By Andrea Gils Monzon, Gail Hairston

(March 29, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Division of Undergraduate Education and UK Education Abroad recently awarded $5,000 for the spring 2016 Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarships (UGRAS) to junior biology student, Holden Hemingway; senior equine science student, Haley Reichenbach; and senior English and philosophy double major, Alexander Parmley. All three awardees will be conducting independent research projects abroad this summer.

“UGRAS gives students the opportunity to participate in original, cutting-edge research and promotes interaction with international scholars through immersion in the research environment,” said Evie Russell, assistant director of the

By Tasha Ramsey

Speech is an integral part of our development as children and one that continues to develop throughout our lives. Because of this, we don't often spend much time thinking about speech and what it reveals about our identities. However, one professor in the Linguistics Program at the University of Kentucky spends much of his time researching the aspects of speech and social identity. 

According to Dr. Kevin McGowan, Assistant Professor in the Linguistics Program in the College of Arts & Sciences, "Every time we open our mouths to speak we convey not only the words we intend to say but also who we are, where we’re from, how we feel about what we’re saying, how we feel about our listener, how healthy we feel, and the list just goes on and on."

McGowan received a Ph.D. in linguistics from the

Watch why Gurney Norman, a renowned writer, is thrilled to be named a 2016 Great Teacher and why he loves working one-on-one with the young writers his classes within UK's College of Arts and Sciences.

By Gail Hairston, Weston Loyd

(March 18, 2016) — University of Kentucky’s Manuel Gonzales, Hannah Pittard and 2016 writer-in-residence Helen Oyeyemi have been named to Buzz Book’s list of must-read books in 2016. All three are members of the College of Arts and Sciences Department of English.

“These high-profile young authors raise the visibility of our department’s new MFA Program in Creative Writing and act as a magnet for attracting other terrific writers and scholars to the department,” Jeffory Clymer, English department chair, said. “The excitement about their novels is infectious and also really highlights the vibrancy of creative writing at UK.”

Gonzales’ highly anticipated “

Early American Literature is celebrating its fiftieth anniversary this year. A special issue to mark the occasion is available from the University of North Carolina Press. The issue features articles by Rolena Adorno, Wai Chee Dimock, Simon Gikandi, David Shields, and Priscilla Wald, and an introduction by editor Sandra M. Gustafson.

By Kathryn Macon

(March 8, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for Humanities has selected 12 exceptional undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 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.

Gaines 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

Lisa Lockman, Kristie Law

(Feb. 24, 2016) — Twenty-three women at the University of Kentucky have been nominated for the 2016 Sarah Bennett Holmes Award, and registration is underway now to attend the award ceremony and luncheon 11:30 a.m. Thursday, March 10, at the Hilary J. Boone Center. Visit www.uky.edu/womensforum/sbhal.html for more information. The registration deadline is Monday, Feb. 29. Due to the change of venue and the limited space, registrations will be taken on a first come, first served basis.

Coordinated by UK Women's Forum, the Sarah Bennett Holmes Award is granted annually to women working at UK who promote the growth and

By Whitney Hale

(Feb. 17, 2017) – University of Kentucky's Abby Schroering, a theatre and English junior from Louisville, Kentucky, has been awarded an English-Speaking Union (ESU)Scholarship presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarship will cover Schroering's expenses for summer study at the University of Cambridge.

The Kentucky Branch of the English-Speaking Union awards a limited number of scholarships to qualified Kentucky college students for courses offered at institutions in the United Kingdom. Scholarship awards include tuition,

By Amy Jones-Timoney and Kody Kiser

Video produced by UK Public Relations & Marketing. To view captions for this video, push play and click on the CC icon in the bottom right hand corner of the screen. If using a mobile device, click on the "thought bubble" in the same area. 

(Feb. 10, 2016) — Fans cheered for more than three pointers, dunks and steals last night as UK honored this year’s Great Teachers on the court at Rupp Arena. 

On Tuesday evening, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association presented its 2016 Great Teacher Awards to six recipients at a recognition dinner. The award-winners were then recognized on the court of Rupp Arena during the Kentucky vs. Georgia men’s basketball game.

The recipients are:

• Matt Dawson, College of

By Whitney Hale

(Feb. 5, 2016) — Performances of "Dead Poets Society" will kick off this semester of productions in the University of Kentucky Department of Theatre and Dance Studio Season. The spring portion of the season, which gives UK students the chance to stage their own work or interpretations of work, opens with two showings of "Dead Poets Society" at 5 p.m. today (Friday, Feb. 5) and noon Saturday, Feb. 6, at the Lucille C. Little Black Box Theatre, located in room 102 of the Fine Arts Building.

The UK Theatre and Dance Studio Season provides an opportunity for students to generate

By Ashley Cox

(Feb. 5, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research recently recognized and awarded 16 students with the Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards. 

Categories include 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. All submissions are sent anonymously to faculty reviewers in related fields and are judged based on a rubric.

Awards in each category are: first place: $350; second place: $200; and honorable mention, if applicable. Entries

By Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(Jan. 29, 2016) — Last night, five writers were honored at the fourth annual induction of the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame held at the Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning in downtown Lexington. Created in 2013, the hall recognizes Kentucky writers whose work reflects the character and culture of the Commonwealth and educates Kentuckians about the state’s rich literary heritage. All of this year's class of inductees have had work published by University Press of Kentucky (UPK) and two are celebrated alumnae of the University of Kentucky.

Hear College of Arts and Sciences Hall

By Sara-Elizabeth Bush

(Jan. 13, 2016) — Six University of Kentucky educators were recently named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2016 Great Teacher Award. Of those six, two are from the College of Arts & Sciences. 

The recipients are:

By Gail Hairston

(Jan. 5, 2016) — PEN’s Literary Awards Committee has chosen Manuel Gonzales, assistant professor of English at the University of Kentucky, as a judge for the 2016 PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize. The PEN/Fusion Emerging Writers Prize is an annual award that recognizes a promising young writer of an unpublished work of nonfiction that addresses a global and/or multicultural issue.

This prize is awarded to an unpublished manuscript by a writer under the age of 35, who has had at least one prior publication (articles, essays, op-eds) in a national magazine or journal. The manuscript submission must be an original, previously unpublished work of nonfiction (essay, memoir,

By Whitney Harder

(Nov. 18, 2015) — A new collaboration between the University of Kentucky College of Law and College of Arts and Sciences will allow students seeking a law degree to save time and money by graduating in six years instead of seven.

The UK BLUE (Bachelor-to-Law Undergraduate Education) program is open to incoming freshmen who know early on they plan to pursue a law degree. The program reduces total tuition costs by one year and exposes students to the practice and study of law early on in their undergraduate career.

"For highly motivated, exceptional students, this is a targeted pathway to help them reach their career goals," said Sarah Ballard, an academic advisor in

By Whitney Hale 

(Nov. 13, 2015) — Now in its 34th year, the Kentucky Book Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, at the Frankfort Convention Center. This year’s fair will feature more than 200 authors and editors showcasing their most recent books including several writers from University Press of Kentucky (UPK).

Sponsored by The State-Journal, and co-sponsored by the Kentucky Department for Libraries and Archives, Joseph-Beth Booksellers, UPK and the 

By Tiera Carlock

(Nov. 12, 2015) — The University of Kentucky's Art Museum and MFA (Master of Fine Arts) Creative Writing Program in the Department of English welcomes to campus essayist, poet, artist and cultural critic Wayne Koestenbaum to discuss his paintings and writings with UK Art Museum Director Stuart Horodner at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 13, in 106 Whitehall Classroom Building.

The talk by

By Guy Spriggs

In order to prepare for the exam and for law school, the American Bar Association recommends students take courses that strengthen their writing skills and research skills, as well as pursue majors that develop skills in problem solving, analytical reading, editing and oral communication. It’s no surprise, then, that many pre-law students choose English as their major.

However, UK pre-law advisor Sarah Ballard says recent data presents another compelling motivation for majoring in English: for the fall 2014 entering class at the University of Kentucky College of Law, English majors had the highest LSAT scores of all students with an A&S major.

“The average score for English majors was a 162. This means the average score for English majors was very good – in fact, it was above the 75th percentile LSAT [score] for UK Law in 2014,” she explained

By Tiera Carlock

(Nov. 5, 2015) — The University of Kentucky King Library Press will present a lecture on the physical structure of books of Tudor England at 7 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6., in the Great Hall of Margaret I. King Library on UK’s campus. "The Books of Tudor England" talk will be presented by UK alumnus and fine press printer Alex Brooks, and is free and open to the public.

A first-generation college graduate, Brooks received his master's degree in creative writing from UK. During his time at the university, he was awarded a Fulbright to study book conservation at West Dean College in West Sussex, England.

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 26, 2015) — Roy Foster, Carroll Professor of Irish History at the University of Oxford, was recently awarded a President’s Medal from the British Academy for “transforming the understanding of a period or subject of study” for his book “Vivid Faces: the Irish revolutionary generation 1890-1923.”

Focusing on the central event of the Easter Rising of 1916 and the motivations which drove the people behind it, Foster will lecture on the history of the Irish Revolution of 1912-1922, “Making a Revolution in Ireland: Some Centenary Thoughts” at 4 p.m. today at the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

His lecture will also consider the agendas, elisions and implications of commemorating events in history that are at once inspirational and divisive. He will raise issues such as the changing historical interpretations of