by Sarah Geegan 

This past summer marked the 16th anniversary of one of the world's most unique events held on UK's campus.

The Conventiculum Latinum Lexintoniense, an active Latin immersion seminar established and directed by classics professor Terence Tunberg, annually draws scholars from across the globe. The seminar aims to fully immerse participants, equipped with various degrees of fluency, in the Latin language and culture — and does so by instating a pledge to speak exclusively in the ancient language throughout the duration of the seminar.

"At the very first session, all members signed a pledge to speak only Latin during the

by Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History and the Oldham County History Center announce the establishment of a formal partnership to archive, preserve and support ongoing oral history initiatives created by the Oldham County History Center in LaGrange, Ky.

The Oldham County History Center has been collecting oral histories since 2001, including interviews with veterans of World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many of these interviews have been transcribed and published in the Oldham County Neighborhood section of the Louisville Courier-Journal. In 2007, the Oldham County History Center began an

by Keith Hautala

David C. Royster, associate professor of mathematics at the University of Kentucky, has been appointed interim director of the Partnership Institute for Math and Science Education Reform (PIMSER).

Royster has been on the faculty at UK since fall 2009. He also serves PIMSER on its advisory board and as its outreach professor in mathematics. Prior to coming to UK, Royster served as the director of the Center for Mathematics, Science, and Technology Education at the University of North Carolina, Charlotte.

Royster succeeds John H. Yopp, who retired from UK in July and who continues to be active in international education and math and science education.

PIMSER was established in fulfillment of a commitment

by Derrick Meads and Sarah Geegan

A new Chinese mass psychological counseling movement and its effect on China’s middle class is the subject of an upcoming lecture, presented by the Confucius Institute at the University of Kentucky Office of International Affairs titled, “Refashioning the Self through New Therapeutics in Urban China.” This free public lecture given by Li Zhang, professor of anthropology and Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of California, Davis, will begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 5, in the Patterson Office Tower Board Room, 18th floor.

“This talk will address how, through this movement, middle-class Chinese seek to refashion ‘the

by Amy Jones and Kody Kiser

As freshmen move into the University of Kentucky, one of the first things greeting them will be tables of free food near their residence halls. 

It’s a welcome many students take full advantage of throughout K Week.  But is it possible to actually go the entire week without paying for food during this special Big Blue welcome? 

Watch the feature above to get some tips from a real free food expert, UK Biology Senior Annie Tiu and discover why the incentive helps students become involved in campus life from the very start of their college careers.

This is the first in a new series produced by UK Now called "Who Does That?"  We'd like to show you the unique students, faculty and staff who make

by Carl Nathe and Nathan Schwake

Recently, eight UK female student-athletes, along with members of the athletics department staff, participated in a service trip to Ethiopia. On the trip were Megan Moir from women's golf, Brooke Keyes and Kayla King from women's soccer, Kayla Hartley from gymnastics, Grace Trimble from women's tennis (political science major), Kastine Evans from women's basketball, Emily Holsopple from rifle (biology major), and Aubrey Lamar from softball. Each student was nominated by her respective head coach for this trip.

This is a wonderful example of how UK students and staff involve themselves in efforts so much bigger than themselves. This article is excerpted from blogs written by several of the student-athletes. 

For the second consecutive year, a

By Guy Spriggs

In his dissertation research, Tim Vatovec frequently calls upon his background in geography, sociology and political science. This interdisciplinary approach – what Vatovec calls “borrowing” – makes him a natural fit for UK’s social theory program.

“Social theory has been an interest since I was an undergrad,” he said. “I’ve taken a lot from sociology and political theory and political science. That’s what geographers do, we take stuff from all over the social sciences.”

And in turn, UK’s Committee on Social Theory has borrowed a lot from the Geography

by Whitney Hale 

The Thomas D. Clark Foundation and the University Press of Kentucky will host a symposium to honor the life and literary legacy of James Still. The Thomas D. Clark Medallion Symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West Second St.

The symposium will celebrate Still’s posthumous collection of short stories, "The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still," winner of the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award.

Elizabeth came to the University of Kentucky in 2009 and completed her MA in Classics in May of 2011. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Florida in 2009, with majors in Classics and English. Although she had been studying Latin during much of her time at UF and had always been interested in the ancient world, she spent the first four years of her undergraduate education focusing predominately on English, planning, at the time, to become a medievalist. In spring 2008, while taking a course on Vergil’s Eclogues and Georgics, she decided to pursue Classics instead, ultimately finding that Latin allowed for deeper and more meaningful study of the literature she had always loved. She remained in the Classics department at UF for a fifth year, studying Greek over the summer and a heavy load of Latin and Greek during that year to prepare for a

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

The Department of History is excited to welcome professor Scott Taylor to its faculty!

Professor Taylor joins us this fall researching the history of early modern Europe, especially Spain. Currently, he is working on a book on the beginnings of modern addiction, examining how western Europeans experienced "soft drugs" like sugar, tobacco, chocolate, coffee, tea, distilled spirits, and opium.

This podcast is part of a series highlighting the new faculty members who joined the College of Arts and Sciences in the fall 2012 semester.

Produced by Stephen Gordinier.

By Sarah Geegan

The Conventiculum Dickinsoniense, an annual Latin immersion seminar hosted by Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., spotlighted two of UK's most acclaimed professors this summer.

Professors Terence Tunberg and Milena Minkova of the Classics Division in the Department of Modern Classical Languages Literatures and Cultures, conducted the seminar, which aims to enrich high school teachers' preparation to teach Latin. The event also attracts professors and graduate students from disciplines that benefit from good knowledge of Latin.

Participants travel from across the globe to attend the Dickinson seminar each year; the past three

By Sarah Geegan

Ten students from colleges across the country came to UK this summer for a competitive research opportunity, unique in multiple senses.

Through a National Science Foundation (NSF) program called Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU), the students, the first cohort among a total of three over the span of three summers, spent 10 weeks studying suburban ecology and invasive species at or nearby UK's Ecological Research Facility (ERF). The facility, adjacent to The UK/Lexmark Center for Innovation in Math and Science Education (formerly Lexington's Northside Library), offers a unique setting for the study of invasive species; ERF consists of 54 acres nestled in the middle of a

Fast Track for Calculus is a residential academic preparation program for highly qualified students. Fast Track to Calculus is designed to prepare students for rigorous undergraduate mathematics classes. In this podcast, Dean of Arts & Sciences Mark Kornbluh and Mathematics Director of Undergraduate Studies David Royster discuss the goals of the program and how it will work.

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Listen to this WUKY podcast with Lt. Col. Jason Cummins as he talks about the event.

By Gail Bennett, Sarah Geegan

WUKY 91.3 FM, the University of Kentucky's NPR station, is partnering with UK Army ROTC to present the Inaugural Kentucky National Guard Bluegrass Mud Run Saturday, Sept. 22, 2012. This 5K run will begin at UK's Commonwealth Stadium and proceed through obstacles designed by members of UK Army ROTC. The obstacle course will be challenging yet fun and will be made to get runners muddy. 

"This fun and exciting mud run is for the pro-athlete or the pro-couch potato!" said Gail Bennett, marketing director at WUKY." Everyone is encouraged to participate, and we strongly encourage

Networked Humanities: From Within and Without the University
A Digital Humanities Symposium
February 15-16, 2013
The University of Kentucky
Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Media Program

http://network.as.uky.edu

Keynote Speakers:
Kathleen Stewart, Professor of Anthropology, University of Texas

Malcolm McCullough, Professor of Architecture, University of Michigan

Of all the topics of interest to the digital humanities, the network has received little attention among digital humanities proponents. Yet, we live in a networked society: texts, sound, ideas, people, movements, consumerism, protest movements, politics, entertainment, academia,

By Sarah Geegan

For the Central Kentucky Council for Peace and Justice, it was an opportunity to reorganize youth programs; for the nonprofit Seedleaf, it was a way to better connect with volunteers; and for students in geography Professor Matt Wilson's class, it was the chance to apply their skills to engage with the Lexington community.

Students in Wilson's Geographic Information Systems (GIS) Workshop course spent the past semester applying their knowledge of geographic technology from the classroom to assist real

Below is a Chinese newspaper article on Department of Biology professor Carol Baskin that originally ran in the Morning News and was written by Yankuang Su. There is also a letter attachment from Xinjiang Agricultural University inviting Baskin to give several guest lectures and congratulating her on her “Tianshan Award.”

Wearing a simple patterned shirt, light-colored pants and a pair of golden-colored glasses, this tall and scientific-looking woman is American professor Carol Baskin.

Carol Baskin is a professor at the University of Kentucky. In 2006, she and her husband Professor Jerry Baskin made their first academic visit to Xinjiang when they started