by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick
(Nov. 12, 2014) — Now in its 33rd year, the Kentucky Book Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Frankfort Convention Center. This year’s fair will feature around 200 authors showcasing their most recent books including several authors from the University of Kentucky and University Press of Kentucky (UPK).
Sponsored by The State Journal, and co-sponsored by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Joseph-Beth Booksellers
by Parissa Zargar
(Oct. 15, 2014) — University of Kentucky senior, Jaye "Jaxcy" Odom, of Albuquerque, New Mexico, has received the Chickasaw Nation Lifetime Scholarship. This honor is awarded to tribal citizens who are full-time students pursuing a degree from an accredited institution of higher education. Odom has been involved with the Chickasaw Nation through her attendance of tribal meetings and participation in activities to promote pride in Native American culture.
"When I found out that I had been awarded the Chickasaw Lifetime Scholarship, I was elated. It was an indescribable honor to be a recipient of this highly competitive scholarship, and it meant a lot to me that my
by Gail Hairston
(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.
In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.
The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to the
by Gail Hairston
(Aug. 26, 2014) — It’s rarely easy to get a child out of bed, dressed, fed and off to school, especially when it’s still dark outside. Schoolchildren everywhere (their parents too, if they are being honest) groan for “just a little longer” in the sack.
School systems that have adjusted and re-adjusted school start times in search of the perfect balance may have to reevaluate the task after reviewing recent findings from a team of researchers at the University of Kentucky. Their work has found that elementary-age children living in middle- and upper-class neighborhoods of Kentucky demonstrate weaker academic performance when they are required to start classes early.
Recently published by the American Psychological Association, the research was led by Peggy S. Keller, UK associate professor in the
by Jenny Wells
(Aug. 26, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence honored its newest class of Chellgren Fellows this past weekend. Benefactor Paul Chellgren, along with Chellgren Endowed Chair Philipp Kraemer, recognized and congratulated the students on being named Fellows.
The Chellgren Fellows Program is for students with exceptional academic potential and aspirations, who are eager to participate in a special learning community designed to cultivate extraordinary achievement. Outstanding faculty members from across campus serve as individual mentors for the Fellows.
The students selected as 2014-15 Chellgren Fellows include:
Shiza Arshad, an international studies
By Gail Hairston
(Aug. 11, 2014) — Often, research findings reflect the scientist’s and the public’s expectations. Sometimes, they come close. Other times, research results simply astound everyone.
Case in point is the recent research of Professor Peter R. Giancola of the psychology department of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences. He, and his former graduate student, Aaron Duke, have found an unexpected relation between spiritual beliefs, violence and alcohol consumption.
“Oversimplifying — in many cases the more religious someone is, the more aggressive they will become after drinking alcohol,” Giancola said.
The researcher defined religiosity as someone who “finds meaning in the sacred,” regardless of the doctrine they follow.
Pointing out that
by Gail Hairston
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 4, 2014) — The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women (OPSVAW) in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recently announced that it will support the largest number of graduate and professional students within its relatively short history. One of the top priorities of the OPSVAW is the support of students, and the 2014-2015 academic year will see the program support five individuals through graduate fellowships and research assistantships.
“It is an extraordinary opportunity to advance the careers of these young scholars while also teaching them that there are real women behind the work that they do,” said Carol Jordan executive director of OPSVAW. “I believe we help give real purpose and inspiration to their academic careers while they also
by Elizabeth Adams
(July 30, 2014) — The phrase "we caught it early" is possibly the best news a patient can hear in the midst of a cancer diagnosis. Combating cancer in its earliest stages, when the disease is localized to a certain part of the body, gives patients the best chances of survival.
Screenings for breast, skin, colon, prostate and other forms of cancer are touted for saving lives through early detection. Many health care providers recommend cancer screenings as a precautionary measure, especially for high-risk patients. But in the case of lung cancer, the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, the patient's decision to undergo a screening process is more complex.
According to University of Kentucky psychologist Dr. Jamie Studts, lung cancer screening is an algorithm, not an event. Patients aren't always aware of the physical and
by Gail Hairston
(July 10, 2014) – University of Kentucky sophomore psychology major Kara McCord won one of the 2014 Noba Student Video Award top prizes, awarded by the Diener Education Fund (DEF) and Noba Psychology, for her video titled “Flashbulb Memories”.
The worldwide competition recognizes the most outstanding student-made videos developed around psychological concepts related to memory.
McCord’s entry, judged by a panel of leading psychologists, was among entries from the U.S., Europe, South America, and Asia. In addition to receiving a cash award of $3,000, her video focusing on a phenomenon of autobiographical memory, will be included as a part of the Noba Psychology digital textbook in a module centered on
by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick
(June 2, 2014) — For more than a century, Kentucky women have fought for the right to vote, to own property, to earn and control their wages, and to be safe at home and in the workplace. Tragically, many of them have been silenced by abuse and violence.
In "Violence Against Women in Kentucky: A History of U.S. and State Legislative Reform," Carol E. Jordan, executive director of University of Kentucky's Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women, gives Kentucky women — specifically victims of rape, domestic violence and stalking — a voice. Their stories punctuate her account of the struggles of advocates and legislators to bring legal protections to these Kentuckians. Written for those engaged in the anti-rape and
by Whitney Hale
(May 27, 2014) — University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships has announced that four UK students have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 1,800 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2014-2015 academic year through the prestigious program.
The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department
(May 15, 2014) — From the first day of their lives, most of us treat boys and girls differently. Those differences begin with a pink versus blue nursery, clothes with laces rather than ribbons, sports equipment or dance lessons, and on and on right through to “manly” careers versus “feminine” jobs.
Across the country, devoted parents routinely treat boys and girls differently because their parents, sundry child rearing experts and psychiatrists, and ultimately all of society has taught us to believe that boys and girls are fundamentally and radically different. But what if we are all wrong? What if treating boys like boys and girls like girls is not a good approach to bringing out the best in every child?
In “Parenting Beyond Pink and Blue: How to Raise Your Kids Free of
by Sarah Geegan
(May 1, 2014) – Provost Christine Riordan will honor three tenured faculty members, two lecturers and six teaching assistants today at the 2014 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony. The ceremony will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Lexmark Public Room.
The award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Recipients are selected via nomination and review by a selection committee based in the Provost's Office of Faculty Advancement.
Winners receive cash prizes of $5,000 for regular and special title series faculty, $3,000 for lecturer and clinical title series, and $1,000 for teaching assistants.
The Category One Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series faculty
by Gail Hairston
(April 29, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences recently announced the Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women.
The office’s purpose is to shape the creation, implementation and evaluation of public policy as it relates to intimate partner violence, sexual assault and stalking. Specifically, the office will work to enhance direct services to victims, legal response and legislative reform related to violence against women through policy research and analysis, and empirically driven advocacy and practice.
“The Office for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women is a creative opportunity to weave together the interests of several departments in the College of Arts and Sciences with the policy expertise the office affords,” said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “The
by Tony Neely
(April 29, 2014) — A total of 61 University of Kentucky Wildcats earned a place on the 2013-14 Sports Southeastern Conference Academic Honor Roll announced by SEC Commissioner Mike Slive.
UK’s 61 honorees was the fourth most among the 14 league teams. UK has five representatives from the men’s basketball team, six from women’s basketball, 12 from gymnastics, six from rifle, 16 from men’s swimming and diving and 16 from women’s swimming and diving. This marks another strong showing for UK’s student-athletes, who had the second-most qualifiers on the SEC Fall Sports Honor Roll released earlier this year.
The 2013-14 Winter SEC Academic Honor Roll is based on the grades from the 2013 Spring, Summer and Fall terms. Among other qualifications, a student-athlete must have a grade-point average of 3.00 or above for the preceding academic year or
by Jenny Wells, Carl Nathe
(April 23, 2014) — As a University of Kentucky Commencement tradition, two students have been selected to serve as speakers for the two undergraduate ceremonies Saturday, May 10.
Emily Willett will speak at the 1 p.m. ceremony and Pooja Reddy will speak at the 6 p.m. ceremony. Willett and Reddy were selected among several candidates by UK President Eli Capilouto to represent the May 2014 undergraduate class.
Willett, from Ormond Beach, Fla., is graduating Summa Cum Laude with a degree in management from the Gatton College of Business and Economics. She is a third-generation UK student and has been involved in the
by Keith Hautala
(April 21, 2014) — The University of Kentucky's Center for Research on Violence Against Women is under new leadership, and its new director says the center will focus its efforts to promote violence prevention research.
Diane R. Follingstad, the center's Women’s Circle Endowed Chair and a professor in the UK Department of Psychiatry with a joint appointment in the Department of Psychology, took on the role of executive director April 1, pending confirmation of her appointment by the university's Board of Trustees. A clinical and forensic psychologist specializing in partner abuse and battered women’s legal cases, Follingstad has been with the center since 2008.
The former director of the center, Carol Jordan, is leaving to head the Institute for Policy Studies on Violence Against Women in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.
"We
by Thomas Janoski
(April 9, 2014) — In an effort to train University of Kentucky graduate students and help researchers, the Quantitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research (QIPSR) is bringing four of the most sophisticated methodologists in America for a mini-conference April 10-11 and a workshop May 15-18 on structural equation models (SEM). This method goes far beyond the typical single equation explanation of social science voting, health, participation, protesting or learning. It encompasses the combination of up to hundreds of variables into a complex system of meaningful behavior.
Judea Pearl, the award-winning philosopher and computer expert, refers to it as a method of “pivotal importance
by Keith Hautala
(April 8, 2014) — When people think of psychologists, many envision a clinical setting, where the focus is on helping individuals with personal problems and relationships. But what about our problems and relationships with technology? For that, you need an engineering psychologist.
"That’s something that puzzles a lot of people: How do you put psychology together with engineering?" says Melody Carswell, a University of Kentucky professor of psychology and associate director of the UK Center for Visualization and Virtual Environments (Vis Center). "I think probably the most obvious way is to make sure that the
by Whitney Harder, Whitney Hale
(March 27, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 12 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2014-15 and 2015-16 academic years. Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities.
Gaines Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal
