by Whitney Hale

(April 9, 2014) — University of Kentucky Libraries will bestow two prestigious awards at its annual dinner this weekend. Noted cultural geographer and a former Provost's Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Geography Karl Raitz will receive the 2014 UK Libraries Award for Intellectual Achievement. UK Libraries will also recognize its Paul A. Willis Outstanding Faculty Award winner, Tari Keller. Both awards will be presented at the dinner scheduled for April 11, at Griffin Gate Marriott.

The UK Libraries Award

by Thomas Janoski

(April 9, 2014) — In an effort to train University of Kentucky graduate students and help researchers, the Quantitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research (QIPSR) is bringing four of the most sophisticated methodologists in America for a mini-conference April 10-11 and a workshop May 15-18 on structural equation models (SEM). This method goes far beyond the typical single equation explanation of social science voting, health, participation, protesting or learning. It encompasses the combination of up to hundreds of variables into a complex system of meaningful behavior.

Judea Pearl, the award-winning philosopher and computer expert, refers to it as a method of “pivotal importance

by Keith Hautala

(April 8, 2014) — When people think of psychologists, many envision a clinical setting, where the focus is on helping individuals with personal problems and relationships. But what about our problems and relationships with technology? For that, you need an engineering psychologist.

"That’s something that puzzles a lot of people: How do you put psychology together with engineering?" says Melody Carswell, a University of Kentucky professor of psychology and associate director of the UK Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments (Vis Center). "I think probably the most obvious way is to make sure that the

by Keith Hautala, Shane Tedder

(April 8, 2014) — The University of Kentucky this month is hosting the ninth annual Earth Days in the Bluegrass (EDBG), a month-long series of events promoting sustainability.  

The Office of Sustainability coordinates EDBG and partners with other campus and community organizations to provide a full calendar of workshops, presentations, films screenings and more. This year the schedule of events includes several unique sustainability-focused volunteer opportunities.

The Tracy Farmer Institute for Sustainability and the Environment is hosting a rain garden “Planting Party” at 1 p.m. Friday, April 11, at the newly constructed rain garden on Farm Road

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2014) — A "¡Viva México!" event at the University of Kentucky will celebrate Latin American residents of Appalachia on Saturday evening, with a concert by the Latin-Appalachian roots band Appalatin, followed by the debut of a community-based theatrical performance titled "Las Voces de los Apalaches."

The concert starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 12, in the Worsham Theater at the UK Student Center. The staged reading of "Las Voces de los Apalaches" starts at 8:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by UK's Appalachian Center and College of Arts and Sciences.
Appalatin plays roots music bridging Latin American and Appalachian folk traditions. The six-member band uses all-acoustic instrumentation, featuring

by Whitney Hale

(April 8, 2014) — "Reel to Real: Special Collections at the Movies," the University of Kentucky Special Collections Library's film series, will close this year with a screening of "Our Day," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at Worsham Theater in the UK Student Center. The film series explores celebrated movies through a historically accurate perspective based on primary source materials found in Special Collections. The screening is free and open to the public.

“Our Day” is a short 1938 documentary about the Kelly family of Lebanon, Ky. Filmed by Wallace Kelly, the home movie looks at a day in the life of the family.

Movie topics

by Shane Burton

(April 4, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is sponsoring a panel and book signing marking the 75th anniversary of the Frontier Nursing University, as part of year-long attention to the 50th anniversary of the War on Poverty. 

The panel will be from 3:30-5 p.m. on Friday, April 11, in the Worsham Theater in the UK Student Center.

The panel will discuss service learning by young people volunteering in Appalachia as couriers with the Frontier Nursing Service. Anne Z. Cockerham, professor of history and associate dean for midwifery and women’s health at Frontier Nursing University, will read from her just-published book, "Unbridled Service: Growing Up and

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 4, 2014) — Alex Brooks, a book conservator and faculty member at theGaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky, has been selected as an NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool to attend one of 30 seminars and institutes supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The NEH is a federal agency that, each summer, supports enrichment opportunities at colleges, universities and cultural institutions, so that faculty can work in collaboration and study with experts in humanities disciplines.

Brooks is one of 16 educators who will participate in a seminar titled 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 4, 2014) — April showers bring bicycles for many University of Kentucky students and employees. Next week, UK — a Bicycle Friendly University — will celebrate two wheels as a form of transportation and educate the campus community about navigating campus by bike. As part of the popular annual Earth Days in the Bluegrass event, Parking and Transportation Services and the Bicycle Advisory Committee are presenting the second annual Bike Week, to be held April 6-11. All events are free.

The week is designed to acquaint the UK community with the variety of resources available to those choosing to bike on campus and to offer opportunities for students and employees to become engaged in Lexington bicycle culture.

Bike Week will get off to a rolling

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 4, 2014) — Today marks the second day of the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) taking place on the UK campus.  Nearly 4,000 students and mentors from across the country are here to present their research and creative endeavors.  The UK community is encouraged to attend the many poster, oral, performing and visual arts presentations, as well as other events happening as part of NCUR. 

Tonight, a concert by Lexington-based country band Sundy Best will take place at 9 p.m. at the Grand Reserve. A limited number of tickets are available to the UK community and may be purchased at the NCUR Registration Center in the Small Ballroom of the UK Student Center.  Tickets are $10 per person with a valid UK ID. 

Here is today's (Friday, April 4) schedule-at-a-glance:

•   8 – 11:30 a.m.: Graduate and Professional School Fair;

By A&S Staff

Ana Liberato, an associate professor in the Department of Sociology has been awarded a grant from the Swiss National Science Foundation, and she will be a visiting fellow at the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies at the University of Neuchâtel (SFM) this summer.

“The Forum is a great fit given its commitment to support multidisciplinary migration research and research that examines the cultural, political and economic outcomes of migration and globalization,” Liberato said.

Liberato is working on a book project about the settlement and incorporation of Dominican immigrants in Switzerland. The

Video By Chanel Friday, UK Public Relations and Marketing Intern. 

by Kody Kiser, Amy Jones-Timoney, Chanel Friday

(April 3, 2014) — A popular on–campus resource for students is celebrating a major birthday. 

UK’s Writing Center, located in The Hub @ WT’s, turned 30 years old during the 2013-14 academic year.  Over the last three decades, graduate and undergraduate peer consultants have assisted thousands of students, faculty and staff in creating essays, reports, slide show presentations and videos at no charge. 

UK marked the milestone with a special reception Wednesday, March 5, 2014. The program began with speakers who shared the Writing Center’s history and included tributes about the center’s impact

by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(April 2, 2014) — University Press of Kentucky (UPK) author T.R.C. Hutton has been named the recipient of the 2013 Weatherford Award for nonfiction for his book "Bloody Breathitt: Politics and Violence in the Appalachian South." The Weatherford Award is presented by Berea College and the Appalachian Studies Association annually to honor books in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry that highlight

by Gail Hairston

(April 2, 2014) - The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees greatly enhanced the education of its liberal arts students yesterday with two programs that will greatly impact their communication skills – a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing curriculum within the Department of English and a new Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies.

With realistic aspirations to be among the nation’s best programs by 2020, the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of English will offer its students a full-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing this fall. Modeled after some of the finest graduate-level creative writing programs in the nation, UK’s curriculum will be taught by a faculty of prominent award-

by Elizabeth Adams

(April 1, 2014) — Heavy traffic, more motorists on the roadways and distracted drivers and walkers are all factors that have contributed to pedestrian safety issues in three Kentucky communities.  In the past four years, 79 pedestrian fatalities and many more injuries have occurred in Louisville Metro, Lexington-Fayette County and Madison County.

Kentucky was one of four states recently awarded a grant from the Safe States Alliance to implement a multidisciplinary model for improving pedestrian safety in these three communities.  The grant was acquired by the Kentucky Injury Prevention and Research Center (KIPRC), a unified state and academic agency dedicated to injury prevention housed at the University of Kentucky.  In addition to funding travel and training for a six-member team of officials representing the state, the grant provides $40,

Connor Shafren, a UK freshman triple-majoring in music education, music performance and German, demonstrates his "tank drum," a percussional instrument he created himself in his garage. While not a traditional form of research, the project involved creativity, hypothesizing, and coming up with a result at the end of several processes.  He submitted an abstract and was accepted to present his instrument at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) taking place this week at UK.  Video by UK Public Relations and Marketing. To view captions for this video, push play and click on the CC icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If using a mobile device, click the "thought bubble" icon in the same area.

by Jenny Wells

(April 1, 2014) — The 

by Ashley McIntyre, Tara Wilkins

(April 1, 2014) — Many central Kentucky residents are at risk of hunger, living in veritable food deserts, defined as areas with low access to fresh, healthy foods. Since March 15 and running through April 30, the Center for Community Outreach and local non-profit Seedleaf is working together to connect Lexington’s youth with healthy, fresh food, launching the Seedleaf Highlights Campaign with classroom visits, informational sessions, and a fundraising campaign with the crowdsourcing website, Indiegogo.com.

“The CCO provides volunteer opportunities to UK students that reach into both our local and global communities,” states Laura Greenfield, CCO’s director of promotions.  “With the Highlights Campaign, we’re looking to highlight a social issue in Lexington, an organization [Seedleaf]

by Katy Bennett, Student Activities Board

(April 1, 2014) — The Student Activities Board’s #TrendingTopics: It’s Not Easy Being Green will focus on how important living a green lifestyle is and if this lifestyle is worth the costs. The debate will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 3, in 230 Student Center. Both sides of the argument, for and against living a green lifestyle, will be presented in a respectful manner.

The event will engage college students because of the current trend to live a green lifestyle. The cost to live this lifestyle can seem rather substantial and not feasible for many young adults. Those who attend will have the opportunity to ask questions and share their own opinions through social media with the #TrendingTopicsBG hashtag. Events like these provide a

by Keith Hautala

(March 31, 2014) — WUKY 91.3 FM is partnering with Downtown Lexington Corporation (DLC) as a sponsor of the Downtown Trash Bash taking place from noon to 4 p.m. Friday, April 18, in downtown Lexington.

WUKY Marketing Director Gail Bennet said WUKY is thrilled to partner with DLC for the Downtown Trash Bash and that the radio station is proud of the new relationship and excited about the opportunities this will bring to both organizations.

"The time was right to expand our sponsorship, and the Downtown Trash Bash is the perfect opportunity," Bennett said. "WUKY has had a long-standing relationship as a member of the DLC, and appreciate everything they do in our community. The partnership was an easy call on our side."

As a radio sponsor of Downtown Trash Bash, WUKY will help recruit volunteers for the event in April promoting