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News
7/25/2013
By Sarah Geegan
UK chemistry professor Marcelo Guzman was recently awarded the prestigious, National Science Foundation (NSF) Career Award, a five-year grant for his research, education, and outreach efforts in the field of environmental chemistry.
The $525,000 grant will allow Guzman to develop the first atmospheric chemistry research and education program in Kentucky. The funding will also support students in various stages of their academic careers: undergraduate, graduate and K-12.
Guzman's work with environmental chemistry focuses on the interaction of light with organic compounds present in low water activity environments such as the atmospheric aerosol, clouds and fogs
5/8/2013
By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick
Kentucky may be horse-racing and basketball country, but when it comes to your taste buds, the Bluegrass State is a foodie haven with a rich culinary tradition. From the famed mint juleps of the Kentucky Derby to slow-smoked mutton in the western part of the state, bourbon and barbecue have deep roots in the Bluegrass State. Kentucky may be America’s first frontier, but its flavors and food traditions have lured a new wave of travelers to the region.
Three new books from the University Press of Kentucky explore the traditions and dining experiences of the Commonwealth. The Kentucky Barbecue Book by Wes Berry, Kentucky Bourbon Whiskey: An American Heritage by Michael R. Veach, and The Old Fashioned: An Essential Guide to the Original Whiskey
4/22/2013
By Whitney Hale
The University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections will highlight the projects of its first full cohort of Learning Lab interns with an undergraduate panel presentation, exhibition and reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the Margaret I. King Building. The events and exhibition are free and open to the public.
Currently in its inaugural year, the Special Collections Learning Lab (SCLL) is a center of primary research, experiential learning, and training. Targeting undergraduate students in the humanities, social sciences and arts, the SCLL promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and
4/8/2013
By Sarah Geegan
The UK Appalachian Center will sponsor an event honoring the contributions of Kate Black as an Appalachian Studies archivist and scholar who retired from the UK library faculty in January. The event will take place from 3:30-5 p.m. Monday, April 8, at the University of Kentucky Good Barn.
Several distinguished scholars will speak at the event, including Anne Shelby, an Appalachian writer; Dwight Billings a UK professor of sociology; Mary Anglin a UK associate professor of anthropology; and Gurney Norman a UK associate professor of English, will read from his work, and Nyoka Hawkins.
UK Libraries Dean Terry Birdwhistell and
3/27/2013
By Sarah Geegan
Matt Wray, a sociologist from Temple University, has been researching suicide across the United States. He will visit UK to give a talk called "Early Mortality, Stigma, & Social Suffering in Appalachia" from noon-1:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 27, in the UK Student Center Small Ballroom.
The lecture is free and open to the public. There will be a lunch reception afterward, at 1:45 p.m. in the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center at 624 Maxwelton Court, for a continued discussion with the speaker.
Wray was a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Health and Society Scholar at Harvard University from 2006-
2/25/2013
By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick
University Press of Kentucky (UPK) author bell hooks has been named the recipient of the 2013 Black Caucus of the American Library Association’s (BCALA) Best Poetry Award for her book "Appalachian Elegy: Poetry and Place."
The BCALA Literary Awards recognize excellence in adult fiction, nonfiction, poetry and publishing by African American authors published during the previous year, including an award for Best Poetry and a citation for Outstanding Contribution to Publishing. The award will be presented to hooks at the Annual Conference of the American Library Association
2/13/2013
by Guy Spriggs
UK Sociology associate professor Shaunna Scott was recently named editor of the Journal of Appalachian Studies (JAS). Scott is a former president of the Appalachian Studies Association – which publishes the journal – and becomes the second sociologist from UK to serve as editor of JAS.
“Being the editor of the journal has been one of my career goals for a long time,” Scott said. “I am very gratified that my colleagues in Appalachian studies have entrusted me with this important position.”
Scott is a long-time contributor to JAS and served on the steering committee that implemented the change from publishing conference proceedings to a peer-reviewed
2/1/2013
The James S. Brown Award is given to honor the memory of Professor James S. Brown, a sociologist on the faculty of the University of Kentucky from 1946 to 1982, whose pioneering studies of society, demography, and migration in Appalachia (including his ethnography of “Beech Creek”) helped to establish the field of Appalachian Studies at U.K. and beyond.
The Award supports graduate student research on the Appalachian region. To be eligible, students must be actively enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at U.K. The Award must be used to meet costs of doing research relevant to social life in Appalachia including travel, lodging, copying, interviewing, ethnography, data collection, archival research, transcribing, and other legitimate research expenses. Except under special circumstances, awards will not exceed $1,500. The award does not cover registration or travel
1/22/2013
By Erin Berger
An intervention created by a group of University of Kentucky faculty has proven successful in encouraging young women in an area of eastern Kentucky to complete the series of HPV vaccines to guard against cervical cancer.
In 2012, cervical cancer affected approximately 12,000 women in the United States and was responsible for another 4,200 deaths. In rural eastern Kentucky, women are more likely to die from cervical cancer than women residing elsewhere in the United States.
“The worst part about these statistics is that no woman should ever experience cervical cancer,” said Robin Vanderpool, assistant professor of health behavior in the University of Kentucky College of Public Health.
Cervical cancer, a disease that is both preventable and treatable, remains a national public health concern particularly for women in medically
1/18/2013
The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center announces the following internship opportunities for the spring semester, for undergraduate or graduate students. Each internship is for 10 hours per week, with $10/hr. compensation. Students from all colleges at UK are encouraged to apply, and there is special emphasis on providing this opportunity to UK students who are from the Appalachian region.
The Appalachian Center (http://appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu) emphasizes community-university partnerships in shaping research and engagement that is useful in and beyond the region, in keeping with the land grant mission of the University. Our role is to facilitate stronger connections between student and faculty researchers from across all colleges at the University of Kentucky whose teaching, research, learning and outreach includes
12/14/2012
by Whitney Hale
The United States is home to the largest highway system in the world, but most Americans consider the road as a means to a destination. People often pay little attention until construction detours, accumulating snow, signs touting an outlet mall, traffic or flashing blue lights force them to slow down and take a look.
Roads, however, are products of the places they wind through and have rich histories that modern drivers often ignore. Travelers have not always been able to take them for granted, however, particularly in the mountainous regions of Appalachia in the days before cars.
For generations, the steep hills and dense forests of the Cumberland Gap made wagon passage westward nearly impossible. Determination to reach the fertile hills of Kentucky led to the birth of America’s first highway into the trans-Appalachian west: the Maysville Road.
12/10/2012
by Carl Nathe
University of Kentucky doctoral candidate and Letcher County native Amanda Fickey is the recipient of a research fellowship from the Central Appalachian Institute in Research and Development (CAIRD). CAIRD is a nonprofit, public policy organization, which provides long-term educational and economic developmental strategies in order to establish vibrant and sustainable communities that will improve the quality of life for citizens of central Appalachia. Fickey will serve as a fellow-in-residence for a year-long appointment in 2013. CAIRD is located in the heart of the Central Appalachian region in Pikeville.
"We are delighted to have a person of Amanda's talent and proven research background helping us in the coming year," said Jason Belcher, CEO of CAIRD. "Her combination of scholarly achievement and work experience in Appalachia is ideally
11/29/2012
by Whitney Hale & Lea Mann
From old time Kentucky tunes to a band’s unique take on art, the next two concerts in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" series are sure to cater to a wide audience. The first concert, featuring the Red State Ramblers, will be presented noon Friday, Nov. 30, in the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The final concert will feature Anna Roberts-Gevalt and
11/9/2012
by Derrick Meads & Sarah Geegan
An exhibit titled “Interwoven: Rural Traditions, Modern Ties ~ Baskets from Appalachia and the Andes” will showcase more than 100 pieces of basketry from Ecuador and Appalachia at the Lexington Public Library’s Central Gallery.
The wide-ranging exhibit of baskets opened Nov. 3, and spans from Nov. 12-16. A reception will be held at 5 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 16, at the gallery, during the final day of UK’s "International Education Week.”
The Ecuadorian work ranges from baskets made by Huaorani and Kichwa indigenous groups in the Amazon Basin and Andean highland, to modern pieces collected in major cities. The Appalachian exhibited works also span across white oak baskets to modern contemporary craft.
In early 2012 the U.S. Embassy in Quito, Ecuador, invited
10/26/2012
by Lea Mann and Whitney Hale
Fans of folk music and the dulcimer should check out the next two concerts in the "Appalachia in the Bluegrass" concert series. The first concert will feature Si Kahn, a chart-topping folk music player, at noon Friday, Oct. 26, in the Niles Gallery, located in the University of Kentucky Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The following week, Don Pedi, an accomplished dulcimer player, will perform at noon Friday, Nov. 2. Both concerts are free and open to the public.
Folk Musician and Activist to Play at Niles Gallery
Si Kahn has performed at concerts and festivals all over the world, including events in
10/22/2012
By Sarah Geegan & Ann Kingsolver
The UK Appalachian Center and the Appalachian Studies Program will host scholars, artists and NGO representatives from mountain regions all over the world on Oct. 25-27. This Global Mountain Regions conference, free and open to the public, will be focused on comparing notes across mountain regions on several continents as residents of those regions look to the future.
Each day, Thursday-Saturday, 8-5 p.m. in the William T. Young Library auditorium, presenters from Appalachia and from other mountain regions in Indonesia, Ecuador, Wales, India, Mexico, Italy, China, Sri Lanka, Mali, Canada, the U.
8/8/2012
by Whitney Hale
The Thomas D. Clark Foundation and the University Press of Kentucky will host a symposium to honor the life and literary legacy of James Still. The Thomas D. Clark Medallion Symposium, which is free and open to the public, will be held 5:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 15, at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning, located at 251 West Second St.
The symposium will celebrate Still’s posthumous collection of short stories, "The Hills Remember: The Complete Short Stories of James Still," winner of the Thomas D. Clark Medallion Book Award.
6/5/2012
By Sarah Geegan What began as a brainstorm for some kind of community service project became very real for seven University of Kentucky students and for the people of Owsley County, Ky. These seven students established a project redefining community service — empowering the entire county just 87 miles from Lexington to bolster itself against the debilitating factors affecting Eastern Kentucky.
In November, the James W. Stuckert Career Center assembled a UK team to participate in the Clinton Global Initiative University, a program through which university students propose solutions to the world's humanitarian problems. While each of the students came from different backgrounds, from the College of Arts and Sciences to the
5/29/2012
By Sarah Geegan, Amanda Osborn
Imagine being a University of Kentucky student in Lexington, but sharing a "global classroom" with students in China, France or India. In collaboration with the associate provost for International Affairs and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching (CELT), the UK College of Arts and Sciences recently established a program called Global Classroom Connections that will promote international learning and experiences through the use of contemporary technology.
As university graduates increasingly require international perspectives, skills and knowledge to succeed in the multicultural and interconnected world, Global Classroom
