by Kathy Johnson, Gail Hairston

(Feb. 25, 2014) — Kentucky Poet Laureate Frank X Walker brought home the gold this past weekend, winning the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work in Poetry.

Walker, an associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky as well as founder of the Affrilachian Poets, was recognized for his most recent book of poetry, "Turn Me Loose: The Unghosting of Medgar Evers."

“I am thrilled for Frank, whose scholarship is deserving of national recognition,” said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of UK’s College of Arts

Originally posted on President Eli Capilouto's blog

It is with immeasurable sadness that we mourn the shared loss of a transformative figure in the life of the University of Kentucky. On February 18, 2014, Dr. Wimberly Royster, a professor emeritus of mathematics and former administrator at the University, passed away.

For those who knew him – and there were many – they know this Henderson County native believed that Kentucky could compete at any level; it just took vision and persistence to see it through.

That level of resolve was ever present in Dr. Royster’s work. During his tenure at UK, he was dean for both the Graduate School and the College of Arts & Sciences, as well the first vice president for Research and Graduate Studies and a special assistant to the president of the University.

Professor Royster helped propel UK to a new level

by Gail Bennett

(Feb. 25, 2014) ― WUKY 91.3 FM collaborates with the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame to broadcast readings of selections from the works of the new 2014 Hall of Fame authors on March 1.

The Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame announced the 2014 Hall of Fame class at an induction ceremony on Jan. 23 at the Carnegie Center. This is the second class to be inducted.

WUKY will air a program showcasing the introductions, readings and musical performances as recorded from that evening. The broadcast will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 1.

The seven new members of the 2014 Hall of Fame class include: children’s author Rebecca Caudill, best known for "A Pocketful of Cricket" and "Tree of Freedom"; University of Kentucky professor Thomas D. Clark, best known for "A History of

by Sarah Geegan

(Feb. 25, 2014) — The third speaker in the "see tomorrow Speaker Series," Kathi Kern, director of the UK Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), will engage with the UK community at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 27, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Kern, an associate professor in the UK Department of History, is an innovator in her own classrooms and brings energy and enthusiasm to her teaching.  Her speech, "From the Ground Up: Faculty Innovation and the Future of Teaching and Learning at UK," will focus on pedagogy and innovation in teaching and learning.

Kern recently answered a series of questions about her experience and her upcoming presentation for UKNow:

On what topics will your presentation focus?

In this presentation, we will survey the national landscape of trends

By: Mary Venuto

Quirky Japanese fact #68: Folklore contains a creature known as Ashiarai Yashiki, a giant foot

that crashes through the roof in the middle of the night, demanding the terrified homeowner to

wash it.



Quirky Japanese fact #108: There are 67 different flavors of Fanta and over 200 flavors of Kit

Kats in Japan.



Sure, not only will you discover other fun cultural oddities, but you will also distinguish yourself

through unique summer study in Japan, where field learning opportunity and social network

will give you the best prospect to succeed for professional career in East Asia and the US.

Students enrolled in the Japan summer field seminar travel by bullet train across the country

and experience a wide variety of

On January 23, seven writers were inducted into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. One inductee, James Baker Hall, was a previous member of our English department and was much beloved and well respected as a poet. Other inductees included Rebecca Caudill, Thomas D. Clark, Janice Holt Giles, Etheridge Knight, Thomas Merton, and Jesse Stuart.

Read more here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 21, 2014) — The axolotl may look like a creature from a science fiction movie, but researchers at the University of Kentucky say these strange little salamanders have a lot to teach us.

On Monday, Feb. 24, the university will host a daylong symposium, titled "How Mexican Axolotls Promote Science, Conservation, and Creativity," sponsored by the UK College of Arts and Sciences, Department of Biology, and Department of Hispanic Studies.

The axolotl (rhymes with "tax a bottle") is unusual in that it does not undergo a metamorphosis between its juvenile form and adulthood, as do most salamanders, a trait known as paedomorphism, the retention of juvenile traits by adults.

"Axolotls are the most famous paedomorphic

by Whitney Hale

(Feb. 19, 2013) — A new exhibition at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning recounts the remarkable history and work of King Library Press. "Gutenberg to Gratz Park: Hand Printing at the King Library Press," the first off-campus exhibit dedicated solely to the press, runs through March 2014 at the center, located at 251 West Second St. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

This exhibition captures not only the important work being done at King Library Press, but gives viewers an idea of the great significance the press plays in the world of hand printing still today.

"The invention of letterpress

By Guy Spriggs

For most Americans, levees are man-made engineering projects, rarely mentioned outside of the flooding that follows disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

However, recent research conducted by Earth and Environmental Science (EES) Assistant Professor Derek Sawyer published in the journal “Geology” sheds new light on levees most of us never see – those built naturally by underwater rivers deep below the ocean’s surface.

“On the ocean floor there are rivers gouging their way to deeper parts of the ocean,” Sawyer explained. “As a river moves along the bottom it makes its own channel, and it can run for hundreds of miles.”

These underwater rivers typically form outboard of

by  Derrick Meads

(Feb. 19, 2014) — The Cultural Diversity Festival will celebrate UK and Lexington's global community through several events throughout the month of March.

"With scores of obligations and meetings we often don't pause and appreciate the amazing cultural diversity of our campus community," said Judy "J.J." Jackson, UK’s vice president for institutional diversity. "The annual Cultural Diversity Festival provides the campus with a wonderful opportunity to connect across cultural boundaries, and to engage intentionally with others from different cultures. It helps us to take stock and realize

By Mary Venuto

(Lexington, KY) – The philosopher, Alkmeon, is said to have been the first to advocate that the brain was the site of the spirit. In the case of D. Allan Butterfield, he is being recognized for both his spirit and brain.

Butterfield, a professor in the Department of Chemistry, is being awarded the Alkmeon International Prize for his contribution to the progress in the science of Alzheimer's disease (AD). He will be presented the award in Rome, Italy by Professor Nistico, of the University of Rome, on April 3, 2014. Dr. Butterfield will also be giving a lecture at the University of Rome II (Tor Vergata) and a seminar in Biochemistry at the University of Rome I (La Sapienza) during this trip.

”It is fair to say that our

By Afton Fairchild Spencer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2014) — Six University of Kentucky educators were recently named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2014 Great Teacher Award.

The recipients are:

Award

by Kathy Johnson

(Feb. 14, 2014) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  On today's program, WUKY News' Chase Cavanaugh is guest host, and he talks to Jon Huntsman, former U.S. ambassador to China and Singapore, Utah governor, and presidential candidate, who will present a lecture at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in Memorial Hall. 

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/conversation-jon-huntsman.  

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:35 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 18, 2014) — Three University of Kentucky authors will present recent books about mountaintop removal mining, and the treasured landscapes and Appalachian communities that lie in its midst, at a book talk and signing Thursday, Feb. 27.  

Erik Reece, of the Department of English, and Jim Krupa, of the Department of Biology, will discuss their book, "The Embattled Wilderness: The Natural and Human History of Robinson Forest and the Fight for its Future" (University of Georgia Press, 2013). Shannon Elizabeth Bell, of the Department of Sociology, will discuss her book, "

by Whitney Hale

(Feb. 14, 2014) — In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 71st of 150 weekly installments explores the university's connection to the adoption of evolutionary theory.

Kentucky students were introduced to evolutionary theory as early as 1900. A photograph from campus of an early zoology class has written on the chalkboard, "The Evolution of Evolution Theories." This was long before the controversy regarding teaching evolutionary theory in the 1920s would erupt.

William Jennings Bryan, who had visited with campus leaders in 1912, would become the leading antievolutionist of the time.  In 1922, Bryan returned to Kentucky to further his beliefs speaking to large audiences in Lexington, Paris, Danville, as well as the legislature in Frankfort in favor of the antievolution bill.

by Elizabeth Adams

(Feb. 14, 2014) - Former University of Kentucky museum director Mary Lucas Powell was recently cited in The Scientist for her research tracing the prehistoric origins of treponematosis, a complex of diseases that includes syphilis.

The article, "Syphilis: Then and Now," references Powell's work, "The Myth of Syphilis: The Natural History of Treponematosis in North America," published in collaboration with Dr. Della Collins Cook, professor of anthropology at Indiana University in 2005. During her time at UK, Dr. Powell served as the director and curator of the W.S. Webb Museum of Anthropology and as an adjunct assistant professor in the department of anthropology.

In "The Myth of Syphilis," Powell and Cook charged experts to write chapters reviewing archaeological and paleopathological evidence for

by Keith Hautala

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky's Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES) formally opened the Pioneer Natural Resources Stratigraphy and Paleo-environments Laboratory at a ribbon cutting ceremony Friday, Feb. 14.

The laboratory is situated on the completely renovated ground floor of the Slone Building. The project was undertaken with $900,000 in support from Pioneer Natural Resources, a large, independent oil and natural gas company based in Irving, Texas. The company provided an initial grant of $600,000 and an additional $300,000 in operating funds.

Additional support for the project came from the UK College of Arts and Sciences, UK Facilities Management, and the Herman Lee and Nell Stuart Donovan Endowment. Lexmark

by Katy Bennett, Student Activities Board

LEXINGTON, Ky (Feb. 17, 2014) — Genocide Awareness Week at the University of Kentucky will begin with Derreck Kayongo, a refugee of the Ugandan civil war. Kayongo will share his experiences as a refugee and how he turned his struggles into an opportunity. He will point out how small contributions can save thousand of lives. Kayongo will speak at 7 p.m. Monday, Feb. 17, in the Student Center's Center Theater. This event is free and open to the public and is sponsored by the Student Activities Board's Multicultural Affairs Committee.

After many years of witnessing devastation in his homeland, Kayongo is now a philanthropist and the founder of the Global Soap Project. Used hotel soaps are

by Allison Elliott-Shannon



(Feb. 13, 2014) — Open access to information is the goal of higher education, and several members of the University of Kentucky Department of Psychology faculty are participants in an innovative project designed to bring free, up-to-date texts to students. Headed by University of Illinois professors Ed and Carol Diener, the website Nobaproject.com gives instructors and their students access to customized psychology content written by top experts in the field.

120 authors, including seven members of the UK faculty, put together more than 80 chapters in 11 psychology topic areas. All content is completely free, and allows instructors to customize texts by