By Jackie Wilson Nov. 14, 2023

UK professor and author and Frank X Walker is the grand prize winner of the 2023 Black Authors Matter Children’s Book Awards. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 14, 2023) — "A Is for Affrilachia" by artist, writer, poet and University of Kentucky professor Frank X Walker is the grand prize winner of the 2023 Black Authors Matter Children’s Book Awards. Illustrated by acclaimed artist Ron Davis (upfromsumdirt), "A Is

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Maddie Duff is reaching out to her fellow Appalachians through a University of Kentucky research initiative called SPARK, or Students Participating as Ambassadors for Research in Kentucky.  

Duff, a junior neuroscience major in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, conducts research through SPARK, the Appalachian Career Training in Oncology and the John Calhoun Wells Eastern Kentucky Scholars Fund. Each of these programs encourage and assist students with giving back inside their communities. For example, Duff conducts phone surveys of people with hearing issues.

“A lot of the participants I've dealt with just want to be heard,” said Duff, who’s from Prestonburg, Ky. “They want somebody to understand the struggles that they go through as a patient who has all these

By Meredith Weber and Steve Shaffer 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 8, 2024) — What makes a good teacher a great one? University of Kentucky students were eager to share their opinions about the best teacher in their lives, nominating them for one of the most esteemed awards on campus.

The UK Alumni Association 2024 Great Teacher Award was recently bestowed upon six UK educators. Initiated in 1961, UK’s

By Kody Kiser Thursday

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play and Spotify.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 22, 2024) — Crystal Wilkinson is a professor of English in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences and one of 16 University Research Professors for 2023-24. As the first Black woman to hold the appointment of Poet Laureate of Kentucky from 2021-2023, Wilkinson serves as an

By Rick Spencer Feb. 16, 2024

Kathryn Edin, Luke Schaefer and Timothy Nelson will lead a conversation about their book "The Injustice of Place." The event is free and open to the public. Photo provided by the Martin School of Public Policy and Administration

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 16, 2024) — A discussion with the authors of a compelling new study of poverty, "The Injustice of Place," will be free and open to the public 4 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22, in the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

Kathryn

By Christopher Carney 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 8, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Office of Land-Grant Engagement has announced nine projects — that will focus on community engagement — are receiving supporting funds. This engagement funding will expand collaborative efforts between UK and partners across the Commonwealth while addressing important public needs — strengthening outreach and extension efforts in Kentucky.

“We are excited to see how these projects enhance engagement work,” said Nancy Cox, vice president for land-grant engagement and dean of the UK Martin-

Call for proposals: UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase

By Lindsay Travis and Tatum Armstrong Dec. 21, 2023

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 21, 2023) — The University of Kentucky’s Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) is encouraging students to participate in the 2024 Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase.

The 13th annual event will be held Saturday, March 2, in the first-floor atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building with a

By Tatum Armstrong Dec. 20, 2023

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 20, 2023) — Applications are now open for awards and funding opportunities offered by the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies program. These opportunities are open to any student participating in work and research in the Appalachian region.

Graduate students are eligible to apply for the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and both undergraduate and graduate students are eligible to apply for the Eller & Billings Student Research Award. These

By Lindsay Travis and Tatum Armstrong Dec. 21, 2023

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 21, 2023) — The University of Kentucky’s Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) is encouraging students to participate in the 2024 Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase.

The 13th annual event will be held Saturday, March 2, in the first-floor atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building with a schedule to be announced soon. The theme for the symposium and arts showcase is “Just Futures

By Elizabeth Chapin Dec. 22, 2023

The UK Markey Cancer Center ACTION Program's latest book features a collection of fictional stories related to the cancer crisis in Appalachia.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 22, 2023) — Kentucky has the highest cancer rates in the nation, with the Appalachian region bearing the brunt of this burden. The latest book from the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center's ACTION Program offers a unique and deeply personal lens into the region's ongoing struggle with cancer. 

"Cancer in Appalachia

Check out this article published in the Winter 2023 edition of the Kentucky Alumni Online Magazine. Madeline Duff, an Appalachian Studies minor, shares her experiences and involvement at UK in celebration of the University's "135 Years of UK Women".

This is an excerpt from the article, "The Future is Bright" by Stacey Gish

By Jackie Wilson Nov. 30, 2023

Crystal Wilkinson | Photo courtesy of Carsen Bryant.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 30, 2023) — University Press of Kentucky announces a new publishing imprint Screen Door Press which will be edited by award-winning and critically acclaimed author Crystal Wilkinson. Dedicated to discovering unique, exceptional, and varied voices within Black literary traditions, the imprint will celebrate the very best in fiction — short stories, novellas and novels — across a broad range of categories. The goal of Screen Door Press is to

By A Fish 

Jimmy Robinson

LEXINGTON; Ky. — University of Kentucky Sociology doctoral student Jimmy Robinson wants to know what happens when a rural Appalachian artist leaves Appalachia. UK’s Appalachian Center in the College of Arts & Sciences has provided him with a grant to begin his research project titled “Taking the Rural with you: Rural Artists in the City.”  

Part of his research involves exploring just what “rural” means. People who leave a rural area still may seem themselves as rural as part of their identity. 

“This project is taking a different look at rurality than what you normally see,” he said. “A lot of research regarding rurality treats it firstly as a spatial material concept, meaning only the people who live in rural areas are counted as rural under most metrics that people use.

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will welcome scholar Theresa L. Burriss to campus next week.

Burriss, who is the assistant vice president of community engagement and economic development at Emory & Henry College, will deliver a presentation titled “Appalachia and Eastern Europe: Cross-Cultural Collaborations” at 10 a.m. Monday, Nov. 20, in Taylor Education Building Room 158.

Burriss will discuss the some of the international collaborations in which she has been fortunate to be engaged since 2015. With a primary focus on Romania, Burriss will share her teaching and research experiences in this post-Communist country.

"The UK Appalachian Center and

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Lauren Parsons Wednesday

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 15, 2023) — More than 77,000 physical pages of Fayette County’s historical records, spanning from the late 1700s through 1865, are now digitized and publicly accessible online, thanks to a major, first-of-its-kind project led by University of Kentucky scholars, students and community partners. The project aims to help families and researchers piece together

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Gurneyfest, a two-day celebration of Gurney Norman, the acclaimed Appalachian writer and professor emeritus of English at the University of Kentucky, will be Nov. 17 and 18 on the UK campus. 

Events will include a musical performance, a master class, panel discussions and readings of Gurney’s work. Events are free, but registration is required; attendees can go to this website to register. 

Among the events are: 

A screening of a new documentary by Sean Anderson at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 17 at the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music, in the Lucille Caudill Little Fine Arts Library.  

A musical performance by.

By Jenny Wells-Hosley Oct. 19, 2023

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 19, 2023) — The 42nd annual Kentucky Book Festival will return to Joseph-Beth Booksellers in Lexington from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 21.

More than 150 authors — including many University of Kentucky faculty, staff and alumni — will be in attendance, meeting readers and signing books. Patrons can enjoy a full slate of main stage events alongside educational workshops and craft talks, as well as a children’s schedule of events.

This year’s program will include special appearances by New York Times bestselling author J.R. Ward, nonfiction writer Stephen Bright (a UK alumnus), as well as a highlight of the book “A is for

By Lindsey Piercy 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2023) — How important is word of mouth when understanding climate change?

A new project, led by the Kentucky Climate Consortium research team at the University of Kentucky, is proving that oral histories can provide an intimate view of our shifting world.

The consoritium acts as a catalyst for climate research and education across the Commonwealth by providing networking opportunities for Kentucky-based climate scholars.

Through her work with the consortium, Lauren Cagle, associate professor in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 6, 2023) — The University of Kentucky will be home to a new research center focused on tobacco regulations in the Commonwealth named the Appalachian Tobacco Regulatory Science Team. Ann Kingsolver, professor of anthropology in the College of Arts & Sciences and director of the Appalachian Studies Program, is a member of the team. 

AppalTRuST is funded over five years with a $19 million grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse  under