By Jennifer T. Allen

Tiwaladeoluwa Adekunle plans to change the world. Specifically, she plans to help eradicate poverty and fight injustice.

“It’s important to me that I’m doing meaningful work that is making a difference in this world,” Adekunle said.

Adekunle came to the University of Kentucky from Ghana as a 15-year-old freshman the fall of 2013. This past Sunday she walked across the stage at Rupp Arena and received her degree in international studies and English.

“UK and A&S have been great for me personally because of the support I’ve experienced here,” Adekunle said. “Coming here when I was only 15 could have been really hard, but the faculty I worked with were all so caring. They helped me grow my strengths and empowered me to work on my weak areas.”

When Adekunle came to Lexington, the only person she knew in town was her sister. To

By Gail Hairston

The University of Kentucky Department of English celebrates National Poetry Month with a 24-hour poetry reading.

Everyone in the campus community is invited to volunteer to read poetry for a single 10-minute shift, beginning noon Tuesday, April 25, through noon Wednesday, April 26. Readers will recite poetry at the Memorial Hall amphitheater, rain or shine, day and night.

Volunteers can either read their own poetry or a selection from a favorite poet.

Volunteers can sign up at https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1u5Y_qpKLSmbaIj-_q_uViJ2ncXM0QFXS6u3oHsDlkEU/edit#gid=0.

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and

By Whitney Hale and Gail Hairston

Watch as contestants at the Brooklyn Book Festival try to figure out what "The Animators," by UK alumna Kayla Rae Whitaker, is all about based only on its cover.

Very few authors find themselves publishing their debut novel with a name as big as Random House, much less earning acclaim from critics such as The New York Times. But for University of Kentucky alumna Kayla Rae Whitaker, these are natural next steps for someone who showed tremendous promise during her college career. Whitaker’s novel, "The Animators," was released earlier this year.

Aspiring writers from the university and across the nation will get to hear Whitaker's own take on her early success and hear a reading from "The

By Gail Hairston

The University of Kentucky will send 59 undergraduate student-researchers to the 31st annual National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) at the University of Memphis April 6-8.

The UK group joins young researchers from around the world to showcase their research findings through poster and oral presentations. Each student will be given the opportunity to discuss their display and share their research results, illuminating how their work will have an impact on future research development. UK has been an active NCUR participant since the mid ’90s.

One of the first things these young researchers learn is that most research is not conducted in the traditional laboratory with bubbling beakers and flaming Bunsen burners. But modern research spans all disciplines and majors, and includes a wide variety of activities.

“

By Dorothy Freeman and Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Art Museum in collaboration with UK's Department of English and MFA in Creative Writing program will present a free public lecture by poet, novelist, performer and art journalist Eileen Myles 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 29, in Gatton College of Business and Economics' Kincaid Auditorium.

Eileen Myles has become a feminist icon whose literary and artistic work has, in the words of the New York Review of Books, “set a bar for openness, frankness, and

By Gail Hairston

For the first time, the University of Kentucky is hosting the southern chapter of the American Conference for Irish Studies (ACIS), March 9-11.

With over 50 speakers from 17 states and several speakers from Ireland, the event has something for anyone even slightly interested in the history and culture of “The Emerald Isle.”

“I am delighted that we are able to host — for the first time — the southern regional meeting of the Conference for Irish Studies here at the University of Kentucky,” UK English Professor Jonathan Allison said.

All events are free and open to members of both the UK and Lexington communities. Allison said he especially wants to invite students.  

Friday’s schedule includes the keynote address, poetry and music. Ronald Schuchard, the Goodrich C. White

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

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/

By Gail Hairston

Fourteen University of Kentucky undergraduate students -- one sophomore, two juniors and 11 seniors -- were recently awarded with Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards by the Office of Undergraduate Research.  

Students submitted research posters in six categories -- Biological Sciences; Design, including architecture, landscape architecture and interior design; Fine Arts, including film, music, photography, painting and sculpture; Humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; Physical and Engineering Sciences; and Social Sciences. Winners in each category received $350; second place finishers received $200.

The 2017 winners were: