Dr. Donald E. Sands, professor and administrator at the University of Kentucky for 37 years, died Sept. 22, 2021, at the age of 92. During his final months he amused himself, as he had all his life, by solving different types of difficult puzzles. Recently he had told people close to him that he had had a very good life.

Dr. Sands was born in Leominster, Massachusetts, in 1929 and did his undergraduate work at nearby Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He then went on to Cornell University, where he completed a Ph.D. in 1955 after having worked in chemical crystallography under the direction of J. Lynn Hoard. One of his papers with Hoard, “The Structure of Tetragonal Boron,” became a classic; a few months later, Linus Pauling wrote to Hoard saying:

I have just been reading, for the second time, your paper on tetragonal boron and I am writing primarily to tell you my

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 4, 2021) — This weekend, the University of Kentucky inducted 27 new members into its esteemed Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The 2020 class of inductees returned to their alma mater on Friday to be honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation and the world. 

The prestigious event, held every five years, was postponed last year due to pandemic restrictions. 

“The 2020 class is diverse in its range of accolades and achievements, but they each share a common characteristic: they make us proud to call them UK alumni,” said UK President Eli Capilouto.

The inductees are:

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky – Academy Award-winner Kevin Willmott, the director of “The 24th,” will speak at an event featuring the film at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 13. The event will be offered both in person at the Chad Perry III Grand Court Room in the J. David Rosenberg School of Law on the University of Kentucky campus and online. People may register for the online event here.  

The Visiting Writers Series, part of UK’s Department of English in the College of Arts & Sciences, is cosponsoring the event.  

“The 24th” (2020) tells the story of an all-Black regiment of the U.S

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Meredith Weber

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 28, 2021) — This Friday, the University of Kentucky will induct 27 former students into the 2020 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The alumni will be honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation and the world. 

The prestigious event, held every five years, was postponed last year due to pandemic restrictions. 

“This is a great group that we’re putting forward,” said Taunya Phillips, 2019-20 UK Alumni Association national president who served on the selection committee for the 2020 inductees. “The university has a wealth of people we could nominate for this honor, and some of the people who are going to be recognized this

Dr. John David Erickson of Lexington (87), died Sept. 8, 2021. Born Jan. 9, 1934, in Aiken Minnesota, he was the son of August and Agnes Erickson.

He was professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures from 1995 to 2012. The author of several monographs and studies on 20th-and 21st-century French and Francophone literature and culture, Erickson was one of the first scholars in the United States to write on and translate African francophone texts (Nommo: African Fiction in French South of the Sahara, 1979). He also taught at the University of Kansas, LSU and Rice University.

As a graduate student at the University of Minnesota, he founded and was the editor for more than 40 years of what has become a major scholarly journal of French and Francophone studies, L'Esprit Créateur. In recognition of

By Danielle Donham and Grace Colville

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 30, 2021) — With more than 500 student organizations at the University of Kentucky, it’s natural for students to feel overwhelmed. To help alleviate this feeling, UK Involvement Advisers are a group of peer leaders who exist to help students choose the path that is right for them. 

When Sanjana Dhayalan came to UK, she felt that nervous feeling. "How will I fit in?" and "Where do I even begin?" were just a couple of the dozens of questions that ran through her mind as she prepared to leave India to come receive her education here. After she found where she wanted to plant her roots, she now helps others with that same task, as a UK involvement adviser. 

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 29, 2021) — Patricia Ehrkamp, professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Kentucky, has been named the 2021-22 College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Professor and will deliver the annual Distinguished Professor Lecture.

Throughout her time at UK, Ehrkamp has established herself as a noted educator, mentor and researcher.

As an accomplished feminist and political geographer, her research considers the politics of immigration with a focus on refugee geopolitics and trauma, as well as belonging, citizenship and exclusion

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 24, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will welcome Pulitzer Prize winner Eliza Griswold to UK next week as part of the Appalachian Forum series.

The lecture, “Beyond Extraction: Stories, like resources can be extracted from communities — how do we break the paradigm?” will take place 6 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 5, on Zoom. Those interested may also watch the talk live from the Appalachian Center at 624 Maxwelton Court.

Griswold is the author of the award-winning book “Amity and Prosperity: One Family and the Fracturing of America.” The book follows a mother and her children for seven years as they wage a battle against the oil and

By Adrian Ho

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2021) — More than 11,800 students have gained free online access to essential course materials and saved more than $1.48 million in textbook spending from 2017 through 2021, thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries’ Alternative Textbook Grant Program. The program supports UK faculty to switch from commercial textbooks to openly licensed textbooks, library-licensed information resources or free course content created by grant recipients.

“It is exhilarating to hear that the Alternative Textbook Grant Program has enabled equitable access to learning materials for so many students,” said Deirdre Scaggs, UK Libraries associate dean of

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – If you’ve never heard of the bands the Sunmates, Frigidkitty, Whalerus, Cindy or Please Save My Earth, don’t worry – Rae Bandy has you covered. From inside the studios in WRFL in the University of Kentucky’s Gatton Student Center, Bandy is giving attention to these and other bands as the station’s local music director.  

“I actually have a few different shows on WRFL right now,” said Bandy, a senior History major

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Lift up a rock by a lake, and you may find planarians: complex, light-hating flatworms that prefer damp, dark hideouts. But what has Elizabeth Duncan so interested in them is their remarkable ability to reconstruct themselves when severed or injured.

“If we cut one of these worms into three pieces, each piece will create an entirely new worm,” said Duncan, assistant professor of biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. “They regenerate a fairly complex body plan.”

That ability may lead Duncan and other researchers to fresh insights into biological regeneration. As a result, she recently earned a five-year, $250,000-a-year National Institute of General Medical Sciences Maximizing Investigators’ Research Award. The award will help her explore how specific enzyme activity affects stem cells’ ability

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – A recent study by the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education lauded the International Studies B.A. program in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences as a top program in preparing under-represented minority students for early career success. 

The report is titled “Analysis on Workforce Preparedness and Early Career Outcomes for Under-represented Minority and Low-Income Status Students in Kentucky.” The study’s authors identified the International Studies Program as “exemplary in preparing underrepresented minority students for early career success,” said Matthew K. Vetter, a senior research analyst with the council. 

“Our analysis indicates that under-

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Nothing like a baby jaguar caught on camera to get college students screaming with glee.  

These college students – a group of eight – were deep in Central America’s nation of Belize learning how to assess wildlife populations using cameras. Led by Emily Croteau, lecturer in biology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, the students hit pay dirt on their first foray into this wild ecosphere this summer. Just getting the cameras in place was an adventure. 

“It was actually really, really exciting, the first time that we went into the jungle to recover our camera traps,” said Quincy Ipsaro, a junior biology major from Cincinnati. “The first day we did probably a seven-to-10-mile hike into the

LEXINGTON 9/15/2021 - Beginning today, the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center, in collaboration with campus partners and student organizations, will honor National Hispanic Heritage Month.

This year, in response to student preference to acknowledge the entire Latin American diaspora, and not only the Hispanic — or Spanish-speaking — communities/countries, the university will stray away from using the phrase "Hispanic Heritage Month" and instead will celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, broadening the month to include a larger population. 

“We could not be more excited to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month juntos — together,” said Ruth González Jiménez, Latino student community specialist with the MLK King

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

UK undergraduate researchers Bridget Bolt and Gretchen Ruschman. Students are encouraged to explore undergraduate research opportunities at the Research + Creative Experience Expo.

At the University of Kentucky, undergraduates have access to outstanding research and creative work activities led by world-class faculty and staff that promote self-discovery, experiential learning and lifelong achievement.

Explore exciting undergraduate opportunities at the first annual UK Research + Creative Experience Expo 3-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, around the Gatton Student Center’s Social Staircase.

“The goal of the Research + Creative Experience Expo is to introduce undergraduates to the diversity of research and creative work conducted at UK,” said Chad Risko, faculty

By Jenny Wells

Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of 9/11, and the University of Kentucky Army ROTC and Air Force ROTC programs are remembering those who lost their lives in the deadliest terrorist attack in human history. 

Zach St. Hilaire, company commander of UK’s Pershing Rifles chapter, says cadets will continue their annual tradition on Saturday, dressing in uniform and placing small flags in memory of each of the nearly 3,000 victims of 9/11 on the front lawn of UK's Main Building. From a podium, cadets will also read the name of each victim throughout the day. They will begin reading the names at 8:46 a.m., when the first attack occurred.

The Lexington Fire Department will be present during the opening of the ceremony

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 9, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has selected 23 undergraduates for the 2021-2022 Undergraduate Research Ambassador program.

The newly redesigned ambassador program’s mission is to increase awareness and create opportunities for students to actively engage in research and creative scholarship. Ambassadors must demonstrate academic excellence, leadership and be involved in mentored research or creative work. This year's ambassadors represent seven colleges, 15 disciplines and 19 research areas.

“Mentored research and creative work provide distinct opportunities for UK undergraduates to put to practice knowledge from the classroom and develop new skills,” says Chad Risko, director of the UK Office

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2021) — In California, the impacts of climate change are becoming increasingly obvious. Turn on the news and you will hear about extreme heat waves, droughts and frequent wildfires plaguing the state.

"Climate change is one of the grand challenges facing society,” said Michael McGlue, associate professor in the University of Kentucky’s Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. “California, our most populous state and one of the largest economies globally, faces major threats from hot, dry conditions. This is manifested in the four major fires burning, largely uncontained, in the state right now

What drew you to the University of Kentucky graduate program?

I have a Licenciatura degree in archaeology from the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico, my country of origin, obtained in May 2016. I moved to the United States in 2017, when I was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology with a Research Excellence stipend at the University of Kentucky.

I have been part of several archaeological projects in Mexico since 2013 as an undergraduate and graduate student. At the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, where I focus on for my dissertation research, I was part of all the field and laboratory seasons of the Recorrido Regional Arqueológico Tres Zapotes project (Tres Zapotes Regional Archaeological Survey, RRATZ), directed by University of Kentucky professor Christopher Pool and staff archaeologist Michael Loughlin. My interest in populations under Aztec

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 31, 2021) — University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced biology and Lewis Honors College student Kayli Bolton is one of 2021’s 60 recipients to be awarded a scholarship of up to $15,000 from the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF). The ASF Scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math (STEM).

A nonprofit organization, ASF was established by the Mercury Astronauts in 1984. Its goal is to aid the U.S. in retaining its world