By Erin Holaday Ziegler
The University of Kentucky was recognized by the Chronicle of Higher Education this week as a top producer of U.S. Fulbright Scholars for the 2011-12 academic year, with five recipients as of Oct. 7.
UK is a top producer of Fulbright Scholars among research institutions, according to the Chronicle's listing.
The prestigious Fulbright Scholar Program is the flagship international exchange program of the U.S. and
By Erin Holaday Ziegler, Andrew Jarrells
Lexington's Isaac Murphy Bicycle Club grew out of writer and avid cycler Frank X Walker's vision. The English professor and director of UK's African American and Africana Studies Program wanted to link inner city children to Lexington's Legacy Trail by providing them with bicycles and the equipment needed to enjoy a bike ride.
Furthermore, Walker wanted young participants to have access to mentors; mentors would provide training, education and diet guidance to Lexington's youth.
The bicycle club is named for Isaac Murphy, who grew up on the East End of Lexington, was a three-time Kentucky Derby
Close, intimate relationships are an essential part of human existence. And obviously, when a partner cheats, it isn't exactly going to brighten your day. New research by Nathan DeWall and colleagues explored the role of attachment style in cheating behavior and attitudes. Read the full article.
By Erin Holaday Ziegler
Four individuals will join the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame during a ceremony this evening at the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center.
The school's Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty and students whose foundation for success can be found in the Arts and Sciences.
"We are tremendously pleased about inducting these outstanding Arts and Sciences graduates and faculty into our Hall of Fame," said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "As our students prepare for their own journeys, the achievements of our award-winning alumni and faculty serve as an inspiration, bringing honor to the entire university and improving
By Guy Spriggs
University of Kentucky's Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES), in partnership with UK alumnus Tom Spalding (’80, ’82), accepted a $600,000 gift from Pioneer Natural Resources Company today.
Spalding is vice president of Pioneer, a large independent oil and gas exploration company based in Dallas, with operations in Texas, Colorado, Alaska and South Africa.
“Pioneer really went to bat for us,” said David Moecher, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies of EES in the
By Erin Holaday Ziegler
Four years of college is four years of finding yourself socially and [sometimes] academically for many students enrolled at the University of Kentucky. The city in which a student goes about pursuing the next chapter of his or her life doesn't always come into play. However, a new course at UK wants to change that.
UK geography professor Richard Schein hopes to shed some local, Lexington light on students this fall with a Community 101 class being offered to university students through UK's College of Arts & Sciences.
"We've been an urban society since the 1920s," said Schein. "It's important for our students to become urban citizens, understanding gentrification, immigration, school districts and other city
By Rebekah Tilley
“Last summer I was in Budapest briefly locked in a gypsy’s apartment while she tried to extort more money from me, and had a great time…” said Joe Nickell, as if he were describing a weekend at the lake. He is a man with many interests – over 200 “personas” are listed on his personal website including folksinger, stage magician, and séance conductor. His current title is Senior Research Fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry and investigative columnist for Skeptical Inquirer magazine. However, he identifies himself simply as a writer.
“Writer seemed the one thing that complimented my insatiable curiosity,” said the author, co-author or editor of over 30 books. “The reason through so many interests and activities that I’ve held it all together – I
by Colleen Glenn
Patience is a virtue. Just ask Ginny Carney. An alum of the English Department, Carney is now President of Leech Lake Tribal College in Minnesota. But she didn’t get there overnight.
Carney, who is Cherokee Indian, was raised in the mountains of eastern Tennessee. The oldest of five children, Carney grew up without electricity (no phone or TV), indoor plumbing, or transportation. “As achildgrowing up in an isolated mountain region of East Tennessee, I assumed that everyone shared our worldview,” she recalls.
But all of the time she spent not watching television led Carney to become a voracious reader, and the more she read, the more she soon learned about cultures other than her own.
Disturbed by the disparaging views many authors held of Appalachian people as well as the stereotypical beliefs regarding American Indians, she vowed
Biology professor David Westneat from the University of Kentucky's College of Arts & Sciences has won a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF), guaranteeing 10 weeks of research to 10 undergraduate students at UK's Ecological Research Facility (ERF) or Griffith Woods beginning next summer.
UK biologists, along with researchers from the College of Agriculture and the College of Education will host an annual 10-week summer program for undergraduate research on suburban ecology and invasive species.
by Erin Holaday Ziegler
The University of Kentucky's Clinical Psychology program took the number one spot in a national study of productivity rankings, meaning that UK psychology graduate students and professors in the College of Arts & Sciences are generating a host of novel research that is effective and influential as well.
In a recent published study "Leading North American Programs in Clinical Assessment Research: An Assessment of Productivity and Impact" by Texas A&M University psychology professor Leslie C. Morey, UK's Clinical Psychology program ranked No. 1 in h-index.
"We were thrilled to be ranked first," said UK
by Erin Holaday Ziegler
The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences has chosen the following professors as new department chairs: associate professor Deborah Crooks, Department of Anthropology; associate professor Jeff Clymer, Department of English (to begin spring 2012; associate professor of English Marion Rust will be interim chair of the Department of Anthropology for the fall 2011-2012 year); associate professor Karen Petrone, Department of History; professor David Leep, Department of Mathematics; professor
The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence honored its fifth class of 30 Chellgren Fellows at a reception on campus last night. Benefactor Paul Chellgren and his wife Deborah, in addition to Chellgren Endowed Chair Philipp Kraemer, UK President Eli Capilouto, UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy, and Associate Provost Mike Mullen, all recognized and congratulated the students on being named Fellows.
The Chellgren Fellows Program is for students with exceptional academic potential and aspirations, who are eager to participate in a special learning community designed to cultivate extraordinary achievement. Outstanding faculty members from across campus serve as individual mentors for
by Erin Holaday Ziegler
A renowned Kentucky writer and University of Kentucky English professor was recently honored in a southern writing magazine for his creativity in the classroom.
The Oxford American: The Southern Magazine of Good Writing named associate professor of English in the College of Arts & Sciences Frank X Walker to its list of "The Most Creative Teachers in the South" for the fall issue.
"People have a monolithic stereotype of Appalachia that is more of a caricature," Walker said in his interview with Oxford American. "They think of Boss Hogg or 'The
By Erin Holaday, Kody Kiser, Amy Jones
University of Kentucky sophomore Brittany Courtney went into a freshman writing class last fall with the same thought that many of her accounting major peers do each semester.
"I'm not a writer, but I've always done well in my English classes," said the Frankfort native, who found herself wholly unprepared for lecturer Beth Connors Manke of the College of Arts and Sciences Division of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media. "Halfway through the first semester, Dr. Beth sat me down, and we went through my writing, line by line."
By the spring, Courtney successfully completed the pilot class, Composition and
With more than 7,000 students,17 departments and 14 programs, the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences would be one of the largest universities in the Commonwealth of Kentucky.
Yet its size and diversity is increasingly an advantage when it comes to creative and innovative ways to teach and conduct research, President Eli Capilouto believes.
"I was energized by my meeting with the College of Arts & Sciences," Capilouto said after meeting this week for more than three hours with Dean Mark Lawrence Kornbluh and leading faculty in the college. "They have an idea a minute, and Dean Kornbluh is doing an incredible job empowering our academic entrepreneurs."
By Erin Holaday, Colleen Glenn
It’s almost time for class and you’re still in your dorm room. But you’re not going to be late. There’s plenty of time to walk downstairs.
Imagine what residence halls will be like in 2020. That’s what the College of Arts & Sciences did when they created a new living and learning community at Keeneland Hall.
Debuting this fall, A&S Wired houses almost 200 freshmen in a unique interactive space that combines education and residence life.
“As we envisioned what education would be like for students starting college in 2020, we knew advanced technology would be a critical component,” said Adrienne McMahan, assistant dean of
When Kyle Longley applied to doctoral programs in history, he narrowed the choice down to two schools: the University of Kentucky and one other. But a visit to Lexington and Billy’s Bar-B-Q, where he had lunch with George Herring, the professor who would become his mentor, made UK the place to go.
“Once I met George, there was no choice,” Longley said. “He was just a very accommodating and helpful professor.”
Twenty years later, Longley is the Snell Family Dean’s Distinguished professor of history at Arizona State. He’s written four books, edited and contributed to another and is about to send his fifth to the publishers. He’s won many teaching awards and has contributed to mainstream publications like the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times andNewsweek
The son of a naval architect/marine engineer, Steven C. Grambow credits his father for putting him on the path to hard sciences.
“He was my biggest influence. At a relatively young age he was the chief engineer and naval architect of a World War II Navy Shipyard in Sausalito, CA that at its peak had over 20,000 employees. He went on to have a long and successful career as an engineer and project manager in international mining and minerals. He had a brilliant mind and enjoyed studying math, physics and general science as a hobby. It definitely rubbed off on me.”
Grambow grew up in Northern California and started college at UCLA, decided to take a break for a year, and then finished his undergraduate math degree (with an emphasis in statistics) at California State University at Chico.
“One of my stats professors at Chico, Neil Schwertman, one of
For philosophy alum Will Sanders, attending the University of Kentucky was always part of the plan. The Frankfort native’s parents both attended the university and it was natural for him to follow in their steps. Choosing a major was the challenge.
The College of Arts and Sciences was the perfect place to land when it came to finding his footing, according to Sanders.
“I started as a French major but then switched to philosophy,” Sanders said. “My interest in East Asian thought systems then led me to study Japanese and eventually Chinese.”
Sanders said he was drawn to Eastern philosophy in part because of his interest in the “beats,” a group of American writers who were popular in the 1950s and known, among other things, for
When Shannon Hincker started her undergraduate work at the University of Kentucky in 2004, she was a mathematics major.
After two years, she switched to the College of Arts & Sciences’ mathematical economics program.
With its combination of math, statistics and economics, the program was a good fit for Hincker and prepared her well for a job doing actuarial work for Mercer.
“I loved math,” Hincker said. “I still love math. However, I knew early on that I didn’t want to go into teaching so I was very interested in getting a background that was strong in math and strong in the business field, too. That way, I just figured I’d have a lot more choices when I was finished.”
Robert Molzon, who is in the math
