By Sarah Geegan

The S.T. Roach Community Conversations series, "Rebuilding the Block," will conclude its seven-month sequence on Father's Day weekend by honoring outstanding men in the community.

The Sankofa Awards, honoring African-American men who have demonstrated excellence in the categories of service, social and environmental justice, scholarship, philanthropy, creativity and entrepreneurship, will provide a symbolic end to the series that began in December 2011. Consisting of monthly public forums led by UK experts at

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, 

By Whitney Hale

Two students from the University of Kentucky and one 2006 alumna have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among 1,700 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2012-2013 academic year through the prestigious program.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding for the Fulbright Program is an annual appropriation made by the U.S. Congress to the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs. Participating governments and host institutions, corporations and

Susan Bordo, the Otis A. Singletary Chair in the Humanities and professor of English and Gender & Women's Studies was recently published in the The Chronicle of Higher Education. Click here to read the full article, "When Fictionalized Facts Matter: From 'Anne of the Thousand Days' to Hilary Mantel's new 'Bring Up the Bodies''.

By Sarah Geegan

University of Kentucky students and faculty will travel to Shanghai in May to share Appalachian culture at the American Studies Center at Shanghai University.

The  American Studies Center, funded by a grant from The Public Affairs Section of the U.S. Embassy in Beijing, is one of 10 similar centers in China. In December 2011, UK signed a joint-venture agreement with Shanghai University to pioneer the center on the SU campus.

The facility aims to broaden Chinese understanding of American culture and to foster intellectual and cultural exchange. UK's primary contribution involves providing a perspective of the American South and Appalachia.

"The purpose of the center is to try and counter Hollywood stereotypes of the United States by bringing them a more nuanced

By Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky Gaines Fellow and knitter Catherine Brereton will unveil the final product of the Diversity Project, which sought to create a visual representation of the community through a large piece of yarn-art. The unveiling of this blanket will be part of Gayla, UK OUTsource's birthday bash, scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 26, in the UK Student Center Small Ballroom.

The Diversity Project blanket is one of several festivities being presented at the Gayla. The event will also include drag shows, music and free food. In addition, donations toward a one-time scholarship of $1,000 will be collected by the project. Applications for this scholarship, which will be

By Jonathon Spalding

As a society, we are fascinated by war stories. Movies, television, video games and literature all do their part in capturing something that is so fundamental to human nature, yet so incredibly hard to imagine. From the beginning of time we have huddled around campfires and told each other stories of conflict, complete with a triumphant victory or a symbolic defeat, a hero and an enemy fighting for something worth dying for. Today, most of the images we associate with war are carefully and artificially crafted in a Hollywood studio or neatly twisted into a storyline fit for the nightly news.

But for the soldiers who actually live it, war is not a fictional escape but a harsh reality.

Many veterans struggle with the traumatic events of their wartime service and may never be able to express what they saw “over there.” With the inherent

By Kathy Johnson

Kentucky poet, novelist, environmentalist and University of Kentucky alumnus Wendell Berry delivered the 2012 Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities last night in Washington, D.C.  Berry was named earlier this year by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as this year's Jefferson Lecturer, the highest honor the federal government bestows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

The lecture, titled "It All Turns on Affection," was delivered at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

To read coverage of Berry's speech by Inside Higher Education visit this website

http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2012/04/24/wendell-berry-delivers-annual-jefferson-lecture-

By Sarah Geegan

The Appalachian Center and the University Press of Kentucky are hosting three events Friday, April 20, to celebrate Appalachia-related books published during this academic year.

The events, which will take place both at Memorial Hall and the Appalachian Center, honor books that contribute to the understanding of the Appalachian region and were published by UK faculty or by the University Press of Kentucky during this academic year.

Helen Lewis and Judi Jennings will give an Appalachian forum based on their new book, "Helen Matthews Lewis: Living Social Justice in

By Sarah Geegan

Jakobi Williams, professor in the UK Department of History and in the African American and Africana Studies Program, will present the next lecture in the "Rebuilding the Block," S.T. Roach Community Conversation series, at 11 a.m., on Saturday, April 14, at the Lyric Theatre.

The "Rebuilding the Block" series is a seven-month sequence of public lectures, led by UK experts and focused around the theme of African-American males. Held at the Lyric Theatre in east Lexington, the conversations are broken into sub-themes, each presenting relevant issues in

By Guy Spriggs

Joe Sutliff Sanders is a professor at Kansas State University specializing in children’s literature. But according to Sanders, he found his way into children’s literature – and eventually into a job at one of the field’s leading programs – by accident.

As he was finishing his dissertation at the University of Kentucky in 2005 and preparing to enter the job market, Sanders took note of a series of interesting job offers.

“I kept coming across all these children’s literature positions,” he explained. “I kept saying, ‘It’s too bad that I don’t do children’s literature.’”

Then, Sanders says, he realized that his whole project was directly related to his future field.

Sanders started applying for those positions and found himself in the middle of

By Katy Bennet, Student Activities Board

Kentucky-bred writers Hope Johnson and Bianca Spriggs will share their stories of the transition from student to writer and establishing their names and work within the community at the James Baker Hall Writers Series at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, April 10, in Student Center's Center Theater. This event is free and is sponsored by the Student Activities Board.



The evening will begin with an open mic opportunity for creative writers, students, faculty and community members to share their work followed by a reading and talk by each author.



Johnson finds influence for her work by growing up in Lexington. Johnson received a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Kentucky and is currently a post-baccalaureate student. Johnson’s work has been

Award-winning poet and A&S Creative Writing Professor Nikky Finney is featured on NPR's program Arts & Life. Finney was recently awarded the National Book Award in poetry for her collection of poems entitled, Head Off & Split. At the award ceremony, her acceptance speech received a standing ovation and almost as much acclaim as her poems themselves. The speech went through thirty nine drafts before it was finalized. To listen to the full story and read more, click here.

By Whitney Hale, Lea Mann

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 10 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years.

Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities. Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal consideration.

UK's

By Sarah Geegan

Frank X Walker, professor in the UK Department of English and the African American and Africana Studies Program, will read and discuss his poetry at 1:30 p.m. Monday, April 9, at Midway College's Anne Hart Raymond Center. The event is sponsored by Chapter F, a local chapter of the International organization, P.E.O.

A local poet, professor and playwright, Walker provides "an eclectic, powerful mixture of liberating style, profound insight and unwavering organic connection to the intellectual, political and cultural struggles of people," said Ricky Jones, professor at the University of Louisville's Department of Pan-African Studies.

Walker’s work captures the profound feelings

By Sarah Geegan

The UK American Studies Program, the Graduate School,UK Student Government Association and the English Graduate Student Organization will present "Hawthorne and the State of War," a lecture by Philip Gould from 12:30 - 1:15 p.m. Friday, March 30, in the Niles Gallery.

Gould is professor of English at Brown University and the author of "Covenant and Republic: History Romance and the Politics of Puritanism." His work has also appeared in journals such as "Eighteenth Century Studies," "American Literary History," and "Journal of the Early Republic".

The story of Nathaniel Hawthorne's

By Sarah Geegan

The African American and Africana Studies Program at the University of Kentucky will present the 18th annual Black Women's Conference March 22-24.

The conference, titled, "Learning the Ropes: Black Girlhood, Identity and the Power of Play," will center specifically on the lives and expressions of African-American girls. Incorporating expert speakers, performances, panels and activities both on campus and in the community, the conference will reveal the significance of play in the lives of African-American girls.

By Sarah Geegan

Three experts in the areas of gender, sexuality and politics of identity will share insight with UK students in professor Vershawn Young's classes this spring.

Young, of the Department of Gender and Women's Studies and the Department of English, will incorporate the speaker series including Daniel Black, Lisa Moore and Sharon Bridgforth into his ENG 480 and GWS 595 classes. These courses focus on gender and race in documentary film through the work of late film maker Marlon Riggs. Riggs' work

By Kathy Johnson

Kentucky poet, novelist and environmentalist Wendell Berry has been named the 2012 Jefferson Lecturer in the Humanities by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).  This is the highest honor the federal government betstows for distinguished intellectual achievement in the humanities.

Berry, a University of Kentucky alumnus with a degree in English and former creative writing professor at UK, will deliver the 41st Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities at 7:30 p.m. Monday, April 23, 2012, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington D.C.  The lecture is titled "It All Turns on Affection."

To read the NEH news release, click here.

This has been a notable year for

By Jessica Powers, Gail Hurston

Every student looks for their niche in college, and often a club exists to unite them with other students who have the same interest. Lodz Pierre, a Haitian native, recognized the minority she represented at the University of Kentucky and decided to create a student organization to unite others with similar heritage and an interest in Caribbean culture by forming the Caribbean Student Association (CASA).

"UK's student population is increasing in diversity, but most of the students are not of Caribbean ancestry. The Caribbean student population at UK is probably one of the most underrepresented minorities on campus," said Pierre, president of CASA. "But despite its small percentage, I believed that the number was great enough to create a club in