By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 5, 2022) — Fruithurst is your quintessential small town. Located in Cleburne County, Alabama — just five miles on the other side of the Georgia state line — only a few hundred people call it home.

Christy Hiett is one of those people.

Born and raised in the tight-knit community, she now serves as principal of Fruithurst Elementary, the same school she attended as a young girl.

“Fruithurst is a very small community where the school is a large part of the community, and the community is a large part of the school.”

That’s why Hiett became concerned when a growing number of people, including her students, were diagnosed with cancer.

“When children started being diagnosed with leukemia, people in the community looked to me for answers

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2022) — The University of Kentucky will welcome author and distinguished alumnus William H. Turner back to campus for a presentation on his latest, awarding-winning book, “The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Life in Appalachian Coal Towns.” The presentation, titled “The Blues on Black Mountain: Stories from The Harlan Renaissance,” will take place at 5 p.m. Monday, Oct. 17, in the William T. Young Library’s UK Athletics Auditorium. A reception will follow at 6:30 p.m. at the Appalachian Center, 624 Maxwelton Court on campus.

The event is co-sponsored by the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program, the Commonwealth Institute for Black

By Kent Ratajeski

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 15, 2022) — Dave Moecher, a professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, recently returned from Ireland, where he spent five months studying the erosion of the Appalachian Mountains and exploring the culture and history of the Emerald Isle.

While collaborating on research with two Irish geoscience professors, Moecher and his wife, Amy Luchsinger (recently retired from UK), lived in suburban Dublin during their stay, traveling widely throughout the country.

The experience was made possible by the Fulbright Scholar Program, which supports immersive experiences in other countries for researchers, teachers, artists and professionals with the aim of producing mutual understanding of other cultures. The Fulbright

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2022) — Next week will kick off the Many Mountains Fall Festival, a student-led, weekslong celebration of Appalachian and Latinx cultures. Including arts, music, food and dance, the festival celebrates Appalachian cultural diversity with a special emphasis on Latinx experiences and expressions in the region. The week will be anchored by a performance by Cornbread & Tortillas, a dynamic bilingual production that features stories, music and dancing.

The festival is a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program; the 

By Richard LeComte

Summer fun in Appalachia: hiking, climbing, camping, swimming—and holding somebody’s removed femur in a hospital.

UK student Logan Turner got to participate in that last activity while working a summer observation internship in Pikeville Medical Center in 2021. He participated in AppalachiaCorps, a new program run by the College’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program and funded with help from UK’s Women in Philanthropy.

AppalachiaCorps helped fund Turner’s work with the Eastern Kentucky hospital as a run-up to his applying to medical school. His goal is to be an ophthalmologist.

“I was doing physician shadowing, so a lot of surgeries,” said Turner, a biology major from Hueysville, Kentucky, in

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 26, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is honoring seven students with its annual research awards.

Four graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and two graduate students and one undergraduate student received the center's Eller and Billings Student Research Award.

"Every year students from across the university conduct outstanding research projects in the Appalachian region," said Kathryn Engle, director of the Appalachian Center. "The Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program is thrilled to support these students and their summer work." 

The James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for

By Kate Maddox

“The Girl Singer,” by Marianne Worthington, published by University Press of Kentucky, won in the poetry category. "The Harlan Renaissance: Stories of Black Lives in Appalachian Coal Towns" (WVU Press), by UK alumnus William H. Turner, won in nonfiction.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — The University of Kentucky is celebrating two book winners of the Weatherford Awards that were announced at the 45th annual Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) conference that took place March 17-20 at West Virginia University.

“The Girl Singer,” by Marianne Worthington, was published by the University Press of Kentucky and won in the poetry category. "The

By Richard LeComte

Summer fun in Appalachia: hiking, climbing, camping, swimming—and holding somebody’s removed femur in a hospital.

UK student Logan Turner got to participate in that last activity while working a summer observation internship in Pikeville Medical Center in 2021. He participated in AppalachiaCorps, a new program run by the College’s Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program and funded with help from UK’s Women in Philanthropy.

AppalachiaCorps helped fund Turner’s work with the Eastern Kentucky hospital as a run-up to his applying to medical school. His goal is to be an ophthalmologist.

“I was doing physician shadowing, so a

By Kate Maddox

The Lend-A-Hand Center, in partnership with the University of Kentucky and the state of Kentucky, is hosting a creek cleanup and well water treatment demonstration from 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Saturday, March 26. The free and public event offers participants an opportunity to learn about different organizations working on water issues in Kentucky. Both adults and kids are welcome to attend.

"We are thrilled to host this event made possible by UK-CARES," said Kathryn Engle, director of the UK Appalachian Center. "This project shows the possibilities for university-community partnerships relating to health and the environment in Eastern Kentucky. We are thrilled to partner with different water-related organizations working across the Commonwealth."

Participants will meet at the Lend-A-Hand Center,

By Kate Maddox

Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson will give a talk at UK at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 22.

LEXINGTON, Ky. — After being postponed last month due to inclement weather, the University of Kentucky Department of Sociology and the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program have announced the rescheduled date for a talk from Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education President Aaron Thompson.

Thompson’s lecture, “Making Higher Education Matter to Kentucky,” will now take place at 2:30 p.m., Tuesday, March 22, in the E. Britt Brockman, M.D. Senate Chamber of the 

By Alicia Gregory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 14, 2020) — The University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science will hold its 17th Annual Spring Conference on April 5, 2022, focusing on “Climate and Health.”

Join nearly 1,000 researchers, clinicians, students and community members for this free, day-long, in-person event at the Gatton Student Center exploring the relationship between the environment, our health and how we live. 

This year’s keynote speaker is Robert Bullard, distinguished professor of urban planning and environmental policy and director of the Bullard Center for Environmental and Climate Justice at Texas Southern University. 

Widely regarded as the

By Kate Maddox

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 1, 2022) — The Kentucky Geological Survey, the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences and the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program are sponsoring the “Geoscience & Environmental Justice in Appalachia” Appalachian Forum speaker series beginning Tuesday, Feb. 15. The series will feature Ann Harris, Nate Siggers and Eva Lyon.

The presentations will be in a hybrid format. If you would like to attend in person, all three of the series will be held at the UK Gatton Student Center, Room 331. The series is being held in conjunction with UK doctoral student Edward Lo'

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Jan. 19, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Department of Sociology and the UK Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program will welcome Aaron Thompson, the president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education, at 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 3.

Thompson’s lecture, “Making Higher Education Matter to Kentucky,” will take place at Gatton Student Center Room 331. The lecture will be presented online as well. To join virtually, register at https://uky.zoom.us/webinar/register/

By Kate Maddox

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Center for Service-Learning and Civic Engagement are excited to announce that the AppalachiaCorps program will be continuing in Summer 2022.

ApppalachiaCorps connects students with organizations in Eastern Kentucky and the greater Appalachian region, providing them a summer internship opportunity concentrating on their career goals. Participants will obtain valuable leadership and networking skills during this internship, preparing them for future jobs and placements.

Students in the past have interned at organizations such as Appalachian Citizens Law Center, Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, Pikeville

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies program and the UK Appalachian Research Community (formerly the UK Graduate Appalachian Research Community, or GARC) are inviting students to submit proposals for the upcoming UK Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase.

The symposium is open to all undergraduate and graduate students of all disciplines from all colleges and universities doing work pertaining to Appalachia. Students without previous presentation experience, undergraduate students, students seeking feedback on ongoing research and students creating performance or visual artworks related to Appalachia

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is offering awards and funding opportunities for students involved with work and research in the Appalachian region.

Applications for the 2022 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia and applications for the 2022 UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Award are both due Feb. 15. 2022.

Graduate students are eligible to apply

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 1, 2021) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center will showcase the work of student researchers through its Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress series starting next week. The series will run through the Spring 2022 semester.

Many of the presenting students are supported through the center’s James S. Brown Graduate Student Awards for Research on Appalachia and the UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Awards.

The presenting researchers represent four colleges and seven departments from across UK’s campus.

“We look forward to