By Gail Hairston

(Jan. 15, 2016) — A team of faculty from across campus have developed an initial proposal to create a University of Kentucky Center for Equality and Social Justice. 

Inspired and led by psychology Associate Professor Chrisitia Spears Brown with Robert E. Harding Jr. Professor of Law Melynda J. Price, the goal of the center is to create a space on campus to explore issues of equality and social justice from multiple perspectives, disciplines and research traditions. 

The genesis of the center comes at a time when institutions across the country are debating issues of equality, diversity and inclusion.

At UK, those conversations are taking place across the campus among faculty,

By Gail Hairston

(Nov. 6, 2015) — The publisher of the National Council on Family Relations’ scholarly journals, John Wiley & Sons, recently announced the winners of the 2015 Alexis Walker Award for the best paper in the field of family studies published in 2013 and 2014. University of Kentucky assistant professor of psychology Rachel H. Farr and University of Virginia professor of psychology Charlotte J. Patterson were recognized for their work, “Co-parenting Among Lesbian, Gay, and Heterosexual Couples: Associations with Adopted Children’s Outcomes,” published in Child Development, July/August 2013, Volume 84. The award comes with a $5,000 honorarium and will be

By Whitney Harder

(Oct. 6, 2015) — With "Banned Books Week" celebrated last week and "Teen Read Week" coming up Oct.18-24, exploring the world through literature seems to always be in season. For professors at the University of Kentucky, books have impacted their lives and careers in surprising ways.

Read below for the third and final piece in a series of professors reflecting on the books that shaped them. 

Ashley Seifert

Assistant Professor of Biology 

For me, the most influential books have been all about timing. As a young college graduate, I came upon Benjamin Hoff’s "The Te of Piglet." Hoff’s condemnation of man’s disharmony with the natural world resonated deeply with me. But it was his elegant illumination of Taoist philosophy communicated through A.A

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 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 powerhouse of the cell) to cause

University of Kentucky psychologist, Richard Smith, was featured in a recent article in The New Yorker which looks at the differences between envy and admiration. Along with other psychologists featured in the article, Smith, who has been studying envy for over three decades, looks closely at the relation between envy and admiration in today’s society. The full article titled “Can Envy Be Good For You” can be found here.

By Whitney Harder

(July 17, 2015) — Summer: a time to catch up on neglected projects, reconnect with old friends and tackle that summer reading list. Whether it's an inspiring autobiography, the latest science fiction, or re-reading the classics, many are immersing themselves in a range of literature this season. For professors at the University of Kentucky, they are not only cracking open new books, but reflecting on those that have impacted their lives and careers in surprising ways. 

Read below for the first in a series of professors reflecting on the books that shaped them. 

John Anthony

J. C. Hubbard Professor of Chemistry

Quite a few books have resonated with me over the years. The earliest would be the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy by

By Jenny Wells

(June 26, 2015) — The University of Kentucky hosted the seventh annual Kentucky Girls STEM Collaborative conference, "Go for the Gold," June 12 at E.S. Good Barn, bringing representatives from across the state together to help advance gender equality in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

"We are pleased to provide a forum for Kentucky residents to join us in this endeavor," said Sue Scheff, co-chair of the collaborative. "Our agenda included a full day of speakers and hands-on activities to excite and entertain girls as well as educate the parents, teachers, and community leaders of the many career opportunities available to young people in Kentucky."

Kentucky continues to rank very low in number of scientists and engineers, high-tech jobs, and

By Blair Hoover, Rebecca Stratton

(May 8, 2015) — Three University of Kentucky students have received the Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarship (UGRAS), which will support their international independent research projects during the 2015 summer session.

Annie Griggs, a biology major in the College of Arts and Sciences, Faith VanMeter, a psychology major in the College of Arts and Sciences and Marcel Roman, a political science and international studies double major in the College of Arts and Sciences are the recipients of the scholarship — chosen because they demonstrate the ability to explore exceptional academic undergraduate research abroad with the support of UK faculty mentors.  UGRAS is a result of funding from a collaboration between the