By Matt Carmichael

Lexington is ranked as the fifth best college town in America according to Livabililty.com.  The best college towns appeal not just to potential students but to potential residents and businesses looking for strong economies and opportunities to grow. With this in mind, Livability.com has named the Top 10 College Towns 2013, the fourth installment in an annual listing of the best college towns in America.

For this installment of the Livability.com list of top college towns, editors narrowed their search to cities with a high quality of life based on a range of factors from cost of living and walkability to cultural amenities and pollution levels. They then focused on those cities where a university is the top employer and key economic driver.

And finally,

By Patrick O’Dowd

English Professor Armando Prats said something that stuck in Elijah Edwards' head, "We are, in great measure, the living expression of our influences."

It's a powerful sentiment that recent English graduate Edwards reflects in his own story.

Edwards, a Kentucky native from Harrodsburg, came to the University of Kentucky in 2009 as a secondary English education major but quickly picked up two more: English and linguistics. That might seem like a lot to take on in four years, but for Edwards the workload was made manageable due to the nature of degrees from the College of Arts and Sciences, which help students explore diverse fields of knowledge.

In the midst of

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 61st of 150 weekly installments remembers the accomplishments of Dean Arthur McQuiston Miller, for whom Miller Hall is named.

Arthur McQuiston Miller was born in the countryside of Eaton, Ohio, on Aug. 6, 1861. One of his pastimes growing up was trilobite hunting in the Niagara limestone quarries in the region and thus began his interest in geology.

Miller attended Eaton public schools and in 1880 matriculated at the University of Wooster, transferring to Princeton University in 1883, and graduating in 1884. For several years Miller served as principal in Eaton High School but returned to Princeton where he earned a master’s degree in 1887, continuing on at the

By Sarah Geegan

When UK chemistry professor Susan Odom was asked about one of her students at the 244th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society in Philadelphia, her answer rendered her colleagues speechless.

Her colleague's question: "How many years of graduate school has she completed?" Odom's response: "She's still in high school."

Her student, Corrine “Nina” Elliott, works to synthesize and study new compounds for overcharge protection in lithium-ion batteries — essentially creating chemicals which can be added to batteries to make them safer and more efficient. Elliott won first place in chemistry at her regional and state science fair competitions, and presented this research at the Intel International Science Fair,

By Sarah Geegan

UK chemistry professor Marcelo Guzman was recently awarded the prestigious, National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award, a five-year grant for his research, education, and outreach efforts in the field of environmental chemistry. 

The $525,000 grant will allow Guzman to develop the first atmospheric chemistry research and education program in Kentucky. The funding will also support students in various stages of their academic careers: undergraduate, graduate and K-12.

Guzman's work with environmental chemistry focuses on the interaction of light with organic compounds present in low water activity environments such as the atmospheric aerosol,

By Jenny Wells, Kristen Stauffer

Research contributions by faculty from the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences and College of Education are featured in the 2013 release of "Common Core Mathematics Standards and Implementing Digital Technologies," published by IGI Global.

Carl Lee, UK professor of mathematics, Margaret Mohr-Schroeder, associate professor of STEM education, and College of Education doctoral graudate Robin Magruder (now a professor at Campbellsville University) were primary contributors.

Standards in the American education system are traditionally handled on a state-by-

By Victoria Dekle

Professor Bruce O’Hara in the Department of Biology is interested in the overall quality of your sleep. In his research laboratory in the Thomas Hunt Morgan Building, O’Hara investigates sleep patterns and circadian rhythms within the brain.

Not all of his test subjects, however, are human.

Mice are a common organism used in many experimental laboratories, but O’Hara and two University of Kentucky colleagues have developed some new methods to expedite the research process and to provide a more humane data collection process.

O’Hara, Professor Kevin Donohue in the Department of Electrical and

by Whitney Hale

Nationally renowned poet Ada Limón, one of this year's judges of the National Book Award in poetry, will present at this year's Kentucky Women Writers Conference scheduled for Sept. 20-22. Limón's free public reading will mark her debut in Lexington. She will also present a workshop on poetry and essays for conference registrants.

Limón is the author of three books of poetry, "Lucky Wreck," "This Big Fake World" and "Sharks in the Rivers." She received her master's degree in poetry from New York University, where she studied with former U.S. Poet Laureate Philip Levine among others. Limón has received fellowships from

by Allison Perry

The Society for Free Radical Biology & Medicine recently named the University of Kentucky's Dr. Allan Butterfield as the recipient of its 2013 Discovery Award.

The SFRBM's Discovery Award is given out every other year to a researcher who has presented significant advancements in the field of redox research. Recipients must be nominated by a SFRBM member with details justifying their consideration. Butterfield was nominated by professor Daret St. Clair of the UK Department of Toxicology, with a

by Whitney Hale

On June 29, University of Kentucky senior Jenna Day, Miss Berea Area, was crowned Miss Kentucky 2013. She will represent Kentucky in the Miss America Pageant to be held Sunday, Sept. 15, in Atlantic City, N.J. The national pageant will be broadcast live on ABC.

A native of Louisville, Ky., Day is the daughter of Daniel and Lesley Day. At UK, Day is double majoring in vocal performance and political science with hopes of eventually pursuing a career in public service.

Day's personal platform issue is "Improving the Lives of Special Needs Children." For her talent

By Jacob Most

University of Kentucky Wildcats from all eight of UK’s spring sports teams combined to earn a total of 71 spots on the Southeastern Conference Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll, Commissioner Mike Slive announced this week.

UK’s honorees included 16 women’s track and field team members, 14 from baseball, nine from softball, seven women’s tennis players, eight men’s track and field team members, six each from men’s golf and men’s tennis and five women’s golfers.

A total of 1,247 student-athletes from around the league earned spots on the honor roll, which is based on grades from the 2012 summer, 2012 fall and 2013 spring terms.  In order to make the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or his/her entire collegiate career, be at least a sophomore in academic

by Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky junior Mary Kate Elliott, from Elizabethtown, Ky., has been selected for a place at a Fulbright Summer Institute to study at Nottingham-Trent University in Nottinghamshire, England, on one of the most prestigious and selective summer scholarship programs operating worldwide.

Created by treaty in 1948, the US-U.K. Fulbright Commission is the only bi-lateral, transatlantic scholarship program, offering awards and summer programs for study or research in any field, at any accredited U.S. or United Kingdom university. The commission is

by Kody Kiser & Amy Jones-Timoney

video by UK Public Relations & Marketing.

Even after 38 years in higher education, UK English Professor Armando Prats still has a gleam in his eye when he is asked why he enjoys teaching.

Watch the video above to discover what makes his profession so fulfilling. 

This story is part of a UKNow series highlighting in-depth video features about all six recipients of the UK Alumni Association's 2013 Great Teacher Awards to show how they "

By Whitney Hale

In celebration of the University of Kentucky's upcoming sesquicentennial in 2015, the 60th of 150 weekly installments explores the evolution of UK's Summer School programming.

In the course catalogs for the Agricultural and Mechanical (A&M) College of Kentucky during the late 1860s to 1870s it gives a general description of the opportunities for students who wished to remain upon the estate (at this time the campus was located at Woodlands near Henry Clay's Ashland Estate) during the vacation (summer) months. A&M offered students the opportunity to work part or all of the time on the farm or in the shops to allow them to earn money to support the upcoming class sessions. Another benefit for those working part time was to take summer classes,

by Whitney Hale

Fifteen graduates of the University of Kentucky will head back to the classroom this fall as part of a new class of corps members in Teach for America. The UK group is among thousands of new teachers chosen this year for the national program, which is known for selecting outstanding college graduates to commit to teach for two years in disadvantaged urban and rural public schools.

Teach for America places its recruits in the nation's highest-need elementary and secondary schools in many of the country's lowest income communities, both rural and urban, in an effort to close the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children.

Currently, around 10,400 first- and second-year corps members instruct more than 750,000

by Sarah Geegan and Zachary Dodson

Three University of Kentucky students have been awarded the fall 2013 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship by the Institute of International Education to support their study abroad experiences.

The Gilman Scholarship is a congressionally funded scholarship provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.

The award supports a diverse group of students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, such as students with significant financial need, community college students, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities.

The University of Kentucky students receiving the scholarship for Fall 2013 are:

·Ana Garner, an 

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference  is offering cash prizes and other benefits in writing contests and several scholarships this year, each with a registration postmark deadline of July 1.

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference is an annual event known for bringing notable women writers to Lexington for readings, writing workshops and discussions. The conference will run Sept. 19-22, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning and several additional evening venues. Online registration for the conference is now open, but is not a requirement for entering its contests.

Currently, the Kentucky Women Writers Conference staff is accepting entries for their annual Betty Gabehart Prize, to be judged by its Board of

By Kody Kiser, Amy Jones-Timoney

University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences history associate professor Gerald Smith loved his time on campus so much as an undergraduate and graduate student, he decided to return to his alma mater to share his passion for history.

Watch the video above to discover why Smith says teaching goes far beyond what he does in the classroom. 

During the next few weeks, UKNow is presenting an in-depth video feature about each recipient of the UK Alumni Association's 2013 Great Teacher Awards

By Sarah Geegan

Several University of Kentucky faculty members have been selected as recipients of prestigious Fulbright program scholarships.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State, and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which provides funding for professionals, teachers, students and scholars to undertake graduate study, advanced research, university teaching, and teaching in elementary and secondary schools. Operating in more than 155 countries worldwide, the program is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected on the basis of academic or professional achievement, as well