by Gail Hairston

(June 4, 2014) — This year’s Ida Lee Willis Memorial Award for outstanding commitment to historic preservation is being presented to not one, but two of the most dedicated preservationists and archaeologists working in the Commonwealth, University of Kentucky Adjunct Assistant Professors A. Gwynn Henderson and David Pollack. No two people could better represent the mission and meaning of this award. Not coincidentally, they also happen to be married.

Henderson is the education coordinator for the Kentucky Archaeological Survey, a joint partnership between the

by Gail Hairston

(May 21, 2014) -- Today’s maps aren’t the finite, two-dimensional, frustrating-to-fold piece of paper you or (if you are younger than 30) your parents tucked behind the sun visor of the family car. Today, a map of virtually anywhere on the planet can be accessed by one’s smart phone or even the computer installed in your car’s console.

Today’s geographers and their research are just as different as their predecessors’ paper maps. Their work is conducted totally in cyberspace and it has provided insightful snapshots of our world. 

One young University of Kentucky research team led by geography professor Matthew Zook spent more than two years collecting and analyzing 6.5 billion globally geotagged tweets (messages with a location specified by the sender or by GPS), and remarkable pictures of our world, its people and cultures

by Whitney Hale, Allison Elliott-Shannon 

(April 28, 2014) — The 2014 issue of disClosure, an annual thematic publication dedicated to investigating and stimulating interest in new directions in contemporary social theory, is now available online through a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Committee on Social Theory (CST) and UK Libraries.

First published in 1992, the journal includes a variety of media including scholarly essays, poetry and visual art from a variety of disciplinary, geographical, and theoretical perspectives and genres. The journal aims to encourage work that employs innovative writing styles as well as formal

The University of Kentucky has been presenting the Sullivan Award to students, faculty, and staff since 1927. This award recognizes individuals who evince a sense of love and helpfulness for other communities, at home and abroad.  

This year’s UK recipient is graduating senior Andrew Ritzel. A Biology and Spanish major, Ritzel is being recognized for his involvement and leadership with UK’s Alternative Spring Break (ASB) Program and for creating a formal partnership between UK and Shoulder-to-Shoulder Global.

Ritzel’s involvement started when he was a first-year student here at UK. “Coming into college, the Alternative Spring Break Program was something I had heard about at other universities. I was really interested in the program, so I went to one of the information sessions at the beginning of the school year. I learned that UK’s ASB program was launching a

Thanks to work by a group of geographers at the University of Kentucky, to ask “Where are you drinking?” may be just as telling as “What are you drinking?”

To examine the most popular beer in any given area of the United States, Associate Professor Matt Zook of the Department of Geography and others delved into the raw data offered by Twitter. What’s the story with Kentucky? The Commonwealth seems to have a clear preference for beer, specifically Bud Light and regional brands like Hudepohl.

Read the full story in Pacific Standard Magazine. 

by Whitney Hale

(April 9, 2014) — University of Kentucky Libraries will bestow two prestigious awards at its annual dinner this weekend. Noted cultural geographer and a former Provost's Distinguished Service Professor in the University of Kentucky Department of Geography Karl Raitz will receive the 2014 UK Libraries Award for Intellectual Achievement. UK Libraries will also recognize its Paul A. Willis Outstanding Faculty Award winner, Tari Keller. Both awards will be presented at the dinner scheduled for April 11, at Griffin Gate

by Keith Hautala & Jennifer Edwards

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 17, 2014) — The University of Kentucky has announced eight awards for the first round of its eLearning Innovation Initiative (eLII) Program, totaling more than $500,000 in internally funded grants.

The eLII program was launched in September 2013 to improve instructional delivery and learning outcomes, with a $3 million investment over three years. The program is administered through a collaborative effort by the Office of the Provost, UK Analytics and Technologies, and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching.

“As new delivery models and teaching methods evolve across higher education, the University of Kentucky should be an active contributor and innovator,” said President Eli Capilouto. “The eLII program will give creative faculty the support to develop high-quality

Krippner finds that state policies created the conditions conducive to “financialization” that solved some policy dilemmas of the 1970s and 1980s, but created major weaknesses that would ultimately fail in the new millennium.

Financialization of the economy was not a deliberate outcome sought by policymakers, but rather an inadvertent result of the state's attempts to solve other problems, especially the stagnation and deregulation in the 1970s and 1980s, the encouragement of foreign capital in the U.S. economy, and large trade imbalances caused by direct

by Keith Hautala

(Feb. 19, 2014) — Each year, as part of its E-Day celebration, the University of Kentucky College of Engineering invites a notable engineer to campus to discuss the role of good communication in their career. This year, the college welcomes alumnus Scott Murray, senior vice president at Stantec in Lexington. 

Murray, who holds a bachelor of science degree in civil engineering from UK, will speak from noon to 1 p.m. Friday, Feb. 21, in the Raymond Oliver Student Commons area of the Ralph G. Anderson Building. All are welcome to attend the speech and join the college for lunch. 

An authority on geographic information systems and geotechnical engineering, Murray has been active in Kentucky

by Whitney Hale



(Jan. 28, 2014) — Evan Sweet, a University of Kentucky geography senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been selected to present the 20th annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Sweet's free public lecture focuses on how "slums" are depicted in society and in particular in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who

By Brian Connors Manke

(January 3, 2014) - Many of us have had big holiday meals over the last few weeks, often times bringing a dish to share to the host’s house, but if you are ever invited to Sydney Dobson’s table you should probably arrive empty-handed.

“Since I was around 14 I’ve cooked Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners. I don’t want anyone else to cook – if I’m hosting dinner, you’re getting my food,” the Hodgenville native and UK junior said.

And when people do ask what they can bring, her response is about as frank as you can get.

“You don’t cook as well as I do. Maybe you can bring the broccoli casserole, because I don’t like it.”

So, how did she become the master of the kitchen at such a young age?



“I was tired of having scrambled burgers and peas,” she began to explain.

“My mother was a nurse and worked in

video courtesy of UK Public Relations & Marketing

article by Jenny Wells

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 7, 2013) — In addition to research presentations, the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR) will offer numerous volunteer opportunities for the entire campus community when the University of Kentucky hosts the conference April 3-5, 2014. From helping direct traffic, to managing technology, to just helping students find where they need to go, there will be a variety of positions available to students, faculty and staff.

Students will have even more flexibility to get involved, as the University Senate has given permission for faculty to redirect their classes April 3 and 4 so students can attend conference events and presentations. 

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by Grace Liddle & Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2013) – University of Kentucky Libraries is adding another stamp to its passport in support of the UK College of Arts and Sciences Passport to the World program with exhibitions and programs in celebration of ¡Viva Mexico!

The exhibits and events at UK Libraries include:

by Nathan Owen

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 6, 2013) — The University of Kentucky’s Appalachian Center, in collaboration with the Appalachian Media Institute, will provide a glimpse into Appalachia through a showcase of young filmmakers’ documentaries.

The event takes place at 3:30 p.m. on Monday, Nov. 11, in Room 106 of the Whitehall Classroom Building. Representatives from AMI’s Summer Documentary Institute will screen three self-produced documentaries, each around 10 minutes long.

by Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 5, 2013) — The University of Kentucky Confucius Institute (UKCI) celebrates three years of collaborations with educational institutions in China at a free public concert on Nov. 7.

The "3rd Anniversary Celebration Concert: Featuring the Shanghai University School of Music" will spotlight string music, the pipa, martial arts and other musical talents from Shanghai. The concert will begin 7 p.m. Thursday, at the Singletary Center for the Arts Concert Hall.

"UKCI is pleased to have the students and faculty from the College of Music of Shanghai University to join us in

by Kathy Johnson & Sarah Geegan

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2013) ― The University of Kentucky is one of the top producers of U.S. Fulbright Scholars in the country.  In a recently released ranking in the Chronicle of Higher Education, UK is ranked sixth among research institutions for its number of professors earning the prestigious Fulbright grants for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Sponsored by the United States Department of State and the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, the Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program, which provides funding for

By Victoria Dekle

Geography graduate student Malene Jacobsen is no stranger to travel for her research. While she is a student at UK and spends most of her time in Lexington, Jacobsen’s work on political asylum and migration requires her to move between Europe and the United States as she collects data for her degree.

All of those transatlantic flights, however, are expensive.

Jacobsen was fortunate to recently receive an Academic Excellence grant from the College of Arts & Sciences. The funds from this alumni-sponsored award enabled her to present a paper on her M.A. thesis work at the 5th Annual Nordic Geography Meeting in Reykjavik, Iceland, this past June.

“The aim of this research project has been to critically examine how everyday practices and spaces are produced and how asylum seekers navigate and understand themselves within this system,” she

By Bryant Welbourne

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (Sept. 25, 2013) ― Forty-nine faculty and administrators from Southeastern Conference universities, including four from the University of Kentucky, have been selected as 2013-14 SEC Academic Leadership Development Program fellows, the SEC announced Tuesday.

The SEC Academic Leadership Development Program (ALDP) is a professional development program that seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond.

The UK representatives who were chosen are:

by Sarah Geegan & Grace Liddle

 The College of Arts and Sciences is offering 13 courses that begin in the middle of the fall 2013 semester. For students who may have recently dropped a class or hope to pick up some extra credit hours, these courses provide flexibility after the regular registration period.

Course topics range from the science of what we eat, archaeology and history of ancient Mexico, an introductory course on the city of Lexington, and a study on the culture and economics of local and global food systems.

The "Global Food & Local Agriculture" course explores questions associated with why people eat what they do and what that implies about society. To answer these questions, the class

video courtesy of UK Public Relations and Marketing

article by Jenny Wells

Planning and hosting a national conference is no easy task, but for the UK community, collaboration makes it all possible. The University of Kentucky will host the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, or NCUR, next semester, which will bring nearly 4,000 additional students from across the country to the UK campus. And as students, faculty and staff can attest -- it is something worth bragging about.

NCUR will take place April 3-5, 2014, all throughout UK's campus. The conference will give undergraduates a unique opportunity to present their research and creative endeavors, while meeting other like-minded students from all across the country. They not only promote their individual