By Julie Wrinn

By choosing to attend the University of Kentucky, 600 miles away from her childhood home in Manchester, Iowa, Sydney Litterer was testing herself. She had an interest in working abroad, and she figured that if she could handle going to college so far from home, she might be comfortable living overseas.

“It was a bit of a test run,” she said. “I started looking out of state almost exclusively, and the international focus was a really big factor for me.”

Thanks to the UK College of Engineering’s outstanding opportunities for study abroad — unusual in that field due to the constraints of the engineering curriculum — Litterer chose UK. She was thrilled two have two different study abroad experiences: in Karlsruhe, Germany, where she first took Calculus 3 with a group of other UK students; and later at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology as an

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 19, 2020) — 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 impact 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

By Addison Cave

LEXINGTON, KY. (June 22) -- Sheila Jelen, interim director of the program in Jewish Studies and associate professor of Hebrew and Jewish Studies in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures in the College of Arts & Sciences at University of Kentucky, was recently awarded the Zantker Charitable Foundation Professorship in History.

Jelen has published a variety of monographs and edited volumes including, most recently, Salvage Poetics: Post-Holocaust American Jewish Folk Ethnographies (2020) and Reconstructing the Old Country: American Jewry in the Post-Holocaust Decades (2017). Her work has appeared in such journals as Prooftexts, The Jewish Quarterly Review, The AJS Review, Religion and Literature, Comparative Literature Studies and Hebrew Studies.

By Madison Dyment

LEXINGTON Ky (June 22) – Carrie Oser, professor of sociology, will serve as the new Di Silvestro Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. UK’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment in June.

The Di Silvestro Professorship recognizes a full professor who is dedicated to enhancing research excellence. As a five-year appointment that begins on July 1, the DiSivestro Professor receives an annual research stipend.  Oser, who was also a UK sociology and psychology undergraduate, was nominated by Dean Mark Kornbluh.

“I’m grateful for the wonderful alumnae of the College of Arts & Sciences for their contributions to support the research, education and service missions of UK,” Oser said.

Oser, associate chair in the Department of Sociology, is a ’ 98 UK graduate, the associate director of the

By Jay Blanton and Kody Kiser

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 22, 2020) — Tracy Campbell is the E. Vernon Smith and Eloise C. Smith Professor of American History at the University of Kentucky. He has written well-received accounts of voter fraud in the country, a biography of the Gateway Arch and a compelling biography of Ed Prichard, a legendary name in Kentucky politics whose life was a story of tragedy and redemption.

Recently, Campbell’s latest book was published — "The Year of Peril: America in 1942." It is a month-by-month chronicle of 1942, a tumultuous and often unsettling year in which America fully engaged in World War II. The deeply researched and richly detailed book underscores the fragility of democracy, the

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 19, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees today approved the University Research Professorships for the 2020-21 academic year. Among them are Amy Murrell Taylor in the Department of History; and Renée Fatemi in the Department of Physics and Astronomy.

The purpose of the University Research Professorship program is to recognize and publicize research accomplishments of scholars across the full range of disciplines at UK. The award amount is $10,000 for one year, to be used to further the research, scholarship and creative endeavors of the awardee.  

“It is gratifying to recognize these distinguished

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 19, 2020) ⁠— It’s been said that history can help us understand the present and inform the future.

Let’s travel back to April 9, 1865. At the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, Gen. Robert E. Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to the Union’s Ulysses S. Grant — ending an excruciating four-year-long battle.

The Civil War came to a close, but a number of African Americans across the United States remained enslaved — forced to continue as if freedom didn’t exist.

This was especially the case in Texas, where thousands of enslaved people weren’t freed until June 19, 1865. Their long-awaited celebration would serve as the foundation of Juneteenth.

Today, the holiday, which celebrates the abolition of slavery, coincides with protests across the

By Richard LeComte

Three University of Kentucky professors have received the College of Arts & Sciences Award for the Promotion of Diversity and Inclusion. The award recognizes a faculty member who has helped to develop a more diverse atmosphere in the College.

The College Inclusivity Committee reviewed the nominations. The awardees are: DaMaris Hill, associate professor of English and Creative Writing;  

By Richard LeComte

Sumit R. Das, University research professor of physics and astronomy, has been named to the Jack and Linda Gill Endowed Professorship in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. UK’s Board of Trustees approved the designation in December, and the appointment takes effect in July. 

The Gill Research Excellence Fund supports the Gill Professorships in Science and Engineering. The deans of the Colleges of Arts & Sciences and Engineering jointly administer the program. Professors are recommended by a committee based on a nomination letter. Das also is a College of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor for 2019-20.

“Das has made major contributions in a range of different areas related to the branch of theoretical physics known as string theory, the unified theory of elementary particles and gravity that

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 11, 2020) — The University of Kentucky recognized two College of Arts & Sciences faculty members and three teaching assistants with the 2020 Outstanding Teaching Awards.

This annual award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. A selection committee based in the Provost's Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching reviewed nominations and gave the awards. 

"The diversity of disciplines reflected in the Outstanding Teaching Award winners speaks to the breadth and depth of

By Richard LeComte

Postdoctoral positions help launch the academic careers of Ph.D. graduates and bring acclaim to their doctoral-granting institutions. Several recent Ph.D. students in the College of Arts & Sciences’ Department of Physics and Astronomy have landed stellar postdoctoral positions:

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 5, 2020) — University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that five recent UK graduates of the College of Arts & Sciences received Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 2,100 U.S. students who will travel abroad for the 2020-21 academic year.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 160 countries. 

The UK alumni awarded Fulbright grants are:

By Richard LeComte

National events burst into the curriculum of the University of Kentucky when precautions over the novel coronavirus drove instruction online. As the students of Julia Johnson’s large-lecture core creative writing class in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences saw their lives upended, she felt they needed an outlet to express their fears, emotions, and hopes.

“What we were experiencing being in quarantine and a global pandemic situation was something none of us had ever experienced before,” said Johnson, a poet and professor in the Department of English and MFA program in Creative Writing. “And to be a student during this — that adds another level to the experience.”

The result: Nascent poets and writers in both her undergraduate and graduate classes expressed themselves through haiku and other kinds of poetry. Some students then recorded

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 26, 2020) — The International Center at the University of Kentucky has announced its first cohort of UK Global Impact Award winners. Among them is Srimati Basu, professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies, College of Arts & Sciences

Recipients comprise faculty, staff and alumni who have significantly contributed to the university’s global engagement through education, research and service, as well as fostered a culturally diverse, welcoming environment that is conducive to comprehensive campus internationalization.

“Global engagement activities by faculty and staff are often seen as something extra,” said Sue Roberts,

By Richard LeComte

Myles D. Moody, now the holder of a doctorate from the University of Kentucky, has been giving his knowledge back to students through the SPARK program – an effort to train undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds in sociological research.

“I’m passionate about research and I really wanted the opportunity to transfer those skills and knowledge to younger folks,” said Moody, who earned his doctorate in sociology in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences. “It’s been very rewarding for me. I love seeing light bulbs go off. And it even reinforces some things for me. It’s been great in that regard.”

Moody was a first-generation doctoral student in the Sociology Department and a research assistant at the new Center for Health Equity Transformation at UK. In the SPARK program, he led undergrads through the process of getting research on human

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 27, 2020) — The COVID-19 pandemic has turned life upside down for almost everyone, and University of Kentucky students had to quickly adapt to finish out a semester that was unlike any other in UK history. Maria Sanchez, who graduated from UK this May, was no stranger to these challenges. Sanchez chose to share her personal story of family, hard work and resiliency, and how she plans to use her skills and experiences to create a better tomorrow.

From Mexico to the United States

Sanchez has lived in Chicago for more than half of her life and identifies as a Chicagoan. However, she was originally born in Mexico City and lived in the city’s outskirts as a young child. Her father died when she was just 1 year old, leaving her mother

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 26, 2020) — As nonprofit Appalshop celebrates its golden anniversary serving as one of Appalachia’s most celebrated hubs of creativity, University of Kentucky Libraries’ Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History in partnership with UK history alumnus and historian Jeff Keith have launched a collection of more than 50 interviews on the beloved organization online.

Known

By Richard LeComte

Even if students can’t travel to foreign lands this summer, they can extend their knowledge of languages through a series of courses offered online in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. 

“I think one really big advantage of online learning the lockdown – when students can’t leave their homes – is the ability to travel virtually,” said  Julie Human, assistant professor of French and Francophone Studies in UK’s Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures Department (MCLLC). “You can explore the customs and ways of the Francophone world whenever you’re stuck at home inside your four walls.”

Classes in Spanish, French, German and other languages are offered online through UK this summer. 

“We have all the elementary levels of

By Madison Dyment

Senior University of Kentucky students Bushra Bani-Salman, Candela Arias Perez and Olivia Bloss were selected to present their independent research at the Pi Sigma Alpha National Student Research Conference in Washington, D.C.

The students are Political Science majors receiving Peace Studies certificates in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

"Getting the opportunity to both conduct independent research and present it in a national conference, and getting to watch my peers do the same, is one of the biggest highlights of my undergraduate career," Arias Perez said. "It was a wonderful learning experience."

Pi Sigma Alpha serves as the national honors society for political science undergraduates. Over President’s Day weekend in February 2020, the society held its centennial conference. At the conference:  

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 21, 2020) — Transportation is the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Automakers  are challenged to meet higher standards designed to reduce vehic,le pollution. This pollution contributes to climate change and can be detrimental to human health.

Adhering to the new standards requires removing pollutants, specifically poisonous and highly reactive nitrogen oxides (NOx) from exhaust gas when a vehicle is started and the gas is still cold. The device that does this removal  — a catalytic converter — needs to be warm to efficiently remove NOx, however.

Mark Crocker, professor of chemistry in the University of Kentucky