by Whitney Hale

Fifteen graduates of the University of Kentucky will head back to the classroom this fall as part of a new class of corps members in Teach for America. The UK group is among thousands of new teachers chosen this year for the national program, which is known for selecting outstanding college graduates to commit to teach for two years in disadvantaged urban and rural public schools.

Teach for America places its recruits in the nation's highest-need elementary and secondary schools in many of the country's lowest income communities, both rural and urban, in an effort to close the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children.

Currently, around 10,400 first- and second-year corps members instruct more than 750,000 pre-K through 12th

By Whitney Hale

Critically acclaimed author Jennifer Haigh, a recipient of a PEN/Hemingway Award, will be among this year's workshop presenters at the Kentucky Women Writers Conference scheduled for Sept. 20-21. In conjunction with Haigh's upcoming appearance, the conference and Lexington's Carnegie Center for Literacy and Learning will also host a discussion of the writer's first novel, "Mrs. Kimble," on July 11 and 18.

Haigh is the author of the short story collection "News From Heaven" and four novels:  "Faith," "The Condition," "Baker Towers" and "Mrs. Kimble." Haigh's first novel, "Mrs. Kimble,"

By Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Libraries’ King Library Press will salute private press printer Gray Zeitz and his Larkspur Press in its Spring Book Arts Event beginning 7 p.m. Friday, May 31, in the Great Hall, at the Special Collections Library in the Margaret I. King Building. 

The celebration will include remarks and readings by prominent Kentucky authors whose works have borne the Larkspur imprint. These writers include Nana Lampton, Ed McClanahan,

By Sarah Geegan

English professor Erik Reece and Biology professor James Krupa recently released a book that brings to life the history and ecology of one of Kentucky's most important natural landscapes —the Robinson Forest in eastern Kentucky.

"The Embattled Wilderness" depicts the fourteen thousand acres of diverse forest region-- a haven of biological richness-- as endangered by the ever-expanding desert created by mountaintop removal mining. The authors, alternating chapters that focus on the natural and cultural history of the forest, combine their professional knowledge of the area to persuasively appeal for its protection.

Erik Reece, an environmental writer,  explains

By Sarah Geegan

Per University of Kentucky tradition, a student speaker will represent his or her class at both undergraduate Commencement ceremonies on Sunday, May 5. The speakers for the 146th UK Commencement Ceremonies are Mercedes Rosado and Luke Glaser.

Mercedes Rosado, from Marquette, Mich., is graduating with a degree in kinesiology from the College of Education. A pilot candidate in Air Force ROTC, she will be commissioned after graduation and begin pilot training in February at Columbus Air Force base in Mississippi. She will deliver the Commencement address at the 1 p.m. ceremony.

Rosado joined the Air Force ROTC program at UK partly because of her father'

By Sarah Geegan

By Whitney Hale

Writer and alumnus John W. Egerton will receive the 2013 University of Kentucky Libraries Award for Intellectual Achievement. The award will be presented at the UK Libraries Annual Dinner scheduled for April 19, at Griffin Gate Marriott, located at 1800 Newtown Pike. As part of the dinner, Egerton will talk about the place of libraries and the future of paper in the cyber age.

The UK Libraries Award for Intellectual Achievement recognizes high intellectual achievement while encouraging education and promoting creativity throughout the Commonwealth. Candidates must have been born in

By Whitney Hale

Florida playwright Jo Morello has won the second biennial Prize for Women Playwrights presented by the Kentucky Women Writers Conference (KWWC) for her full-length play, E.G.O.: The Passions of Eugene Gladstone O'Neill. The prize carries a $500 cash award and a fully staged theatrical production at Balagula Theatre in Lexington, where it will be produced as a world premiere in September 2013. Morello's script was selected by American playwright, television writer and activist Kia Corthron from a pool of more

By Whitney Hale, Breanna Shelton

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen 12 outstanding undergraduates as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2013-14 and 2014-15 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 consideration.

UK's 12

By Kathy Johnson

Frank X Walker, associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky and recently announced Kentucky poet laureate, was the guest on the March 2 "UK at the Half," which aired during the UK vs. Arkansas game that was broadcast on radio.

"UK at the Half" airs during halftime of each UK football and basketball game broadcast on radio and is hosted by Carl Nathe of UK Public Relations and Marketing.

To hear the "UK at the Half" interview, click here. To view a transcript of the "UK at the Half" interview, click here.

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

By Whitney Hale

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference will feature best-selling novelist and National Book Award finalist Bonnie Jo Campbell as its keynote speaker at the 2013 conference, scheduled for Sept. 20 and 21.

"Campbell is a fearless teacher and writer whose fiction is shaped by the exigencies of rural Michigan," said Julie Wrinn, director of the Kentucky Women Writers Conference "The vivid sense of place in her work should resonate with Kentuckians, and you might even say that her characters 'kick ass.'"

Bonnie Jo Campbell is the author of the best-selling novel "Once Upon a River" (Norton, 2011), a river odyssey through rural

By Gail Hairston, Amy Jones, and Kody Kiser

The University of Kentucky Alumni Association presented its 2013 Great Teacher Awards to six recipients last night at a recognition dinner,  followed by an appearance at Rupp Arena’s center court during halftime of the South Carolina vs. UK basketball game.

The recipients are:

•           Karen Badger, associate professor, College of Social Work

•           Roberta Dwyer, professor, College of Agriculture

•           Samuel Franklin, assistant professor, College of Medicine

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

Six University of Kentucky professors have recently been named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2013 Great Teacher Award.

The recipients are:

The recipients will be honored at the UK Alumni Association Great Teacher Award Recognition Dinner on Feb. 5, 2013. They will then be honored on center court of Rupp Arena during the South Carolina vs. Kentucky men’s basketball game later that

by Jenny Wells & Danica Kubly

The University of Kentucky Office for Undergraduate Research recognized and awarded 19 students this week with the Oswald Research and Creativity Program awards.  Diane Snow, director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and Ben Withers, interim associate provost for Undergraduate Education, were on hand to congratulate the winners and distribute the awards. 

Established in 1964 by then-UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Program encourages research and creative activities by undergraduate students at UK. The objectives of the program are to stimulate creative work by undergraduate students, and to

by Sarah Geegan

English professor and 2011 National Book Award winner Nikky Finney was recently appointed the inaugural Guy Davenport Endowed English Professor, an award honoring one of UK's most distinguished professors.

Guy Mattison Davenport, author, poet, painter and critic, retired in 1990 as a UK Distinguished Alumni Professor of English. Throughout his career, he received national and international recognition by several educational and professional institutions for his many achievements. Honoring this legacy, the endowed professorship was made possible through a generous donation to the College of Arts and Sciences, by Davenport'