by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 6, 2014) — University of Kentucky geography Professor Jonathan Phillips was recently awarded one of the leading recognitions in his field of study, the David Linton Award, from the British Society for Geomorphology (BSG).

The 2014 Linton Award recognizes Phillips’ “lifetime of distinguished and influential contributions to fluvial geomorphology spanning a broad array of topics in over 180 papers, including 10 in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.”

The BSG announcement added that Phillips’ “career has included a combination of thought-provoking methodological and philosophical contributions to geomorphic system understanding and landscape evolution, and empirical contributions across several branches of geomorphology."

The David Linton Award is given to a geomorphologist who has made a leading contribution to the

by Whitney Hale

(Oct. 3, 2014) — The 2014 issue of Nomenclatura: Aproximaciones a los estudios hispánicos, a publication dedicated to investigating Hispanic literatures and cultures, is now available online via UKnowledge through a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Department of Hispanic Studies and UK Libraries. This journal encourages work that employs innovative writing styles as well as formal scholarly work and is edited by graduate students from the Department of Hispanic Studies at UK.  

The first issue of Nomenclatura: Aproximaciones a los estudios hispánicos: “

Professor emerita Jane Gentry Vance passed away on Thursday afternoon after a year-long battle with cancer. This is terribly sad news to everyone who knew her or was taught by her, especially her colleagues in the English Department and the Honors Program, where she taught for forty years before retiring in 2013. While this is a dismaying day, it’s also worthwhile to pause and celebrate Jane, and to remember fondly her warmth, her wry humor, her graciousness, and her many accomplishments as a poet and faculty member. 

Jane graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Hollins College in 1963, joined the University of Kentucky in 1972, published two books of poetry, a chapbook, and over 100 other poems, and taught creative writing to thousands of students. Always a favorite of her students, Jane won the Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award. For her poetry, the state of

By Sarah Schuetze

When Virginia Conn was growing up in LaGrange, Ky., the opening of the town’s first Chinese restaurant warranted a school field trip for lunch. At that time, LaGrange was still growing, and it didn’t offer Conn much exposure to different cultures or people. Through reading, however, Conn’s passion for language and culture began to grow.

This fall, Conn took a new step in pursuing this passion as a graduate student in the Comparative Literature Department at Rutgers University. She hopes her degree will allow her to live and work in different countries, “never settling for too long in any one place,” and it’s that process of adapting that interests Conn

Hard work pays off! Faculty from the College of Arts and Sciences and families from around Kentucky gathered Friday, September 26, to celebrate students who excelled in their studies. Five GWS majors made the Dean’s List and were honored at a bountiful reception in the Ballroom of the Student Center. They were: Rebecca Moore; Alexandra Adams; Andrea Marie Stephenson; Destiny Simone Commodore; and Rockia Kiara Harris.

“We are so proud of our Dean’s List students,” said GWS director of undergraduate studies, Carol Mason, at the reception. “Our majors cultivate a truly interdisciplinary perspective and are encouraged to think through a variety of theoretical frameworks, different methodologies, and texts from both the humanities and social sciences. When they make the Dean’s List, they prove they are well-rounded thinkers.”

Alex Adams, a senior, said she attended the

by Keith Hautala

(Oct. 1, 2014) — Helen Blau, director of Stanford University's Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology, will deliver the sixth annual Thomas Hunt Morgan Lecture, presented by the University of Kentucky Department of Biology. 

Blau's lecture, titled "Reprogramming Stem Cell Fate and Function," will take place at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 2, in Room 116 of the Thomas Hunt Morgan Building. Blau will give a second talk, "Extended Healthspan Through Regenerative Medicine," at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.  

Blau’s research is focused on the regulation of cell fate. In the 1980s her lab challenged and changed the dogma that the mammalian differentiated state was "terminal

One of our English students, Jenny Winstead, was recently awarded one of the top prizes in a photo contest as part of UK’s 1st Annual Water Week.  This was a series of events organized by the TFISE Water Systems working group to engage our community about the critical importance of local, regional and global water supply, water quality and associated issues facing present and future generations..  Contestants were challenged to submit photos that captured the essence of the “celebrate water” theme and conveyed a story or personal connection.  Photos were judged based on several criteria including: 1) connection to Water Week theme; 2) technical quality; 3) interest, 4) creativity, and 5) composition. 

Congratulations Jenny!

Photo Caption: Discovered by early settlers in 1778, Doe Run Creek has given life to herds of buffalo, elk, deer, and inhabitants throughout its

by Whitney Hale

(Oct. 1, 2014) – The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is now accepting scripts by women for its 2015 Prize for Women Playwrights, which awards a $500 cash prize and a full theatrical production to the winner. Actors Guild of Lexington will produce the winning script as a world premiere in summer 2015, and playwright Carson Kreitzer will serve as judge.

The submission deadline for the 2015 Prize for Women Playwrights is Nov. 1, and a winner will be announced on Feb. 20, 2015. Scripts must be submitted online

By Guy Spriggs

With sea levels rising, will coastal land along the northern Gulf of Mexico naturally build itself up enough to combat the loss of its coastline? As the coastline continues to disappear, where will the rate of loss be worst?

When did pollution in Maine’s Penobscot River begin? Is the polluted material being introduced into our food chain? Are new laws helping reduce the pollution level?

If we wanted to answer these important questions, where would we turn?

These questions – and many more – can be solved by the unique equipment and skilled researchers working in Kevin Yeager’s Sedimentary, Environmental and Radiochemical Research Laboratory (SER2L) at the University of Kentucky.

by Lina Crocker, Full-time Lecturer at CESL

On Wednesday, September 24th, our students had a wonderful visit to Locust Trace AgriScience Farm, which is a special high school in Lexington that focuses on agricultural studies, as well as the environment and energy.  In addition to normal classrooms, Locust Trace has labs, gardens, a greenhouse, a barn for animals, facilities for raising fish and a veterinary clinic. Students can study Plant and Land Science, Veterinary Assistant, Agriculture Power Mechanics, Equine Studies and Large Animal Science.

We really enjoyed seeing the school building, which was beautiful, innovative and energy efficient.  It generates its own electricity with solar panels, and has many energy saving features.  It also has an interesting water system which

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to the

A position is available for an Assistant Professor of Gender & Women's Studies at the University of Kentucky:

The Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at the University of Kentucky seeks applications for a full-time, tenure track, assistant professorship to begin August 2015 with teaching and research interests such as but not limited to transnational feminisms, masculinities, and transgender studies. We seek candidates who can participate fully in the research, teaching, and service of the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies. We are searching for an innovative teacher who can teach a broad range of required core courses in our undergraduate and graduate curriculum including large-lecture introductory classes. Candidates are expected to have a Ph.D. in hand or by August 2015. A Ph.D. or a graduate certificate/concentration, in feminist studies/gender and women’s

by Whitney Hale

(Sept. 25, 2014) — From Affrilachia to fiddles, the next two performances in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series are sure to entertain. On Friday, Sept. 26, celebrated folk duo Sparky and Rhonda Rucker will perform. The next Friday, Oct. 2, Letcher County's only female fiddle duo, the SkiPdiPPerS, will appear. Both free public concerts will take place at noon at the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

A Folk Concert with Some Spark

Sparky and Rhonda Rucker perform "Which Side Are You On?" at UK's

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 24, 2014) — Students from across the University of Kentucky have a new opportunity to work for the well-being of children in the 54 Appalachian counties of Kentucky, in the "UK Tomorrow Corps," a service initiative being launched by the UK Appalachian Center.  

The UK Tomorrow Corps program will provide summer employment and professional support for UK students tutoring K-12 students in math and literacy skills, in partnership with local libraries, public schools, and community organizations. The initiative is intended to help young residents of Appalachia gain and retain skills through the summer and work toward their long-term educational goals.

Participants can be from any major and will receive training throughout the academic year to help them succeed as

by Keith Hautala

(Sept. 24, 2014) — The first English translation of the entire Suda lexicon, a massive 10th century Byzantine encyclopedia, is complete after more than 16 years of collaborative, volunteer-driven work by a diverse group of scholars, including key contributors from the University of Kentucky. 

The translation, as well as the first continuous commentary on the Suda's contents in any language, is now searchable and browsable through the Suda On Line (SOL) database. Conceived in 1998, the project grew to comprise more than 31,000 entries, through the contributions of more than 200 volunteers. 

The project was groundbreaking in more ways than one, providing a new model of open, participatory scholarship. The project organizers state:

"From the beginning,

by Abigall Shipp

(Sept. 23, 2014) — Chinese involvement in Africa and female drug dealers in Chinese prisons are the topics of this fall’s Distinguished Scholar Series, sponsored by the University of Kentucky Confucius Institute (UKCI).

Ching Kwan Lee, a sociology professor at University of California, Los Angeles, launches the series with “The Specter of Global China: Contesting the Power and Peril of Chinese State Capital in Zambia,” which explores China’s role in copper and construction in Zambia.

Sheldon Zhang, a sociology professor at San Diego State University follows Lee with “

The American Mathematical Society (AMS) recently started a blog titled On teaching and learning mathematics. The chief editor of the blog is Ben Braun of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Kentucky. Visit the AMS website for more information and a podcast featuring Braun.

by Sarah Schuetze

Subway cards. Receipts from a West End theater. A pamphlet from Mary Arden’s farm in Stratford-upon-Avon. Artifacts of summer travel that University of Kentucky’s Kelsey Potter, a junior majoring in English and integrated strategic communication, found in her raincoat pockets the first rainy week of the semester.

She hadn’t used the jacket since her three-week stay in London where she participated in the prestigious American Institute for Foreign Study (AIFS)

by Whitney Hale

(Sept. 19, 2014) — This weekend, Huajing Maske, executive director of the Office of China Initiatives and director of the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky, will receive the Amici Linguarum (Friend of Languages) Award given by the Kentucky World Language Association (KWLA). The honor recognizes an individual or organization not directly involved in teaching world languages that has made a significant contribution to the profession.

Maske will be presented with the Amici Linguarum Award at the annual KWLA Awards Luncheon scheduled for Sept. 20, at the