by Robin Roenker

What is the value of nature? Does it have intrinsic value of its own—or only as it relates to humans and our uses for it?

Does a conservationist perspective (which seeks to regulate human use) or a preservationist perspective (which aims to limit human use altogether) better foster an equitable stewardship of natural resources?

What isenvironmental sustainability—and how do we achieve it?

UK’s new philosophy class on Environmental Ethics, PHI 336, challenges students to consider complex questions like these—questions that, at their heart, delve into fundamental issues of mankind’s role as stewards of the environment, and the responsibilities that entails.

While efforts to launch an Environmental Ethics course within the Philosophy Department began years ago, the new course became reality in

Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media professor Adam Banks sits down with Renee Shaw on KET's Connections to talk about digital communications, models of Black leadership, new media platforms, and what this means for minorities facing the Digital Divide. His second book, Digital Griots: African American Rhetoric in a Multimedia Age, develops a specific approach to teaching writing rooted in African-American rhetorical traditions and was published by Southern Illinois University Press's Studies in Writing and Rhetoric series. Watch the full interview here.

UK Biologist David Westneat has received a grant from the National Science Foundation entitled "Suburban Ecology and Invasive Species." The funding, which will be for the summers of 2012, 2013, and 2014 will allow 10 student research positions for 10 weeks. The program focuses on suburban ecology - the interactiosn between organisms and an environment that is heavily modfied by human activity, with special focus on invasive species. Eleven researchers acros five departments have designed a diverse array of projects for student participatns. The research projects will be conducted at Robinson Forest and Griffith Woods. Congratulations to Professor Westneat and the Biology Department!

By Whitney Hale, Erin Holaday Ziegler

As an emerging regional and world power, China has caught the attention of the American public; questions of foreign policy, economics, domestic politics and environment tend to dominate the media.

This fall, the College of Arts & Sciences will launch a yearlong focus on China as a part of its Passport to the World program.

"The Year of China: Awaken the Past, Discover the Future" will

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

In honor of her years as the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences writer-in-residence and her new book, "The Girl in the Blue Beret," A&S Dean Mark Lawrence Kornbluh is hosting a reading and reception for Bobbie Ann Mason from 3:30-5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the The Art Museum in the Singletary Center for the Arts.

Rare books and manuscripts are a regular part of Mitchell Codding’s professional life, courtesy of his role as executive director of The Hispanic Society of America, located in New York City’s Upper Manhattan. “If you’re really interested in Hispanic literature, art, culture, that kind of thing, it’s like being a kid in a candy story. You get to deal physically with those objects, something most people don’t get to do,” Codding said enthusiastically of his role with the museum and library that compose the Society.

Though he’s been in New York working for the Hispanic Society for more than 25 years—Codding became the Society’s assistant director in 1984 and has

Student Spotlight

by Rebekah Tilley
photos by Mark Cornelison

Flexibility. You want it in your joints, in your schedule and in your undergraduate major. Rising UK senior Ben Barnes found the right blend of flexibility as a Topical Studies major.

As you might think, it takes a significant amount of initiative on the part of the student to design a unique program of study, and you need a lot of clarity when it comes to knowing what you want your future career to be. “And I did,” said Barnes. “I had that clarity when I was designing the program.”

Barnes is not your typical American college student. For starters, he’s Australian, and at 24 he is also slightly older than his fellow seniors. Barnes took a few years off between high school and college to

by Erin Holaday Ziegler, Alicia Brab and Gwendolyn Schaefer

This has not been a summer by the pool for University of Kentucky rising junior Gwendolyn Schaefer who is participating in a seven-month study abroad experience in Amman, Jordan with AMIDEAST, a leading American nonprofit organization engaged in international education, training and development activities in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Schaefer, an international studies and geography major, began the summer session in intensive Arabic language classes and will continue through the fall with Middle East and North African studies.  She has created a blog about her experiences, and the following is based upon

UK’s Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES) has partnered with Dallas-based Pioneer Natural Resources Company to secure a $600,000 gift through UK alumnus (’80, ’82) and Pioneer Vice-President Tom Spalding.

The gift, which is intended to be spread out over the next 3 years, will fund the Pioneer Natural Resources Research Professorship in Stratigraphy. The money will not only support the new faculty member’s research program, but will also fund graduate and undergraduate student research.

“Pioneer really went to bat for us. This professorship really is the icing on the cake,” said David Moecher, professor in the Department of EES. “Tom [Spalding] and Pioneer want to make

Ph.D. Student

by Rebekah Tilley
photos by Richie Wireman

Archisman Ghosh’s fascination with astronomy was born on a roof in Calcutta. He still looks at the sky, but now he does it through a 20-inch telescope on the roof of UK’s parking structure #2.

A third-year graduate student in the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy, Ghosh focuses his scholarly work on String Theory, and through his Graduate Assistantship at the MacAdam Student Observatory is able to help young astronomy students experience the thrill of first laying their own eyes on a planet.

“My previous experience in astronomy was mainly from amateur activities – stargazing and backyard telescopes,” Ghosh said. “UK's MacAdam Student Observatory gave me an opportunity to have a more professional encounter with the subject. We have superior equipment. We

A delegation of six Iraqi professors from the University of Kufa arrived on campus April 2. They are part of the Iraq University Linkages Program, which pairs Iraqi schools with U.S. institutions that can assist with curricular development.

In 2010, the University of Kentucky was one of five U.S. schools selected to receive a 3-year grant for curriculum development in Iraq. UK was paired with the University of Kufa, which is located in Najaf

Three University of Kentucky students have been selected to receive government-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. The fellowships will present the students with more than $100,000 to use toward research-based master's or doctoral degrees. Additionally, four other UK students received honorable recognition from the program.

The NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program helps ensure the vitality of the human resource base of science and engineering in the United States and reinforces its diversity. The program recognizes and supports outstanding graduate students

Theoretical physicist Michael Eides was recently elected a Fellow in the Institute of Physics. Eides, a professor in the 

A University of Kentucky biology professor known for his creativity in the classroom has recently been awarded for his storytelling.

UK biology professor 

The Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Kentucky invites applications for a Visiting Research Professorship in experimental condensed matter physics with an intended focus on novel materials synthesis and characterization. Successful candidates are expected to establish independent research programs and strongly participate in our multidisciplinary Center for Advanced Materials, which is expected to add two tenure-track positions in the next four years.

Erin Pullen, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology, has received the institutional nomination for the Midwestern Association of Graduate Students (MAGS) Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award. Pullen's thesis will represent the University of Kentucky in the regional competition, which is open to theses from all disciplines.     
Pullen's thesis, “Rethinking the Cultural Cartography of Appalachia: Region as a Fundamental Social Cause of Drug Use”, was also awarded an the 2010 Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award by the Section on Alcohol, Drugs, and Tobacco of the 

by Robin Roenker
photos by Mark Cornelison

As a theoretical physicist, Keh-Fei Liu’s computational simulations in the field of quantum chromodynamics can simultaneously shed light on the innermost workings of the smallest particles in our universe, as well as help better understand how the universe itself came into being.

Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the study of the strong force between quarks and gluons, which combine to form hadrons, such as protons, neutrons, and pions.

For the past 15 years, Liu has led an international team of QCD collaborators—including faculty at George Washington University, the University of Virginia, the University of Washington, India’s TIFAR Institute, and the Chinese Institute of High Energy Physics—in working to answer a key question about the structure of the proton.