By Danielle Donham

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 14, 2021) — Per University of Kentucky tradition, UK President Eli Capilouto has selected two student representatives to speak at the UK Commencement Ceremonies Friday, Dec. 17, at Rupp Arena at Central Bank Center.

Two speakers in total were selected. Each speaker will address their respective ceremony. Given limitations on the number of people allowed on the stage, the speeches will be pre-recorded.

The two student speakers are:

Peyton Schroeder

The Germantown Hills, Illinois, native is finishing a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and a certificate in automotive production engineering from the UK College of Engineering and is a 

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Steve Shaffer

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 13, 2021) — At just 5 years old, Bisimwa “Jack” Nzerhumana saw things no human being, let alone a child, should ever have to see.

Born in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), a country plagued for decades by civil war, political instability and exploitation, young Nzerhumana was exposed to horrific violence daily. At times, he and his family had to literally run for their lives.

“Witnessing the brutal maltreatment of women, sitting in rooms surrounded by bodies and hearing the never-ending cries of death unfortunately became a part of my daily routine,” Nzerhumana said. “(We were) running from bullets. It was pretty tough.”

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2021) — Christia Spears Brown, a professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, believes we need only to read the latest news headlines to understand the harm caused by discrimination.

As a developmental psychologist, she knows these prejudices don’t just develop as we become adults. Instead, they are formed at a young age, and they shape children who are exposed to bias in their classrooms, after-school activities and yes, even in their own homes — no matter how

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 7, 2021) – The University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science has awarded pilot funding to ten projects that address human health issues across the lifespan.

Justin Karr, assistant professor of psychology in the College of Arts & Sciences, received an Early Career Award for  “The Chronic Sequelae of Repetitive Mild Traumatic Brain Injury in Women.” Mentors are TK Logan, Michelle Martel and Suzanne Segerstrom.

The center provides multiple types of pilot funding to catalyze collaborative, translational research. In partnership with disease-specific centers at UK and with academic medical centers around the country, the center has provided more than 250 awards totaling $4 million, which have garnered $84.6 million in

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 7, 2021) — Do you feel less than joyful during the “most wonderful time of the year?”

If so, you’re not alone. Michelle Martel, a professor and director of clinical training in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, says feeling the pressure of the holidays is fairly common.

“In my clinical and personal experience, I would say most, but not all, people report increased stress around the holidays," Martel said. "However, only a subset of vulnerable people experiences clinical problems,

Minute Taker: Emily

Group photo (for the web)

Review of Reading/Continuing Education (Shannon: 15 minutes)

Should all mentors have this as background information before mentorship?

Beyond typical mentorship-- context provided before semesters to better outcomes amongst marginalized identities (e.g., 1st gen, BIPOC)

Possibly disclose identities to students at the beginning of the semester to emphasize scientists hold multiple identities

Theory to Action

PSY Scholars exposed to research opportunities (PSY 395), but who are we missing by not making information accessible?

PSY Lab showcase: New faculty members may already have pre existing videos explaining their research interests/lab tasks

Graduate

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 23, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently announced 18 undergraduate winners of the 57th annual Oswald Research and Creativity Awards. Chad Risko, faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and several research ambassadors were on hand to congratulate the winners and distribute the awards.

Established in 1964 by then-UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Competition encourages undergraduate research and creative activities across all fields of study.

Categories include biological sciences, design (architecture, landscape architecture and interior design), fine arts (film, music, photography, painting and sculpture

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 11, 2021) — For more than 100 years, Veterans Day (originally known as Armistice Day) offers an opportunity for those across the United States to come together to honor those who have served in the U.S. military, and show gratitude for their service and sacrifice.

Today, the University of Kentucky is honoring its own veterans, which include hundreds of students, faculty and staff.

“Each year on Nov. 11, we pay tribute to all American veterans and express our deep appreciation for their love of country and willingness to sacrifice,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “At the University of Kentucky, our faculty, staff and student veterans enrich the lives of those around them and contribute to our community in profound ways. Our veterans are

Minute taker: Baylee

Review of Reading/Continuing Education (Krystal: 15 minutes)

Reflection: 

Are we doing something that actually matters?

Future readings: Mentorship link — 3 Mentoring Underrepresented Students in STEMM: Why Do Identities Matter? | The Science of Effective Mentorship in STEMM 

What do we do to hold ourselves accountable:

Subcommittee Check-ins during the larger group meetings

Transparency — minutes; departmental leadership accountability (seeing change put to action); holding a space to listen to stakeholders - are we representing what really matters to those who we are trying to help?; time in faculty meetings for updates - spreading word of initiatives

Discussion of How to Keep up with best practices in DEI (Krystal: 5-10 minutes)

Continuing Education through the department/larger sphere

Accountable for posting/sharing scholarly work?

How have DEI Committees been harmful to Black students at other institutions and how can we avoid their mistakes?

Krystal shared last summer--DEI members can read this before the next meeting to discuss.

What are events that other departmental DEI committees hosting? 

We can add this to regularly sent emails by Meagan. This collection of events and communication with Meagan can be a task handled by a subcommittee.

Subcommittee check-in (Baylee: ~40 minutes)

Formation of Departmental Transparency subcommittee

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 28, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research has announced the fourth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates competed in the competition’s two preliminary rounds and were selected as Top 10 finalists to present their research during the final round on Thursday, Oct. 28, in the Gatton Student Center Worsham Cinema.

Finalists will present their research in five minutes in front of a panel of five judges and a live audience using only a single static slide. This challenges students to develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills while also allowing them to showcase their research in a captivating way.

The

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 6, 2021) — From routine disruption to social isolation, the COVID-19 pandemic has and continues to affect children in various ways.

Added stress can change a child’s ability to stay focused, as well as negatively impact their appetite and quality of sleep. As a parent, it’s normal to worry about your child's well-being. But how can you lend support in a positive way? 

In the Q&A session below, Michelle Martel, a psychology professor in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, shares her expertise and offers

Welcome and introductions

Review of our policies, procedures, and initiatives developed over the past 8 months

Identifying the leadership subcommittee

Shannon Sauer-Zavala (Faculty), Krystal Cashen (post-doc), and Emily Lapidus and Baylee Jenkins (graduate students) self-nominated and the larger group approved. We are pleased to have stakeholders at all levels represented in leadership. 

Initiatives

Decolonizing Syllabi: The goal is to create a list of recommendations for readings and class activities that highlight work from scholars from diverse backgrounds, as well as make recommendations for the articles students read as part of the alternative assignments (in lieu of research participation)

Chair: Steven Arthur

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

UK undergraduate researchers Bridget Bolt and Gretchen Ruschman. Students are encouraged to explore undergraduate research opportunities at the Research + Creative Experience Expo.

At the University of Kentucky, undergraduates have access to outstanding research and creative work activities led by world-class faculty and staff that promote self-discovery, experiential learning and lifelong achievement.

Explore exciting undergraduate opportunities at the first annual UK Research + Creative Experience Expo 3-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, around the Gatton Student Center’s Social Staircase.

“The goal of the Research + Creative Experience Expo is to introduce undergraduates to the diversity of research and creative work conducted at UK,” said Chad Risko, faculty

African American Research Training Scholars Present Neuroscience Research at 1st Symposium

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 18, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center (SCoBIRC) hosted a symposium last week featuring its first class of African American Research Training Scholars

Wellness

(859) 218-5178

jwhester1@uky.edu

In this episode, host Jakob Hester is joined by Dr. Lauren Whitehurst, an assistant professor of psychology from the College of Arts and Sciences. Listen as they discuss how you can discover and achieve better sleep. You’ll also hear Dr

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky, -- Three University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences professors are combining their research with outreach to the community in a quest to understand mental health and bring their findings to bear on treatment. 

Founded in the fall of 2019, the Clinic for Emotional Health, part of UK’s Department of Psychology, unites faculty members and graduate students to execute three goals: 1) to conduct research on the nature of emotional disorders and their treatment; 2) to provide the highest quality care to community members who participate in the studies; and 3) to train the next generation of therapists to provide science-backed care.  

The faculty members leading the effort, based in

By Hillary Smith

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 30, 2021) — The University of Kentucky’s Neuroscience Research Priority Area supports a "collaborative matrix," bringing together diverse groups of investigators, trainees and research groups from nine different colleges across the University of Kentucky campus.

“The key underlying strategy of the NRPA is to provide broad-based support for basic, translational and clinical neuroscience-related research across campus,” said NRPA Co-Director Dr. Larry Goldstein, Ruth Louise Works Endowed professor and chairman of UK College of Medicine’s 

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 29, 2021) — Pandemic restrictions are beginning to ease as the state, and country, returns to “normal.”

For nearly a year, we relied on masks to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Now, many are removing the facial coverings, but that doesn’t mean it will be easy to shed the anxiety that accompanies a global pandemic.

If you’re having difficulty coping with this added stress, psychology experts at the University of Kentucky say you’re not alone.

Shannon Sauer-Zavala is an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the