By Madison Brown

Proposals and award nominations for the 2020 Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) conference are now open through Oct. 7. The conference will take place March 12-15, 2020, on the University of Kentucky campus.

The 2020 program committee openly invites proposals for panels, papers, posters, performances, roundtables or workshops. Proposals will be judged by whether they discuss a relevant topic and current approach for the Appalachian region, the clarity of their proposal and whether it contributes to providing a multiplicity of perspectives and content.  All proposal submissions require an abstract or summary, participant contact information, a notice of any special requirements and a short biography for each participant. All proposals must be submitted online through the ASA

By Beth Bowling

The University of Kentucky Center of Excellence in Rural Health (CERH) has released the agenda for the fifth annual Appalachian Research Day: Come Sit on the Porch.  The one-day event, which shares results of health research conducted with communities in Appalachia, will be held Wednesday, Sept. 18 at the First Federal Center in Hazard. Registration for the event closes on Sept. 12. 

UK researchers work closely with communities throughout Appalachia to learn more about health issues and improve wellbeing. Appalachian Research Day is an opportunity to highlight community-based research that begins at the local level and builds upon relationships between people, neighborhoods and groups who have common interests and concerns.

Highlights of this year’s conference include:

By Whitney Hale

Watch Stephanie Jeter and Andy Duckworth, two members of The High Tops, perform "Red Headed Stranger."

The popular "Appalachia in the Bluegrass"concert series will return to University of Kentucky's campus this fall. The series showcasing the music of Appalachia will open Sept. 6 with a performance by The High Tops.

Concerts presented as part of “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” are free and open to the public and begin weekly at noon on Fridays, in the Niles Gallery of the John Jacob Niles Center for American Music, located at UK's Lucille C. Little

By Jenny Wells

Students and faculty affiliated with the University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center, College of Arts and Sciences and Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) are partnering with the Appalachian Studies Association (ASA) to host its 43rd annual conference March 12-15, 2020, on the UK campus.

The conference, titled “Appalachian Understories: Growing Hope and Resilience from Commonwealth to Global Commons,” will engage in conversations about Appalachian forests, black Appalachians, women, gender and sexuality, health and healing, and hope spots. Oral history, film-

By Kara Richardson

Scholars based at the University of Kentucky College of Public Health recently launched a new, open-access, online publication — the Journal of Appalachian Health (JAH) — to highlight research focused on the health of people living in Appalachia. In collaboration with UK Libraries and the University Press of Kentucky, and with the support of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and partner institutions across Appalachia, the founding editors took the first issue live in the spring of 2019. 

“I am delighted to have worked with

Aaron Guest, a PhD candidate in Gerontology, recently spoke to Dr. Greg Davis for the WUKY radio show "On Medicine". 

"One of the ongoing medical challenges in our state is delivering quality care for patients who don’t live anywhere near a major metropolitan area of the commonwealth," Davis said. "Now imagine if you’re LGBTQ in a rural county and need to find a doctor or pharmacist.  What sort of barriers might you face?"

The interview with Guest is part of WUKY's recognition of Pride month as well as Elder Abuse Awareness month. 

By Guy Ramsey

University of Kentucky Athletics is partnering with the UK Mountain Cats and the Appalachian Center on UK’s campus to begin yearly service excursions to Eastern Kentucky.

Twenty-five student-athletes and staff members will participate in the inaugural trip, traveling to Harlan, Kentucky, June 21-23 for a three-day, two-night service experience unlike any before. This special group will be embarking on service opportunities, working directly with nonprofit organizations in the Harlan area. This inaugural trip is designed to reach out to an often underserved region of Kentucky, as well as to provide educational opportunities to student-athletes and staff about this particular region of Kentucky.

“We are so excited to connect with the people of the state of Kentucky,” Associate Athletics Director for Life Performance Stephanie Simmons said. “To have

By Lori Adams

The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester. A total of 6,562 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. 

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade-point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes. Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting: www.uky.edu/PR/News/DeansList/.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity and

By Jenny Wells

Award recipients, left to right: Madeline Dunfee, Katherine Love, Anna Branduzzi and Carson Benn. Photo courtesy of the UK Appalachian Center

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Centerhonored nine students last week with its annual research awards. Four graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and four graduate students and one undergraduate student received the center's Eller and Billings Student Research Award. 

"This summer, the James S. Brown and Eller/Billings Awards will sponsor students from seven different departments across four colleges," said Kathryn Engle, associate director of the Appalachian Center. "Innovative research across disciplines is thriving in the region, and the Appalachian Center is

By Catherine Hayden

The Kentucky Diversity Film Festival, which celebrates UK filmmakers is a three-day event, April 16-18 on campus.

The University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee is sponsoring the Kentucky Diversity Film Festival, which celebrates UK filmmakers in a three-day event, April 16-18 on campus.

The Kentucky Diversity Film Festival kicks off 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 16, with a showcase of student film work in the new state-of-the art Worsham Cinema in the Gatton Student Center. The screening will be followed by an awards ceremony for the top student work.

On Wednesday, April 17, see “The Last Gospel of the Pagan Babies,” directed by UK art history and film criticism alumna Jean Donahue. The film tells the story of Lexington’s vibrant gay cultural

By Ellie Wnek

Although separated by thousands of miles, an ocean and most of continental Europe, the Appalachian-Carpathian International Conference will bring scholars together to discuss important issues that affect both Appalachian and Carpathian mountain communities.

The 2019 conference will take place in Brasov and Petrosani, Romania, Oct. 7-11, 2019. The conference is titled "Making Place: Transitional and Post-Industrial Development in Mountain Communities." The program committee is currently accepting proposals for plenary and concurrent sessions. Topics range from cultural preservation and folklore to sustainable agriculture and forestry to community development and economic diversification.

Possible formats include:

By Mack McCormick and Whitney Hale

By Rebecca Longo

Students at last year's symposium.

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center, Appalachian Studies Program and the Graduate Appalachian Research Community (GARC) will host the 10th annual Appalachian Research Symposium and Arts Showcase 8 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Saturday, March 2, at the William T. Young Library UK Athletics Auditorium. The title of this year's event is "GARC at 10: Interdisciplinary Dialogues on Appalachian Research & Community."

"The Symposium and Arts Showcase is an important opportunity for both graduate and undergraduate students to share their work with peers who are also doing work in the

Kentucky Kernel

by Noah Oldham

By Ellie Wnek

The "Conversations with Gurney" speaker series will host Robert Gipe, author and illustrator of two critically acclaimed novels, "Trampoline" and "Weedeater," that focus on the people and hardships of the Appalachian region. Photo by Meaghan Evans.

The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center's "Conversations with Gurney" program will welcome esteemed author and Appalachian advocate Robert Gipe for a book reading and discussion this Thursday. The free, public event will be held 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 7, in the James F. Hardymon Theater in the Davis Marksbury Building. 

Gurney Norman, scholar-in-residence at the UK Appalachian Center, said, "It's so good for this community

By Lindsey Piercy

Gurney Norman and Ed McClanahan. Photo by Guy Mendes.

Two prolific writers and educators, with ties to the University of Kentucky, will soon add another title to their impressive resumes. The Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning has chosen Gurney Norman and Ed McClanahan as this year’s living inductees into the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame. In addition, former UK Department of English professor Jane Gentry Vance will be inducted posthumously. 

Though accomplished in their own rights — Norman and McClanahan, who are longtime friends, both have literary careers focused on autobiographical fiction, and they both draw inspiration

The UK Appalachian Center is proud to announce awards and funding opportunities for the Spring 2019 semester. Applications for the 2019 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia are due February 15, 2019. Applications for the 2019 UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Award are due March 1, 2019. Applications for the James S. Brown Award that are NOT funded will automatically be entered into the competition for the 2019 UK Appalachian Center Eller & Billings Student Research Award. 

We are also proud to announce UK Appalachian Center's travel funding opportunities to

By Meg Mills

"Williamsburg Urban Revitalization Studio Collage" by Emily Preece.

At 500 million years old, Appalachia is one of the oldest environments on Earth. It stretches from southern New York through northern Mississippi. The region contains the entire state of West Virginia and portions of 12 other states including Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee and Virginia.

The University of Kentucky College of Design sits on the doorstep of Appalachia. Proximity to the region inspired the College of Design to establish Studio Appalachia as a catalyst for a positive change by means of community engagement. Studio Appalachia pursues design research projects that address issues that have confronted the Appalachia region for decades.

Faculty members

By Sarah Jayne Johnson

The University of Kentucky John Jacob Niles Center for American Music’s "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" will welcome Sparky and Rhonda Rucker and Stray Local to campus this October to continue the concert series. Storyteller and multi-instrumentalist Sparky Rucker and his wife, musician Rhonda Rucker, will perform Oct. 5. The following week, indie band Stray Local will play Oct. 12. The free public concerts, which begin at noon, will be presented at the Niles Gallery in the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center.

Old-Time ‘Ruck’us

By Carl Nathe

Christopher Barton with stream monitoring equipment in Robinson Forest. Photo by Matt Barton, UK Ag Communications.

The University of Kentucky’s Christopher Barton (principal investigator) and Kenton Sena (co-principal investigator) recently were  awarded a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant to modernize the stream monitoring network at UK’s Robinson Forest in southeastern Kentucky. This project will upgrade the existing network to enhance both data quality and data accessibility. Currently, the monitoring equipment is old and technologically obsolete, and requires a significant amount of upkeep time for data collection and processing.

Sena, who earned his Ph.D