Director of the Center for Drug Abuse Research Translation and Department of Psychology Professor Michael Bardo has been named a 2011 William B. Sturgill Award recipient. The award is presented anually to a graduate faculty member for outstanding contributions to graduate education at the University of Kentucky.

"Winning the Sturgill Award is such a high honor for me because my past trainees have been so successful," Bardo began. "It has been a great pleasure to stay in contact with many of them on an annual basis at professional meetings in psychology and neuroscience. Watching them grow from trainees into true colleagues has been personally fulfilling, and I now ask them questions relevant to my ongoing research and training. In fact, I have several examples where I have used their advice to enhance my own research laboratory and training skills. It is like an example of “karma”, where past actions are shaping the future."
 

William B. Sturgill was born in Lackey, Kentucky in 1924. A 1946 graduate of the University of Kentucky, Sturgill became prominent in the coal industry as an executive and owner of several coal operations. Sturgill has also served in a variety of other businesses including East Kentucky Investment Company; Fourth Street and Gentry Tobacco Warehouses, and Hartland Development Project. In the 1980’s, he served Gov. John Y. Brown, Jr. as both Secretary of Energy and Secretary of Agriculture at a salary of one dollar a year. He is involved in numerous civic organizations, boards, and commissions.

His contributions to higher education include organizing and serving as president of the Hazard Independent College Foundation, as well as working closely with legislators to develop the commonwealth’s community college system. At the University of Kentucky, Sturgill has served 18 years on the Board of Trustees, 10 years of which he served as chairperson. A renowned benefactor of the University of Kentucky, the Sturgill Development Building is named in his honor.