Among its many other impacts, COVID-19 has disrupted opportunities for University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences faculty to teach abroad.

In previous years, A&S faculty have taught short courses in China through partnerships facilitated by UK's Confucius Institute. For example, Rita Basuray, senior academic coordinator in A&S, has taught courses at Jilin University in Changchun, China, for six summers. Unfortunately, she was interrupted in 2020 by the pandemic.

She said she kept going back to Jilin because of her many positive experiences and her connections with the faculty and students. 

"Early on, it became obvious that it wasn’t just teaching, but exchanging active teaching ideas, fostering relationships over dinner or outings, and much more," Basuray said. "Not only did I develop long-term relations with teachers, but with students as

By C. Lynn Hiler T

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence has announced its newest class of 31 Chellgren Student Fellows.  

The Chellgren Center Student Fellows Program aligns with the university’s goal of cultivating undergraduate excellence. By providing experiences that go beyond the classroom, students become prepared for the next phase of their career, whether it be graduate school or a gap year dedicated to service. 

COVID-19 has certainly made for an unprecedented academic year. Students and professors are adhering to mask regulations in the classroom, dining halls are empty and many classes are completely online. In spite of this unexpected turn of events, Philipp Kraemer, Chellgren Chair for Undergraduate Excellence, is

Dear Members of the UK Community:

Our thoughts are with the family, friends and community members directly affected by the news released today about Breonna Taylor's death. We know that coping in such a public way adds layers to an already deep grief.

Like many of you, we experienced a range of emotions upon hearing this news. For some, it was frustration. For others, it was fear. Collectively, we share a sense of concern, urgency and responsibility.

We, as academic administrators, recognize the impact this development has on our university community, particularly students. We acknowledge the hurt and anger many are feeling. We acknowledge the sense of physical and emotional exhaustion many are experiencing. We also acknowledge the need to express these feelings in a meaningful way.
  
This is a difficult time, too, for many

In an interview with LEX18 in Lexington, Michelle Martel, professor and director of clinical training for the University of Kentucky’s Psychology Department in the College of Arts & Sciences, says it’s OK for parents to feel overwhelmed and admit they need help at times.

“If you have family or close friends in the area that could provide support, that’s a great place to start,” Martel said.

You can see more of Martel's interview at the LEX18 website.

By Richard LeComte

Austin Coke, a junior in the College of Arts & Sciences from Louisville, Kentucky, is a Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Scholar for fall 2020.

The Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence Scholarship aims to encourage and support Jewish Studies on the University of Kentucky campus. Students selected to become JHFE scholars commit to completing a minor in Jewish Studies in a maximum of four years.

As part of the JHFE scholar experience, students participate in an original scholarly research project under the guidance of a Jewish Studies faculty mentor. The scholarship provides $4,000 a year

By Richard LeComte

Benjamin Braun, associate professor of mathematics in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, received a $150,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to research geometric objects called polytopes.

Examples of polytopes are two-dimensional polygons; three-dimensional cubes, pyramids and prisms; and higher-dimensional extensions of these objects. Polytopes are used to find solutions for transportation problems, model possible outcomes of elections and investigate biological phenomena. Geometric properties of polytopes help planners model problems using computers and thus solve complicated problems. For example, volumes of polytopes can be used to compute the chance that a voting paradox will happen for a voting system.

“Polytopes have been studied

By Richard LeComte

Despite restrictions imposed upon the academic community due to the pandemic, the College of Arts & Sciences Passport to the World initiative at the University of Kentucky continues in 2020-21 for its 10th  year.

Passport to the World is a yearlong exploration of the culture and history of different areas of the world and interdisciplinary topics. This year’s theme focuses on “Global Perspectives on Race and Equity in Times of Pandemic.” The initiative will offer virtual programming that builds on previous Passport year themes of Equity (2019-2020) and Migration (2018-2019). Pursuing a virtual format this year will allow for different programming options.

“We're organizing several panel discussions on race and equity globally," said M. Cristina Alcalde, A&S associate dean of Inclusion and Internationalization "These include discussions

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 21, 2020) — University of Kentucky graduates Calli Brooks and Tsage Douglas have been selected to participate in the Teaching Assistant Program in France.. The program offers recipients the opportunity to work in France for seven months teaching English to French students of all ages.

As part of the program, each year more than 1,500 Americans teach in public schools across all regions of metropolitan France or overseas in French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Réunion. The American cohort is part of the larger Assistants de langue en France program, which recruits 4,500 young educators from 60 countries to teach 15 languages annually in France. The Assistants de langue en France program is managed by France Éducation

By Hannah Edelen and Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 16, 2020) — Yuanyuan Su, an assistant professor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics and Astronomy, is finding new ways to analyze images of our universe.

“There are two milestones in the history of modern astronomy,” Su said. “The first was to put cameras on telescopes. Instead of sketching them, we can now take pictures of celestial objects. Astronomy thus develops from being subjective to objective. The second was to put telescopes in space, allowing us to look at the high energy (X-ray and gamma ray) part of

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2020) — The University of Kentucky is part of a new Physics Frontier Center (PFC) that launched today at the University of California, Berkeley. Sponsored by the National Science Foundation, the Network for Neutrinos, Nuclear Astrophysics, and Symmetries (N3AS) PFC seeks to improve understanding of the most extreme events known in the universe: mergers of neutron stars and their explosive aftermath, which includes ripples in space-time known as gravitational waves.

Susan Gardner, professor in the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences, is leading the effort on behalf of UK.

“I am really enthusiastic about the new Physics Frontier Center and am

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 11, 2020) — Most choose to attend college to earn an education — hoping they will gain knowledge to prepare them for the pursuit of a career. But the path to a degree can unlock more than job opportunities.

Just ask Chris Gorman.

It was fall of 1961, and the University of Kentucky freshman was eager to embark on his six-year plan — a fast-track strategy that would allow him to earn both a bachelor’s degree and a law degree by the age of 24. 

“By nature, I’m a very social person,” he said. “To go from a small elementary school and high school to a major university was like putting a kid in a candy shop.”

Gorman referred to himself as a “bright-eyed kid,” but he was prepared to persevere and leave the

By Richard LeComte

Janice Fernheimer has been interested in archives, since she first set foot in one as an undergraduate English major at the University of Maryland. Her current projects build archives that highlight the influence of minorities in Kentucky’s history.

For her contributions to the archival profession, she has received the Midwest Archives Conference President’s Award for 2020.

“I am very honored that the interdisciplinary, highly collaborative work of building the oral history project has been recognized for its significant contributions to pedagogic innovation, archive building and stewarding,  and community engagement,” said Fernheimer, Zantker Professor and director of the Jewish Studies Program in UK’s College of Arts &

By Titus W. Chalk

Pulitzer-prize winning poet Paul Muldoon and author Kiese Laymon, whose memoir Heavy won the 2019 Andrew Carnegie medal for nonfiction, are featured in this year’s University of Kentucky Visiting Writers Series, which will be held online. Laymon will be reading alongside distinguished writers Cinelle Barnes, Minda Honey and UK alumna Joy Priest.

The English Department’s MFA in Creative Writing in the College of Arts & Sciences sponsors the series. Given the health risks associated with live readings, organizers are taking this mainstay of campus literary life online.

“This shows our determination to continue the high calibre and diverse guests our Visiting Writers Series has become known for, in a virtual format,” said Frank X Walker, the new director of Creative Writing. “We’ll also be adding master classes and workshops to ensure

While many find working from home during a global pandemic difficult, others find the change of environment and schedule spurs their creativity. The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities is exploring the of this time on creatives as part of a new video series, “Over Yonder: Conversations with Artists and Scholars on Social Distancing.” “Over Yonder,” which launched on the Gaines Center’s new YouTube channel, features the center’s director, Melynda Price, interviewing Kentucky artists, musicians and scholars on their quarantine experience. As part of the series, Price explores how her guests are working and innovating amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

By Richard LeComte

Cagney Coomer has three big achievements under her belt:  She earned a doctorate in Biology from the University of Kentucky in the College of Arts & Sciences; she started a nonprofit to encourage kids to pursue science and technology; and her research unlocked the secrets of two genes in the eye – the subject of her dissertation.  

“I studied two genes that had been studied in other organs but their function in the retina was unknown,” said Coomer, who defended her work in July. “I found they’re involved in photoreceptor maintenance, survival and regeneration.”

And with that, Coomer advanced humanity’s knowledge of genes and the eye, under the guidance of her dissertation adviser, Ann C. Morris, associate professor of biology.

“It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Dr. Coomer over the past six years,” Morris said. “She has

By Kody Kiser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2020) — Beginning Aug. 3 and running through Aug. 22, University of Kentucky offered COVID-19 testing on campus for its approximately 30,000 students — undergraduate, graduate and professional — at no cost to students. The idea was to create a baseline for university officials as plans are implemented for ongoing daily screening, contact tracing and other health measures.

In addition, students moving into residence halls on campus are being provided ‘health kits’, containing digital thermometers,

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 20, 2020) — The Kentucky Women Writers Conference – Virtual Edition runs Sept. 10–13, 2020, and is taking place entirely online.

Julie Wrinn, conference directory, recently wrote an op-ed in the Lexington Herald-Leader about how this event will be different in the context of the pandemic and the protests.The conference features writing workshops, readings and panel discussions. General admission is $25, with options for joining a small-group workshop or meeting with an agent for additional fees.

The conference will continue to include several signature free events, taking place at 7 o'clock, though each will look a little different this year. The

By Aimee Imlay, Matthew Wentz, and Adrian Ho

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 19, 2020) — The editorial collective of disClosure: A Journal of Social Theory announces the release of its 29th volume, available on the journal's website. The issue focuses on theories of populism and brings together a wide range of perspectives relating to the phenomenon, experience and study of populism.

The recent uptick in populism signals political, economic or social unrest across the globe. This issue presents conversations about the types and origins of populisms; the editors believe that the development and definition of populism is both historically and socially

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2020) — “The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or any State on account of sex.”

The words seem simple enough, but when they were ratified by the states 100 years ago, those words reflected the culmination of decades-long efforts by suffragists of all backgrounds.

On Aug. 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote — marking a monumental moment in history. But suffrage battles continued as women of color remained barred from casting ballots in states with intimidation tactics.

Today, it’s imperative that we — as a society — reflect on the women’s suffrage movement and those who made meaningful contributions. These figures include Laura Clay, who toured the United States

An alumnus of the University of Kentucky’s doctoral program in statistics recently received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.

SUNY Oswego mathematics professor Ampalavanar Nanthakumar was recognized for his skills as an educator, dedication to students and contributions to the field of statistics.

“Professor Nanthakumar has excellent communication skills with an impeccable teaching record at SUNY Oswego,” wrote his nominator, Kamal I. Mohamed, a biology professor and director of Rice Creek Field Station. “As an instructor he can motivate, inspire, encourage and identify with students. Students in his classes described him as caring, fair and encouraging, enthusiastic and well prepared.”

Nanthakumar also has supervised more than 50 student capstone projects, independent study projects, Scholarly and Creative Activity Committee Challenge