By Madison Dyment

The UK College of Arts and Sciences is pleased to announce that former English Ph.D. student, Deirdre Mikolajcik, has won the 2019 Trollope Prize graduate essay competition hosted by the University of Kansas.

Mikolajcik recently graduated from the English Ph.D. program in May of 2019. Some of her prominent research interests include Victorian literature, gender and women’s studies, romanticism and poetry.

Mikolajcik’s essay, “Abstract Wealth and Community in The Way We Live Now,” will be published online by The Fortnightly Review with Mikolajcik being awarded $2,000 in prize money.

Judges for the competition claimed Mikolajcik offered “an original discussion of Trollope’s treatment of the challenges posed to individuals and relationship by the investment economy of late 19th century Britain.” They applauded her argument and the insights

By Jillian Gibney

A new play by Anna Wright, winner of the fifth biennial Prize for Women Playwrights from the Kentucky Women Writers Conference, will make its world premiere in the Commonwealth with four performances this fall. The debut production of Wright's "Sapphire Heights," produced and directed by Eric Seale, will run Nov. 7-9, at Lexington's Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center.

Wright’s winning script follows Angela and Billy, who believe they can help the Palestinian children Billy met on a trip to the West

By Lindsey Piercy

From left to right: Regina Hamilton, Derrick White, Bertin Louis, Nikki Brown, Frances Henderson, Kamahra Ewing

In an effort to build institutional excellence, an inclusive curriculum and faculty diversity, the University of Kentucky is welcoming six new educators to the College of Arts and Sciences.

Cluster hiring — hiring multiple scholars into one or more departments based on shared research interest — is a way to advance the university's commitment to diversity and inclusion, while also fostering a learning environment dedicated to collaboration and engagement.

"Not only does hiring multiple faculty members signal our commitment to African American and Africana Studies within the college, but it also creates a

By Madison Dyment

Congratulations to DaMaris Hill, associate professor of creative writing and English literature in the College of Arts & Sciences, on the success of her book of poetry, “A Bound Woman is a Dangerous Thing.” The book recently reached the #1 Best Seller spot on the Amazon African American Poetry list, also gracing the overall Amazon Best Seller list. 

The poetry serves as Hill’s response to the complex nature of our cultural times while also drawing inspiration from past generations. 

“As smart as I was, I don’t think I really had all the knowledge and stamina to really endure this cultural situation without becoming extremely depressed, but I knew that the people who lived before me lived through similar situations, so those are the people that I looked to for clarification and inspiration,” Hill said. 

With personal stories from her

By Lori Adams

The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester. A total of 6,562 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. 

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/DeansList/.

By Ryan Girves

Award winners are from left, front row: Jennifer Osterhage, Rachel Carr, Anna Voskresensky, Benjamin Braun, Suzanne Smith. Back row: Abraham Prades-Mengibar, Luc Dunoyer, Shane Clark and Sarah Wilson. Not pictured: Amy Taylor. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants with the Outstanding Teaching Awards during the 2019 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony held Thursday, April 18.

The Outstanding Teaching Awards annually recognize faculty and graduate teaching assistants who go above and beyond what is expected and demonstrate outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Selected via nomination, candidates were reviewed by a selection committee empaneled by the Office for Faculty Advancement 

By Whitney Hale

The Kentucky Women Writers Conferencehas named three finalists in its Prize for Women Playwrights, which honors new theatrical work. Now in its fifth biennial cycle, the prize seeks to bring more plays by women to the stage, through a collaboration among the Kentucky Women Writers, partnering producer and director Eric Seale, and guest judge Ifa Bayeza. The winner receives a world premiere production for a paying audience in November 2019 at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center, with royalties, plus a cash prize of $500.

Finalists are:

“Bite the Apple” by Linda Manning, of Bronx, New York. Cinderella, in a

By Ryan Girves

Eighteen University of Kentucky students are making their way to the State Capitol Building in Frankfort, Kentucky, to present their research at the 2019 Posters-at-the-Capitol event. This one-day annual event is held to show Kentucky legislators the importance of undergraduate research and scholarly work in Kentucky. The governor proclaims this day to be Undergraduate Research Day across the Commonwealth.

"Posters-at-the-Capitol is a platform whereby undergraduates from across the Commonwealth’s eight public institutions proudly showcase their undergraduate research projects," said Evie Russell, assistant director at the Office of Undergraduate Research. "Each year, University of Kentucky students look forward to communicating their research achievements to Kentucky Legislators and their peers."

The work presented by students