by Keith Hautala

(April 21, 2014) — The University of Kentucky's Center for Research on Violence Against Women is under new leadership, and its new director says the center will focus its efforts to promote violence prevention research.

Diane R. Follingstad, the center's Women’s Circle Endowed Chair and a professor in the UK Department of Psychiatry with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology, took on the role of executive director April 1, pending confirmation of her appointment by the university's Board of Trustees. A clinical and forensic psychologist specializing in partner abuse and battered women’s legal cases, Follingstad has been with the center since 2008.

The former director of the center, Carol Jordan, is leaving to head the Institute for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

(April 23, 2014) — Several scholarships, fellowships and grant opportunities to study and teach in China have been made available to University of Kentucky students and faculty through the UK Confucius Institute and partner universities in China.

Students at UK interested in studying in China should consider applying for Confucius Institute Student Scholarships or the Shanghai Summer School program.

The Confucius Institute Student Scholarships are available for both undergraduate and graduate levels of academic study in Chinese language, literature, history and philosophy. The Confucius Institute Student Scholarship provides support for terms lasting from one semester to five years. Awards vary depending on program type. 

by Kody Kiser, Amy Jones-Timoney

(April 23, 2014) — As a long time researcher of the Kentucky African American experience and a contributing volume editor of the "The Papers of Martin Luther King Jr.: Advocate of the Social Gospel, September 1948-1963 Volume VI (2007),” Gerald Smith has a lot to share when he’s in the classroom. 

The associate professor of history is in his first year under a new title, serving as the Martin Luther King Center Scholar in Residence.

“It’s

by Crissie Balding Tune

(April 18, 2014) ― Registration for Big Blue Cycles – the new University of Kentucky Wildcat Wheels Bicycle Library fleet – is now open. The fleet of 100 bicycles is available to students living in campus housing who sign a commitment not to bring a car to Lexington. Eligible students may register here.

The Big Blue Cycles bicycles will be 8-speed commuter bicycles equipped with fenders, a rear rack and a bell. Participating students will be guaranteed the bicycle for the entire academic year. The addition of the new bicycles was made possible by a funding partnership between the Student Sustainability Council and Parking and Transportation Services. All participants will also receive

by Keith Hautala

(April 21, 2014) — The Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) recently awarded its highest honor for service to the field to Dwight Billings, a University of Kentucky professor in the Department of Sociology and on the Appalachian Studies Program faculty.

Billings, who has made many significant contributions to the field of Appalachian studies throughout a career that has spanned nearly 40 years, received the Cratis D. Williams/James S. Brown Service Award at the association's 37th annual conference, held March 28-30 at Marshall University in Huntington, W.Va. The award is given annually to an

LOOFO - Official Trailer 2 from TheNortonBrothers on Vimeo.

by Whitney Hale, Whitney Harder

(April 21, 2014)  "LOOFO," a film directed and produced by two University of Kentucky seniors, fraternal twin brothers Ben and Zak Norton, will premiere at 8:30 pm. Tuesday, April 22, at the Kentucky Theatre. A campus premiere, sponsored by the Late Night Film Series, will follow a week later at 8 p.m. Thursday, May 1, at the 

by Jenny Wells, Derrick Meads 

(April 21, 2014) — Legendary anti-apartheid activist Denis Goldberg will speak at 4 p.m. today in the William T. Young Library Auditorium. A reception will follow at 5 p.m.

In 1964, Goldberg, Nelson Mandela and six others were tried and convicted for trying to overthrow the apartheid regime in South Africa.  He spent the next 22 years in prison, and was released in 1985 on the condition that he be exiled from his native South Africa to Israel.

After his release, Goldberg instead traveled the world organizing international opposition to apartheid, becoming a spokesperson for the African National Congress, then the leading anti-apartheid organization and current ruling party of South

by Chrissie Balding Tune 

(April 21, 2014) ― May is National Bike Month, and the University of Kentucky Bicycle Advisory Committee is encouraging the campus community to participate in the annual Bike Lexington calendar of events.

The fifth annual Commuter Challenge is one of the Lexington Bike Month events. Businesses and organizations of all sizes will compete to see who can the log most bicycle commuting among their employees during the month of May.

All UK units are invited to participate, and to form teams based on their departments. The winning business in each size category will be recognized in the July issue of Business Lexington. Prizes will be randomly awarded to the participating

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

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

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.

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

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

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,

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

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,

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