Dear Arts & Sciences Faculty & Staff,

I am writing with a heavy heart to announce that beloved physics professor Marcus McEllistrem II passed away on Friday, June 14.  Dr. McEllistrem was an esteemed faculty member in the Department of Physics & Astronomy from 1957 until his retirement in 1994, and was a mentor and teacher to generations of students during his distinguished 38-year history at UK. He was awarded the title of Arts & Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus in 2008 in recognition of his exceptional scholarly contributions and extraordinary service to the University, and we inducted him into the 

By Autumn Miller

The University of Kentucky is always looking for ways to ensure students have access to the best course material. With textbook prices on the rise, some students have decided to forgo buying textbooks. As an active contributor to student success, the UK Libraries started the Alternative Textbook Grant Program in 2016 to help faculty offer free or affordable course material. For the upcoming year, 10 grants are being awarded.

The Alternative Textbook Grant Program provides UK instructors with assistance in finding or creating educational material that best suits their pedagogical needs and effectively reduces their students’ financial burdens.

By Guy Ramsey

University of Kentucky Athletics is partnering with the UK Mountain Cats and the Appalachian Center on UK’s campus to begin yearly service excursions to Eastern Kentucky.

Twenty-five student-athletes and staff members will participate in the inaugural trip, traveling to Harlan, Kentucky, June 21-23 for a three-day, two-night service experience unlike any before. This special group will be embarking on service opportunities, working directly with nonprofit organizations in the Harlan area. This inaugural trip is designed to reach out to an often underserved region of Kentucky, as well as to provide educational opportunities to student-athletes and staff about this particular region of Kentucky.

“We are so excited to connect with the people of the state of Kentucky,” Associate Athletics Director for Life Performance Stephanie Simmons said. “To have

Dear Friends,

While at UK, Joan Callahan touched the lives of generations of our students and impacted this College and University profoundly for the better.  It was my great honor to induct her in the A&S Hall of Fame in 2010. I asked her good friend and colleague, Patty Cooper, to write a note about Joan that I could share with our faculty. Patty consulted with a few colleagues and wrote the tribute below. Joan will be greatly missed by our community.

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Emerita Professor Joan Callahan (1946-2019) joined the UK Philosophy Department in 1986 and served as Director of the Women’s Studies Program (later renamed Gender and Women’s Studies Program) from 1998-2002 and after a one-year sabbatical returned as Director from 2003 through 2007. She led the move to make GWS a Department with a major and celebrated

By Madison Dyment

One of the most rewarding aspects of higher education is the chance to train the next generation of leaders and workers. Every so often, students are lucky enough to find opportunities that go above and beyond to give them practical experience in preparing them for their future. Mark Prendergast’s BIO 199 class is one of those opportunities.

Prendergast’s class is designed for freshmen neuroscience majors. The course is part of the STEMCats Living Learning Program at the University of Kentucky in the College of Arts and Sciences, with its students either in that program or the Lewis Honors College. There are many existing sections of the course, each being taught by a different faculty member who conducts different types of research related to biology.

The STEMCats Living Learning Program was founded in 2014 and receives funding from a

By Hannah Edelen

Assistant Professor of Mathematics Christopher Manon (center) works with students in the math lab. Photos by Kris Chappel and Wayne Cross.

Over the last few years, the University of Kentucky Department of Mathematics in the UK College of Arts and Sciences has been building and expanding a lab for undergraduates to conduct mathematics research. This project, spearheaded by Assistant Professor Christopher Manon, is a collaborative project with many other professors in the department leading their own research projects, each with their own team of undergraduate students. The projects vary wildly and include attempting to understand the topography of Minecraft, quilting and designing computer software to help compute formal power series. Each of the research projects gives mathematics undergraduates a chance to learn, think about

By Carl Nathe

Photos by UK Athletics

James "Boogie" Watson and children.

Another group of University of Kentucky student-athletes recently made a service trip to Ethiopia and each returned with a dramatically different outlook about how other people in the world live, as well as a fresh perspective on their own lives.

Wildcat football player Jamar “Boogie’ Watson, a sociology major with a minor in criminology, together with other Wildcat football players traveled to the African nation and interacted with children and adults who face markedly different challenges from themselves, yet manage to keep a smile on their faces and in their hearts. What follows below, in their own words, are a few thoughts from each of these young men on the impact of this experience.

For a look at the recent media availability with Young, Watson

By Hannah Edelen and Jennifer T. Allen

Margaret Readdy, left, walks with her former student Quiyana Murphy, a 2018 UK graduate. Photo courtesy of the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, New Jersey.

Margaret Readdy, professor of mathematics in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, was recently recognized for her work as the academic program manager for the Women and Mathematics Program (WAM) at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. Readdy helps organize WAM, a week-long summer workshop of lectures, mentoring and career development by prominent female mathematicians directed to female undergraduate, graduate, postdoc and junior faculty attendees.

The workshop, which was begun in 1993 by mathematicians Chuu-Lian Terng (University of California, Davis) and Abel Prize winner Karen Uhlenbeck (University

By Lindsey PIercy

The crimes he committed while lurking in the shadows would eventually put Ted Bundy in the spotlight — and keep him there for more than three decades.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the notorious killer's execution, but America's fascination with Bundy lives on. Most recently, Netflix brought him back into the public eye in a new movie, "Extremely Wicked, Shockingly Evil, and Vile," starring Zac Efron.

Bundy's ability to live a double life continues to be puzzling. How did he attend college, build a political career and have a long-term relationship all while assaulting and murdering at least 30 women between 1973 and 1978?

Psychology experts have been studying the infamous serial killer for several years.Those experts include Thomas Widiger.

"There

By Lindsey Piercy

Although students are excited to start their journey in higher education, there is often a feeling of apprehension. One of the most anxiety-producing tasks? Registering for classes.

Choosing from a variety of professors, scheduling your courses and getting enough credit hours can be extremely stressful. That's why the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky has spent the last three years rethinking and restructuring the process.

Dean Mark Kornbluh takes great pride in offering innovative core classes — courses that were originally designed with freshmen in mind. “We want to make sure our incoming students start their college career on the right foot, with all

By Lori Adams

The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester. A total of 6,562 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. 

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade-point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes. Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting: www.uky.edu/PR/News/DeansList/.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity and

By Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that seven recent UK graduates and four doctoral students have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 2,000 U.S. students who will travel abroad for the 2019-20 academic year.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140 countries.

This year's UK students offered Fulbright grants, from a university record 37 applications, are:

By Carl Nathe

Anthropology is the study of human culture in the past and the present. University of Kentucky Professor Richard "Dick" Jefferies is now in his fourth decade as a faculty member in the Department of Anthropology, within UK’s College of Arts and Sciences.

In his work of teaching, research and service, Jefferies, an archaeologist, uncovers objects that shed light on how people in Kentucky and elsewhere lived hundreds and even thousands of years ago.

On this week’s episode of “Behind the Blue,” UK Public Relations and Strategic Communications' Carl Nathe talks with Jefferies about his fascinating career which includes the mentorship of many outstanding students over the years.

Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and

By Lindsey Piercy

Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

The University of Kentucky has been awarded a $25,000 Project Graduate Grant from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE). The strategic funds will be used to boost degree completion of former students with 80 or more credit hours.

In total, $300,000 will be spread among six Kentucky campuses, to help students succeed in college.

UK will build off a successful pilot with the College of Arts and Sciences. The goal is to identify former students who qualify for the new Bachelor of Liberal Studies program and expand the model to other colleges.

“We are delighted to fund these high-impact proposals,” Aaron Thompson, president of CPE, said. “In times of scarce resources, targeting

By Lindsey Piercy

​Sharrah Lane, a doctoral student in Hispanic Studies and president of the University of Kentucky's chapter of Sigma Delta Pi, has received the prestigious Gabriela Mistral Award for her academic achievements and noteworthy leadership in the chapter.

Sigma Delta Pi is a national collegiate Hispanic honor society, and the award is presented each year to an outstanding undergraduate or graduate student who is an active member.

Lane, who is also a Spanish instructor and a graduate assistant for the International Studies program, said receiving this award is a great achievement. "I feel very honored to receive this prestigious award, and I'm grateful to my colleagues, Kacie Gastanaga and Marlee

By Whitney Hale

Emily Hedges (far left) and  Hannah Thompson (far right) were joined by faculty sponsor Miriam Kienle, Interim Dean of UK Libraries Deirdre Scaggs and faculty sponsor Janice Fernheimer. Mark Cornelison l UK Photo.

Last night, University of Kentucky Libraries awarded the Dean’s Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Scholarship to art history and visual studies senior Emily Hedges and biology and Lewis Honors College junior Hannah Thompson at the UK Libraries Spring Gala. The awards recognize exceptional, original scholarship and excellent research conducted by UK undergraduates making substantive and

By Loretta Stafford

Childhood friends Zach Major, Kayne Finley, Keagan Finley, and Austin Major

On the heels of graduation, many new alumni look forward to spending the summer traveling, learning about the world and themselves in the process. However, this summer’s travels hold special significance for two spring 2019 UK grads.

Zach Major, a physical therapy student in the University of Kentucky College of Health Sciences who recently graduated with his B.A. in environmental and sustainability studies from the College of Arts and Sciences, and Robby Larson, who earned his degree in neuroscience from the college as well, will join former UK swim team member Keagan Finley on a cross-country bike ride. The team will make “Cannonballs Across America

By Lindsey PIercy

(Left to right) Alberto Ortiz Brito, Gertrude Kilgore, Elizabeth Straub (holding the Ethics Bowl trophy), Gabriela Montero Mejía, Daniel Vallejo-Cáliz and Scott Hutson.

Five graduate students at the University of Kentucky have been named champions of the Ethics Bowl Competition. Last month, the team claimed the first place prize at the Society for American Archaeology's (SAA) annual conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico. UK was making its first appearance in the competition, which has been held for 15 years.

In recent years, archaeologists have been confronted with a range of ethical issues. How the next generation of scholars chooses to address these challenges will define the field. In 2004, the SAA inaugurated the Ethics Bowl at its annual meeting in Montreal, Canada, to help

By Jennifer T. Allen

Oliver Voecking, a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biology in the College of Arts & Sciences, recently received a Knights Templar Eye Foundation Career-Starter Grant for his retinal research with zebrafish. The Knights Templar presented Voecking with a check on the University of Kentucky campus in April 2019. 

The Knights Templar Eye Foundation is committed to support research that can help launch the careers of clinical or basic researchers committed to the understanding, prevention and cure of vision threatening diseases in infants and children. With the grant, Voecking will focus his research on analyzing the development of POM cells in zebrafish hoping to drastically increase the understanding of POM development, ultimately developing screening for anterior segment associated diseases, such as corneal dystrophy,

By Madison Dyment

The following article appears in the spring 2019 edition of Ampersand, the UK College of Arts and Sciences magazine. Check out the full issue here.

UK Chemistry's fab lab is a hands-on laboratory extending from the materials chemistry track. The progressive technology allows students to gain practical experience creating materials and models used in modern devices. Photo by R. Wayne Cross.

The "fab" in the University of Kentucky's new "fab lab" may stand for fabrication, but a quick trip inside reveals technology and work that is nothing short of fabulous. Now in its second semester of operation, the fab lab is a hands-on laboratory extending from the materials chemistry track. The lab is offered as a course for UK chemistry students looking to experience hands-