Lecture given by Dr. Peter Perry from the Department of Mathematics. Dr. Perry’s research focuses on spectral and scattering theory, spectral geometry, inverse problems and nonlinear partial differential equations. He is former chair of the Department of Mathematics and currently serves as the Director of the MathExcel Program. His awards and honors include UK University Research Professor, an NSF Postdoctoral Fellowship, and Fulbright Fellowship. He is the author of numerous books and articles, the organizer of a host of meetings and conferences, and has given presentations across the globe.



Since 1944, A&S has recognized the accomplishments of its faculty with the Distinguished Professor Award – the highest professional recognition offered by the College. It is bestowed on the basis of three criteria: outstanding research, exceptionally effective teaching, and distinguished professional service.

Please join us on April 26 at the Student Center Small Ballroom for a presentation given by former Army Ranger and Infantry officer, Nate Self. Captain Self’s talk,
"Leadership in Crisis,"
is open to all students and will begin at 11:00 am.



As an Army Ranger Captain, Self led a group of soldiers to the top of Takur Ghar Mountain in Afghanistan in 2002 to rescue a missing-in-action Navy SEAL. What ensued was the highest-altitude battle ever fought by U.S. troops, as well as the first War on Terror casualties. The effort was dubbed “Rescue on Roberts Ridge” and had it not been for Self’s quick-thinking and leadership, more men could have been lost.

I would like to recognize two members of the A&S community on their recent accomplishments. First, I am proud to announce that A&S academic advisor Jessica Baer was selected as a NACADA Outstanding Advising Award winner in the Primary Advising category. The award is part of the National Academic Advising Association’s annual awards program which honors advisors for their dedication to student success. She had been previously honored as a Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor at UK earlier in the year.

I am also pleased to note that Rachel Philbrick, a graduate student in Classics, was the recipient of a Jacob K. Javits Fellowship from the United State Department of Education. This competitive fellowship is given to only 33 graduate students who are pursuing degrees in the social sciences, arts, and humanities who demonstrate outstanding academic ability. Upon completion of her degree, Ms. Philbrick will continue her studies in a doctoral program where she plans to become a professor.

Congratulations to both on their exceptional achievements!

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Mr. Ahmed Kathrada and Ms. Barbara Hogan were warmly received by students and teachers at Lexington Catholic High School this morning. Students at the school were honored to meet Mr. Kathrada and listen to him speak about his experiences fighting apartheid, being imprisoned next to Nelson Mandela for 26 years, and helping to build a new South Africa upon his release. Lexington Catholic students had already studied Mr. Kathrada’s life through reading his memoirs, “No Bread for Mandela,” which was just released in the United States last month. Following Mr. Kathrada’s remarks, the Commonwealth of Kentucky appointed him an honorary Kentucky Colonel.



To see more pictures of this and other events during their visit to Kentucky, visit our Facebook page. To learn more about our South African Initiative, visit southafrica.as.uky.edu.

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As part of our year-long international programming, we are pleased to welcome two distinguished South African guests to campus this week – Ms. Barbara Hogan and Mr. Ahmed Kathrada. Both individuals are world-renowned anti-apartheid activities who played a major role in the creation of a democratic South African along with Nelson Mandela.



During their visit, a stateside exhibit of Ahmed “Kathy” Kathrada: A South African Activist for Non-Racialism and Democracy will open on April 13, 2011 in the Webb Museum of Anthropology at Lafferty Hall on UK’s campus. In honor of their work on human rights issues, Ms. Hogan and Mr. Kathrada will receive honorary degrees from the University of Kentucky on April 14. The University Press of Kentucky has also released Mr. Kathrada’s memoir, No Bread for Mandela, and there will be a book signing at Joseph-Beth Booksellers on Saturday April 16 at 2:00 p.m.

The A&S Diversity Committee, which promotes cultural awareness in the College, recently held their quarterly staff meeting. The featured guest speaker was LTC Jason Cummins, Professor of Military Science in UK’s Army ROTC whose presentation on diversity in leadership highlighted personal development strategies and encouraged new lines of thinking about diversity. Cummins' presentation was engaging and disarming at the same time to promote candid conversation around what can be a difficult subject to discuss.

The next meeting will be a networking event that will be held in the courtyard of Patterson Office Tower and the Classroom Building in June. All A&S Diversity Committee events are open to A&S staff members and are a great way to meet people with similar interests outside of your home department or program. A reminder invite will be sent to staff closer to the event. We hope to see you there!

The College of Arts & Sciences is proud to recognize several members of the A&S community who were recently nominated for the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award for Outstanding Women Staff and Faculty Members. The award was created by the UK Women’s Forum and is given each year in honor of the former Dean of Women at UK, Sarah Bennett Holmes. The award, which honors UK staff for their contributions to issues affecting women, is given to two female university employees.

Erica Caton, Director of A&S Advising, Anne-Frances Miller, Associate Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and Carrie Oser, Associate Professor of Sociology, were recognized for the award at the annual luncheon held on campus. The featured guest speakers for the luncheon were Ms. Christy Burch, B.A. Interim Director, Violence Intervention and Prevention (VIP) Center and Dr. Diane Snow, PhD, Professor of Neuroscience, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, College of Medicine & Faculty Associate, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC).

Congratulations on the nominations!

Join us for a lecture series on Native American Languages in the 21st century beginning on April 1. The series is sponsored by the Linguistics Program and Department of English and will feature several events during the month of April. Speakers from across the nation will discuss topics such as tribal enterprise and language revitalization, the intimacies of grammar in Navajo life and poetry, and speech play and new literacies in Navajo online interactions. There will also be a screening of the film, Columbus Day Legacy followed by a discussion with the film’s director on April 18th.

For more information on the lecture series and other events, please visit the A&S Events Listings.

The Department of Philosophy recently wrapped up a two-week, one-credit hour course taught by Dr. Ömer Orhan Aygün entitled “Istanbul or Constantinople? Powers of Place in Ancient Greece, the Ottoman Empire, and Recent Phenomenology.” Dr. Aygün, who is an assistant professor at Galatasaray University in Turkey, gave students an intensive look at space and place and how these concepts impacted religious, artistic, and cultural practices as exemplified by Byzantine icons and Ottoman miniatures.

For students interested in the genre of science fiction, the department is also offering a class on Philosophy and Science Fiction. Covering a wide range of issues through this accessible and interesting medium, undergraduate students tackle different philosophical topics through the comparison of philosophy and science fiction works. The class, which has so far been very popular with students, has students engaged in lively discussions on ethics, the existence of God, and whether machines can think.

The College of Arts & Sciences recently hosted the spring semester Dean’s List reception to honor the College’s outstanding students. Held on campus at the Boone Center, the reception also gave students and their families the opportunity to learn about exciting events, programs, and research ongoing in the College.