The University of Kentucky has been presenting the Sullivan Award to students, faculty, and staff since 1927. This award recognizes individuals who evince a sense of love and helpfulness for other communities, at home and abroad.  

This year’s UK recipient is graduating senior Andrew Ritzel. A Biology and Spanish major, Ritzel is being recognized for his involvement and leadership with UK’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Program and for creating a formal partnership between UK and Shoulder-to-Shoulder Global.

Ritzel’s involvement started when he was a first-year student here at UK. “Coming into college, the Alternative Spring Break Program was something I had heard about at other universities. I was really interested in the program, so I went to one of the information sessions at the beginning of the school year. I learned that UK’s ASB program was launching a brand new

by Keith Hautala

(April 17, 2014) — Physicist Juan Maldacena of the Institute for Advanced Study will visit the University of Kentucky Friday and will deliver the 2014 van Winter Memorial Lecture in Mathematical Physics.

The lecture, on "Quantum Mechanics and Geometry of Spacetime,” will take place from 3:30-4:30 p.m. Friday, April 18, in Room 155 of the Chemistry-Physics Building.

Maldacena is the leading string theorist of his generation. His 1998 discovery of the AdS/CFT correspondence set off a revolution in string theory and has found applications in many areas of physics and mathematics.

His work since then has included groundbreaking discoveries in theoretical particle physics, cosmology, and quantum gravity. He was awarded

by Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 16, 2014) – The University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships is proud to announce that political science junior and UK Women's Tennis Team member Grace Trimble, of Winchester, Ky., has been named a 2014 Truman Scholar and will receive $30,000 to conduct graduate work in areas of public service. Trimble, the only Truman recipient this year from Kentucky or a Kentucky college or university, is the 13th UK student to receive the honor from the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation. 

"Grace is joining a small

The Department of Hispanic Studies is proud to welcome two new faculty members, both of whom will be joining us in the Fall off 2014.  We look forward to their unique contributions in both teaching and research in our undergraduate and graduate programs at UK.. 

Associate Professor MÓNICA DÍAZ specializes in Colonial Latin American Studies. Her research focuses on native culture and women's cultural history and literature, particularly of eighteenth-century Mexico. Her book Indigenous Writings from the Convent: Negotiating Ethnic Autonomy in Colonial Mexico (Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2010) examines the existence of the only three convents opened exclusively for indigenous women in colonial Mexico. Currently, she is developing a project on legal documentation initiated by

Sometimes the most obvious questions are the ones that need to be asked. In chemistry professor David Atwood’s case, that question came in 1994 when a postdoc student working in his lab realized that there was no industrial chelator that worked with mercury.

Fast forward 20 years and 50 compounds later, and Atwood is providing answers that have some far-reaching benefits.

Discoverer: David Atwood, department of chemistry, University of Kentucky
Discovery: Highly effective mercury chelator
Years in development: Six
Biological application: Antioxidant, under development as a mercury poisoning therapy
Environmental application:

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 16, 2014) —  The piece, an exploration of people, place and promise, will be celebrated with a presentation, "Nation of Nations: Awakening to a New World," and reception at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 17, in the UK Libraries Athletics Auditorium. The event and reception are free and open to the public.

"Nation of Nations" includes a series of 10 works embodying the spirit of many different peoples and creeds: Incan, Kenyan, Mexican, Moroccan, Cherokee, Hindu, Hebrew, Creole, Arab and Russian. On each one, the phrase, “Have Mercy on Us,” is written in a different language: Cherokee, Chinese, English, Arabic, Hindi, Hebrew, Swahili, Latin, Russian and Haitian Creole.  In addition, the titles of the 10 paintings echo the anthems, "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" and "America the Beautiful."

"Nation of Nations" was installed in

Air Force ROTC prepares young men and women to become leaders in the Air Force, but it also offers so much more. You will grow as an individual both mentally and physically while participating in the rigorous training program. While a cadet, you will develop lifelong friendships and will experience many unique opportunities; not many people can say they have flown in a C-130 or been on Air Force 2, the vice president’s aircraft. Cadets in AFROTC also participate in university events such as intramural sports, Dance Blue Marathon, presenting the colors at sporting events, and many more. By attending the program, you will acquire strong leadership skills that will benefit you in any career field you choose. There are even some opportunities to earn scholarships to put you through college.  However, scholarship or not, you’ll have a position waiting for you after graduation in the

The 290th Cadet Wing has alumni around the world in almost every career field the Air Force has to offer. The possibilities are endless and this ROTC program gives us the skills and training we need to get there. The cadets preparing to commission this May will be entering a wide variety of career fields from pilot, to logistics readiness officer, to missile launch officer. With these varied careers also comes many different places around the world they will be stationed. A few locations the senior cadets are going: Texas, California, Alaska, and even Japan. What we can say for sure is that the alumni of the 290th Cadet Wing will continue to surprise us with their success in the numerous ways they serve our country.

- Cadet Erin Jewell

For the cadets of the 290th Air Force ROTC Cadet Wing, there was something different about March 13th. They were not marching in formation or standing at attention as they normally do. Instead, they found themselves climbing rope ladders and crossing bridges over thirty feet in the air. But how did they wind up in this situation and why were they doing it?

Asbury University, located in Wilmore, KY, offers a challenge course designed to push individuals and teams out of their comfort zones in order to build confidence in themselves and others around them. In the profession of arms, a future officer can really benefit from that confidence. “It was a great change of pace from the regular Lead Lab,” Cadet Matthew Lillard said of the event. “It was really good for morale and overall camaraderie of the Cadet Wing. It brought us all together.”

Activities like the

by Keith Hautala

(April 15, 2014) — A team of students and researchers from the University of Kentucky Department of Statistics and the UK Center for Applied Energy Research worked last summer with the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet (EEC) and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to evaluate energy and environmental policy under a range of potential carbon dioxide regulatory scenarios.

The UK team assisted with the enhancement of the Kentucky Electricity Portfolio Model which was developed at the EEC and responds to highly variable factors such as weather, fuel prices, and federal environmental policy, to identify the optimal electricity portfolio and forecast electricity prices, demand, emissions, fuel consumption, employment, and economic growth.

The project report,

Dear Colleagues,

Last fall marked the 25th year of the UK Living Learning Program (LLP) —a strong example of excellence and academic collaboration on our campus. LLPs offer students an opportunity to live and learn together in an integrated academic residential environment with specialized programming, interactions with UK faculty and staff, and a supportive community that focuses on student success.

These programs have been so successful, that we are growing them exponentially.

In the fall of 2013, 960 students participated in 13 LLPs. In fall 2014, we are planning for 2,115 students in 17 LLP’s.  That’s more than double the number of students in a single year.  We couldn’t achieve this without a strong partnership with the academic colleges and student affairs. 

The LLP expansion trajectory is 3,231 in fall 2015, 4,200 in fall 2016 and 4,577 in fall 2017

Edit: Denis Goldberg's talk will begin at 4 p.m. on Monday, April 21st.

by Jenny Wells, Derrick Meads

(April 14, 2014) — This week and next, the University of Kentucky will host a panel discussion and an anti-apartheid activist to honor the legacy of Nelson Mandela. 

Mandela’s name is now synonymous with South Africa’s bold attempt at national reconciliation. In light of his recent passing, the panel will explore his legacy at 4:00 p.m. Thursday, April 17, in Room 230 of the UK Student Center.  A reception will follow the discussion.

The event will trace the global discourse of truth and reconciliation through a broader consideration of Mandela’s remarkable life.

According to Stephen Davis, assistant professor in the UK African American and Africana Studies program, Mandela’s life has become a point of reference in global debates about

by Gail Hairston 

(April 14, 2014) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto, as the principal investigator, will lead a multi-million-dollar initiative with Kentucky and West Virginia universities to increase underrepresented undergraduates studying in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

The five-year, $2.5 million National Science Foundation (NSF) grant establishes the Kentucky-West Virginia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (KY-WV LSAMP) in the STEM disciplines. Coordinated by the UK Office for Institutional Diversity and UK’s co-PI and engineering Associate Professor Johné Parker, the alliance of nine institutions of higher learning includes UK, University of Louisville, West Virginia University, Western Kentucky University, Centre College, Marshall University, Kentucky State University, West Virginia

by Buck Ryan

(April 14, 2014) ― A local business owner with 30 years of public service focusing on social justice issues and homelessness, the founder of a service-dog training program to assist people with disabilities, and a student leader who expanded alternative spring break service trips globally are the recipients of the University of Kentucky's 2014 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Medallions for outstanding humanitarian service.

They will receive their medallions this evening at UK's annual Honors and Recognition  Awards Program in the Student Center Grand Ballroom. A 6 p.m. reception will be followed by the formal program beginning at 7 p.m.

The citizen recipient of the Sullivan Award this year is Debra Hensley, owner of the Hensley Agency of State Farm Insurance Companies in Lexington. She has worked in insurance and financial services since 1974.

by Whitney Hale

(April 14, 2014) — University of Kentucky's Ryan Winstead, an English and gender and women's studies junior, has been awarded an English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scholarship presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Winstead's expenses for summer study at the University of Oxford.

The Kentucky Branch of the English-Speaking Union awards a limited number of scholarships to qualified Kentucky college students for courses offered at institutions in the United Kingdom. Scholarship awards include tuition, lodging and two meals daily for

Thanks to work by a group of geographers at the University of Kentucky, to ask “Where are you drinking?” may be just as telling as “What are you drinking?”

To examine the most popular beer in any given area of the United States, Associate Professor Matt Zook of the Department of Geography and others delved into the raw data offered by Twitter. What’s the story with Kentucky? The Commonwealth seems to have a clear preference for beer, specifically Bud Light and regional brands like Hudepohl.

Read the full story in Pacific Standard Magazine. 

by Whitney Hale, Andrea Richard

(April 10, 2014) — The Kentucky Women Writers Conference will feature bestselling Southern author Jill McCorkle at the 2014 conference scheduled for Sept. 12-13. Making her first appearance at the Women Writers Conference, McCorkle will lead a fiction workshop and perform a reading.

>>UPDATE: View the photo album of Jill McCorkle's reading and reception at the Art Museum in UK's Singletary Center for the Arts.

Jill McCorkle has written 10 works of fiction including the novels “Life After Life,” “Going Away Shoes,” “Creatures of Habit,” “Carolina Moon” and “Ferris Beach.” Her books have been named New York Times

by Gail Hairston

(April 10, 2014) ― International Ladino recording star and song writer Sarah Aroeste will speak at the University of Kentucky today and perform in Lexington tonight. Ladino is the Judeo-Spanish dialect spoken by Jews of Spanish descent.

Aroeste will speak on "Ladino Music Transformed From Yesterday to Today" at 5 p.m. in the Niles Gallery of the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library.  Through a multi-media presentation including sound clips, video and live music, she will share stories from her family history to illustrate why she has become a leader in the effort to preserve Ladino culture for the next generation.

Later, Aroeste will perform a concert of Ladino

by Whitney Harder, Whitney Hale

(April 9, 2014) — University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections will host a reception to open an exhibit highlighting four undergraduates' Learning Lab internship projects from 3-5 p.m. Thursday, April 10, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Building. The free public exhibit, showcasing items from their processed collections, will feature presentations from the four Learning Lab interns, including commentary on their scholarly projects.

The Learning Lab internship, now in its second year, is an experiential learning program that introduces undergraduate students to archival