Internationally renowned scholar and activist Vandana Shiva visited the University of Kentucky to present her lecture on "The Future of Food" and to discuss the many challenges of global sustainability. Shiva has been the author of more than 20 books on sustainable agriculture, development, feminist theory, alternative globalization, and bioengineering.

Amanda Fickey, a University of Kentucky doctoral candidate was recently granted a year long research fellowship by the Central Appalachian Institute in Research and Development. The Institute, located in Pikeville, Kentucky, focuses heavily on improving educational access and issues of economic development in the Central Appalachian region.

Scholars and students from around the globe have congregated in Lexington for the last two years to discuss nature, the environment, social issues, economics, and more at the Dimensions of Political Ecology Conference. The next conference will take place at the University of Kentucky during the end of February 2013.

Gwendolyn Schaefer knew she wanted to study abroad in the Middle East, but the Arab Spring presented a potential threat to her personal security. Her first two choices were Egypt and Syria, but both were deep in the throes of political unrest. Eventually, she landed in Amman, Jordan through Education Abroad at UK with AMIDEAST.