Now in his 11th year at the helm of the University of Kentucky's largest college, Mark Kornbluh is currently the longest-serving of UK’s 19 deans. The College of Arts and Sciences spans the liberal arts and hard sciences, social science fields and new and emerging areas, such as dual degree programs that focus on world languages and so-called STEM areas (science, technology, engineering and mathematics). 

Dean Kornbluh is an innovator in thinking about — and acting on — new approaches to teaching, learning, research and discovery. In this edition of "Behind the Blue," he talks with Kody Kiser and Jay Blanton about trends in teaching, the importance of diversity, and the special points of distinction that make UK stand out in the 21st century.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to

By Aly Bourne

Ron Spriggs, a retired U.S. Air Force veteran and founder of the Ron Spriggs Exhibit of Tuskegee Airmen (RSETA), will speak on campus at an event presented by UK Air Force ROTC Detachment 290. The free public talk, which will begin 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in the William T. Young Auditorium, will be focused on the historic military unit.

An integral part of World War II, the Tuskegee Airmen fought for the United States in defeat of the AXIS powers all while overcoming segregation. The group of African American pilots were the first African American military aviators in U.S. armed forces history.

Founded in 2002, RSETA works to communicate the

By Whitney Hale

Shayla Lawson and Keith Wilson are among the esteemed writers known as the Affrilachian Poets.

The Visiting Writers Series (VWS), hosted by the Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing program in the University of Kentucky Department of English, is set to welcome Affrilachian Poets Shayla Lawson and Keith Wilson. The free public discussion, presented in partnership with Gaines Center for the Humanities, will begin 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 6, in the William T. Young Library UK Athletics Auditorium.

The VWS began in the spring of 2014 with a reading by poet

It was 1949, World War II had ended and twice as many students were enrolled in universities across the country compared to pre-war enrollment, many were on the GI Bill. I was one of those June 1949 GI Bill seniors, graduating from UK with a BS degree in physical chemistry. My name is Alan Veith.

My days at Kastle Hall, the chemistry building at that time, were coming to an end.  I was a lucky senior ; the only BS graduate in chemistry, not planning on postgraduate work, that had an industry job offer at the time of graduation. After a campus interview BF Goodrich (BFG)  had offered me employment in Akron OH.  A 3.44 grade average probably helped.

I had two careers in my professional life - one in industrial research with BF Goodrich and one in industrial standardization development, with the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and also with

By Carol Lea Spence

A new statewide consortium with its headquarters at the University of Kentucky is developing interdisciplinary climate research and teaching collaborations to empower people to become well-informed stewards of the environment. The mission of the Kentucky Climate Consortium is to act as a catalyst for climate research and education in the state by providing networking opportunities for Kentucky-based climate scholars and educators from universities, nonprofits and government organizations. This will enable them to leverage their expertise and passion to collaboratively pursue climate-related research, teaching and public outreach.

Co-founders Carmen Agouridis, associate

By Jenny Wells-Hosley
 

Gurney Norman is a professor of English and scholar-in-residence at the UK Appalachian Center. Photo courtesy of Morris Grubbs. Gurney Norman is a professor of English and scholar-in-residence at the UK Appalachian Center. Photo courtesy of Morris Grubbs.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 24, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is pleased to announce that its scholar-in-residence, Gurney Norman, will continue his "Conversations with Gurney" speaker series this spring. The series features premier authors from the Appalachian region.

The series will kick off 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, with Willie Davis, author of the novel "Nightwolf." The event will

By Lindsey Piercy

Crystal Wilkinson didn't become a writer to obtain fame and fortune. But the accomplished author is receiving some well-deserved recognition and funding to support her craft.

"I am absolutely elated."

Wilkinson, who is also an associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky, has been named a 2020 USA Fellow by United States Artists.

Since being founded in 2006, United States Artists (USA) has awarded unrestricted monetary grants to compelling artists in various disciplines. Following a rigorous nomination and panel process, each chosen fellow is given $50,000 — which can be used for whatever means the

By Madison Dyment

LEXINGTON, Ky. --- Maria Horn, a master’s student in the UK's College of Arts and Science’s Geography Department’s New Maps Plus digital mapping graduate program, recently was awarded the top prize in the NACIS Student Dynamic Maps Competition for her digital map “Conservation Areas in South America.” The competition is a national-level contest for students in the field of dynamic mapping in cartography. Horn is the second consecutive student from the UK Geography Department to win the prize. 

Horn, a native of Bolivia, received a bachelor’s degree in biology from Gabriel Rene Moreno University in Santa Cruz. She moved to the United States after getting married in 2006. Because she

By Allison Perry

The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system.

Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment (GATE) study, the five-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person’s decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) — methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone.

Although research shows that these medications are highly effective at reducing opioid use, infectious disease transmission

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center's scholar-in-residence, Gurney Norman, will continue his "Conversations with Gurney" speaker series this spring. The series features authors from the Appalachian region.

The series will kick off 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 27, with Willie Davis, author of the novel "Nightwolf." The event will take place in the Davis Marksbury Building's James F. Hardymon Theater.

A native of Whitesburg, Kentucky, Davis earned graduate degrees in creative writing from Johns Hopkins University and the University of Maryland. He has taught English and creative writing at the University of Maryland, Kentucky State University,

By Whitney Hale

Evie Shockley, a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her book "semiautomatic," will give the keynote speech at the 2020 Kentucky Women Writers Conference scheduled for Sept. 17-20. The free public talk, presented in conjunction with University of Kentucky Libraries, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center, in Lexington.

Shockley is the author of three books of poetry: "semiautomatic" (Wesleyan, 2017), which won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for both the

By Lindsey Piercy

The University of Kentucky campus community is invited to ring in the Chinese New Year with the Chinese Studies Program in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures in the College of Arts and Sciences.

On Tuesday, Jan. 21, welcome the Year of the Rat by creating Chinese character bookmarks. The event will be held from 9 a.m.-noon at the 2nd floor entrance to the Gatton Student Center.

By Lindsey Piercy

Thomas Janoski, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky, will celebrate the release of not one but three books this year.

As a professor at UK for more than two decades, Janoski has made significant contributions to the field of political sociology. Some of his previous works include, "Citizenship and Civil Society," "The Political Economy of Unemployment," "The Ironies of Citizenship" and "Dominant Divisions of Labor."

Janoski' s research combines political sociology with economic sociology, while comparing countries and economies over decades and even centuries.

Janoski' s latest endeavors — described in detail below — are a testament to his

By Jillian Gibney

Jim Krupa, a University of Kentucky professor of biology, recently was honored with the National Center for Science Education  Friend of Darwin Award.

The center promotes and defends accurate and effective science education. Staff members work with teachers, parents, scientists and concerned citizens at the local, state and national levels to ensure that topics including evolution and climate change are taught accurately, honestly and confidently.

The NCSE Friend of Darwin Award is conferred annually to outstanding educators whose efforts support NCSE and advance its goals.

“I find the National Center of Science Education’s efforts to battle science illiteracy in

By Ryan Girves

At Saturday’s University of Kentucky basketball game, winners of the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Awards, Beth Hanneman and Erik Myrup, were honored on the court, acknowledging their role in fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of the university.

Each year, the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award is presented by the UK Advising Network to one full-time professional adviser and one faculty adviser for outstanding service. Ken Freedman, the award's namesake, was one of the founders of the UK Advising Network in 1986 and served as a professional adviser at UK until his death in 2001.  

Both Hanneman, from the Stuckert Career Center, and Myrup, College

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

Some of the UK Appalachian Center's 2019 award recipients. Applications for the 2020 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia and for the 2020 UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Award are both due Feb. 17.

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is currently offering awards and funding opportunities for students and faculty involved with work and research in the Appalachian region.

Applications for the 2020 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia and applications for the

By Madison Dyment

In higher education, the value of following your passion, meeting challenges head-on and working toward something bigger than yourself are all promoted to students by their professors. Sometimes, students are lucky enough to have a teacher who not only encourages this, but lives it too. Mark Lovell, Jack and Linda Gill Professor of Chemistry in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is one of those teachers.

Growing up in Mount Vernon, Kentucky, Lovell stayed close to home and attended Berea College for his undergraduate degree. Post-graduation, Lovell tried his hand at medical school, but found himself ultimately drawn to graduate school at UK. He received his doctorate here in 1992, working with William Ehmann

By Allison Perry

The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system.

Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment study, the 5-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person’s decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder – methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone.

Although research shows that these medications are highly

“It is a great honor to be recognized by my peers for my research contributions,” she said.

APA is the leading professional and scientific organization representing psychology in the United States. The APA currently has 118,000 members consisting of psychologists, clinicians, consultants, educators, scientists and students.

Those

University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Sociology Mairead Moloney is interested in why women who are middle age and older sleep less than the general population – specifically women in Appalachia, who have some of the highest rates of insomnia in the nation.

Moloney wanted to conduct a comprehensive study to learn more about insomnia among women in Appalachia and help address this health disparity, but a sleep intervention study examining cognitive behavioral therapy and sleep medication use was out of her expertise.

Through UK's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health program, Moloney met UK Associate Professor of Pharmacy Daniela Moga and Assistant Professor of Psychology Christal Badour, whose expertise and research backgrounds