By Whitney Harder

(Sept. 24, 2015) — During a recent visit to the Commonwealth of Kentucky, a delegation from the East African nation of Djibouti visited the University of Kentucky and experienced what it means to "see blue."

The visit included Aboubaker Hassan Ali, secretary general of the Ministry of Higher Education and Research for Djibouti; Madina Daher Okiye, secretary general of the University of Djibouti; Col. Mohamed Ali Obsieh, commander of Military Education; and Said Mohamed Farah, first secretary of the Djibouti Embassy.

The group was welcomed by Carey Cavanaugh, former U.S. Ambassador and director of the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce, and Patterson School students. Two graduate students in the 

By Whitney Hale

(Sept. 23, 2015) — The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) has selected University of Kentucky senior Robert Cass, of Lexington, as one of this year's 38 recipients of the prestigious $10,000 scholarship. The ASF Scholarship is presented annually to outstanding college students majoring in science, technology, engineering or math.

For more than 30 years, the ASF has identified and supported the best and brightest undergraduate students pursuing educations in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) fields across the nation. The Astronaut Scholarship is known for being among the most significant merit-based scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM students. Candidates

Rachel Farr, an assistant professor in developmental psychology at the University of Kentucky, was recently featured in a New York Times article.

The article focuses on Dr. Farr’s research on adoptive children with either two fathers or two mothers. Her study has involved following 49 children over the past eight years.Dr. Farr has many goals for this study which include trying to determine whether children of gay parents are more likely to be teased in school.

The full article can be found at http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/07/back-to-school-worries-for-gay-parents/?_r=0. 

By Mariana Moreno

(Sept. 21, 2015) — Donald A. Ritchie will deliver the University of Kentucky Libraries 2015 Edward F. Prichard Lecture, sponsored by the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Center. He will deliver a talk titled "Where Is Henry Clay Now That We Really Need Him? Political Compromise in an Uncompromising Era." The lecture, which is free and open to the public, will begin 3 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24, in the UK Athletics Auditorium of William T. Young Library.

Ritchie is the historian emeritus of the United States

By Dara Vance

The Committee on Social Theory at The University of Kentucky is hosting Professor Mahmood Mamdani as its Fall Distinguished Speaker. On October 2, Dr. Mamdani will give a talk entitled “Political Violence and Political Justice: A Critique of Criminal Justice as Accountability.” The talk will take place at 3:30 pm in the W.T. Young Library Auditorium. 

Dr. Mamdani is a Professor of Anthropology, Political Science and African Studies at Columbia University. He is also the Herbert Lehman Professor of Government at Columbia University’s School of Internal Affairs. Additionally, he is the Director of the Makerere Institute of Social Research in Kampala, Uganda.

A native of Uganda, Dr. Mamdani was awarded one of 26 scholarships to study in the United States when Uganda won its independence. After graduating from the University of Pittsburgh,

By Whitney Hale

(Sept. 17, 2015) — In recent months, there has been much discussion of both the LGBTQ* and African-American experience in the nation. However, very little discussion to date looks at the experience of African-American members of the LGBTQ* community.

A new panel discussion, "WE ARE HERE!," hopes to bring that conversation to light in the Bluegrass from 2-4 p.m., Saturday, Sept. 19, at the Lexington Public Library's Farish Theater, located in downtown Lexington. The event is free and open to the public. 

"WE ARE HERE!" will explore the range of different life experiences and well-being, as well as the importance of keeping those memories alive and preserved. It will also

By Alicia Gregory

(Sept. 16, 2015) — University of Kentucky REVEAL Research Media presents an inside look at the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women. This is the nation's only center focused solely on research to address and prevent gender-based violence.

Interviews include:

By Mack McCormick, Mariana Moreno

The AWA's mission is to promote and recognize writing about the Appalachian region. The association works to celebrate writers who are living or have lived in the Appalachian region and those who have significant Appalachian connections through heritage or scholarship. The AWA currently gives out five awards each year: the Harriette

By Whitney Hale

(Sept. 14, 2015) — Constitution Day, also known as Citizenship Day, commemorates the ratification of the United States Constitution on Sept. 17, 1787. Each year on Sept. 17th, federally funded educational institutions are required to hold educational programming in honor of this historic event. 

The University of Kentucky is honored to celebrate Constitution Day 2015 with a full day of exciting and informative events. Under the direction of the Office of the President and the Office of the Provost, the UK Division of Undergraduate Education (UGE) has led the charge in organizing UK

By Whitney Harder

(Sept. 22, 2015) — D. Allan Butterfield, professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry and Sanders-Brown Center on Aging (SBCoA), has been awarded a $413,000, two-year grant from the National Institutes of Health to study a new model of Parkinson's disease (PD). 

PD is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease in the United States and is manifested by movement abnormalities, postural instability, loss of smell (anosmia), deposition of the protein, alpha-synuclein, and in late stages, cognitive dysfunction. The brain is attacked by free radicals, many emanating from neuronal mitochondria (the

By Bryant Welbourne

(Sept. 14, 2015) — Twenty-eight students representing each Southeastern Conference university will study abroad during the 2015-16 academic year, the result of a contribution to the league by Dr Pepper. The longtime SEC corporate sponsor allocated $100,000 to the conference to provide study abroad opportunities for high achieving SEC students with demonstrated financial need who represent nontraditional study abroad participants.

 Two students from each university are recipients. From the University of Kentucky, Adam Creamer, an environmental science major, will travel to Costa Rica, and Rockia Harris, a gender

By Gail Hairston, Dara Vance

(Sept. 14, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Department of History needs to build an extra book shelf. 

Five department faculty members — Ronald Formisano, Erik Myrup, Gerald Smith, Jeremy Popkin and Akiko Takenaka — published their own books between July and August of 2015.  The publication of five books in a year is a significant achievement for many academic units, but the publication of five books in one month is unprecedented at UK. 

The simultaneous publication of five books by faculty at varying stages of their careers indicates the diversity and depth of talent in the UK history department, said the department’s interim chair, Tracy Campbell.

“Five books in one month is a really big deal, and we want to celebrate with Lexington,” Campbell said.

In

By Kathy Johnson

(Sept. 11, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  Sitting in for Godell today, Kentucky Women Writers Conference Director Julie Wrinn chats with novelist Hannah Pittard, who is also an assistant professor of creative writing at UK. 

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/hannah-pittard-talks-siblings-voicing-characters.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:45 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each

By Blair Hoover

(Sept. 10, 2015) — A panel of specialists will discuss both journalism and event marketing aspects of Thoroughbred horse racing for the 2015 Gidel/Lombardo Sports Communication Series.  The panel discussion is free and open to the public.  The discussion will be held in the W.T. Young Library Auditorium beginning at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 15. 

Jim Mulvihill, director of media and industry relations at the National Thoroughbred Racing Association, will serve as moderator.  The National Thoroughbred Racing Association is an industry coalition of more than 100 horse racing interests.  Mulvihill is also president of the Turf Publicists of America. He has held a variety of public relations and communications positions within and outside of racing, including heading the press offices at Fair Grounds Race Course and

(Sept. 9, 2015) — This Sunday, the University of Kentucky community will tune in to see one of its own compete for the title of Miss America. Vocal performance and political science sophomore Clark Janell Davis is currently competing in preliminary competitions for the coveted title in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The pageant finals will air live 9 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 13, on ABC.

In addition to watching Davis compete for the crown, Big Blue Nation can vote for Davis to be selected as America's Choice in the pageant. Individuals can vote daily for one contestant to be named America's Choice through Sept. 10 via social media. On Facebook, type both Kentucky and

By Whitney Harder

(Sept. 9, 2015) — Founding project scientist for the Hubble Space Telescope, Robert O'Dell, will speak on the University of Kentucky campus Sept. 10.  He is the guest for Sky Talk, a series of astronomy related presentations organized by the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy and the MacAdam Student Observatory.

The presentation, "Traveling Through the Orion Nebula," will take place at 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, in Room 139 of the Chemistry-Physics Building.  The program will include a Japanese National Television documentary of O'Dell and his studies of Orion Nebula, followed by a question and answer period with O'Dell.

By Kathy Johnson

(Sept. 4, 2015) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  Today's guest host is Julie Wrinn, director of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, which is housed at UK and will take place Sept. 10-13. Wrinn chats with poet Kathleen Driskell, author of a new book of poetry published by University Press of Kentucky and a presenter at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference. 

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, visit http://wuky.org/post/poet-kathleen-driskell-living-next-door-dead.

"UK

By Jenny Wells

(Sept. 3, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research invites students from all disciplines to submit research proposals for the 2016 Posters-at-the-Capitol event Feb. 25, 2016, in Frankfort, Kentucky. Abstracts are being accepted now through Oct. 14.

View the flyer

Posters-at-the-Capitol is a collaborative program where undergraduates from each of Kentucky's eight public universities and the Kentucky Community and Technical College System present the results of research they have conducted as part of their college experience before the state legislature in Frankfort.

Susan Bordo, a professor of gender and women’s studies, M. Christina Alcalde, an associate professor of gender women's studies, and Ellen Rosenman, Provost's Distinguished Professor of English, at the University of Kentucky are co-editors of a new book titled "Provocations: A Transnational Reader in the History of Feminist Thought."

Bordo, Alcalde, and Rosenman recently participated in a guest blog spot for University of California Press where they discussed the new book. To view this blog, visit http://www.ucpress.edu/blog/18835/provocations/. 

By Whitney Harder

(Sept. 1, 2015) — Kim Woodrum, a senior lecturer in the University of Kentucky Department of Chemistry, has been appointed as a committee member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) Division of Chemical Education Examinations Institute.

The committee is responsible for producing the 2017 General Chemistry Paired Questions Examination. This exam, and others prepared by the Examinations Institute, is used by many high school and undergraduate chemistry courses in the U.S. 

"The appointment to this committee is a significant recognition of stature in the chemistry education community and is an important creative and professional activity. I am sure that you are pleased to have outstanding