by: Jay Blanton and Whitney Hale

(Jan. 22, 2015) — Former U.S. Senator Wendell H. Ford not only left an indelible mark on the Commonwealth, but on his university — the University of Kentucky.

For decades, he was intimately involved with the Martin School for Public Policy and Administration, and a public policy research center in UK Libraries bears his name.

UK Libraries also is home to his correspondence, papers and oral histories that document his long public service career as a legislator, lieutenant governor, governor and senator.

The following are quotes from prominent UK

by Whitney Hale

(Jan. 16, 2015) – In celebration of the University of Kentucky sesquicentennial, UK Special Collections Research Center is releasing the diary entries of former student Virginia Clay McClure. The diary chronicles the day-to-day activities of McClure's junior and senior years at the State University of Kentucky (now UK) from 1910-1912. McClure's 19th and 20th diary entries, dated Jan. 16 and 18, 1911, chronicle hijinks between friends and a game between faculty and the institution's varsity basketball team.  

Jan. 16th, 1911.  Lillian, Addie, Bess, Marion, Lillie, Maria, Pauline, Susan, and I met to see “Madam Sherry” on general admission. I had taken Edna’s coat away from her on the campus that afternoon, and Pauline wore it back to the 

by: Gail Hairston

(Dec. 16, 2014) —At Kentucky’s recent 28th Annual Equal Employment Opportunity Conference, the Commonwealth’s Personnel Cabinet Secretary Tim Longmeyer and Arthur Lucas, executive director of the state Office of Diversity and Equality, presented the annual Charles W. Anderson Laureate Award to Gerald L. Smith, associate professor of history in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences.

Anderson Laureates, the highest honor bestowed by the Kentucky Personnel Cabinet, are given to individuals recognized for significant contributions to equal

by Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards announced that history senior and Army ROTC cadet Dahlia d'Arge, of Paris, Kentucky, has been named a Marshall Scholar. The scholarship will finance two years of graduate study for her at an institution of her choice in the United Kingdom. D'Arge is the third UK student to receive the honor from the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission. 

"University of Kentucky students compete and succeed at a national level in academic competition, research and for national awards," said 

by Kathy Johnson

(Nov. 14, 2014) — WUKY's "UK Perspectives" focuses on the people and programs of the University of Kentucky and is hosted by WUKY General Manager Tom Godell.  Guest host today is WUKY News Director Alan Lytle who welcomes UK alumna and history instructor Maryjean Wall, author of a new book on one of Lexington's most colorful historical characters — Belle Brezing.

To listen to the podcast interview from which "UK Perspectives" is produced, click here.

"UK Perspectives" airs at 8:35 a.m. and 5:45 p.m. each Friday on WUKY 91.3, UK's NPR station.

by Whitney Hale, Mack McCormick

(Nov. 12, 2014) — Now in its 33rd year, the Kentucky Book Fair will be held from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 15, at the Frankfort Convention Center. This year’s fair will feature around 200 authors showcasing their most recent books including several authors from the University of Kentucky and University Press of Kentucky (UPK).

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

by Gail Hairston

(Nov. 5, 2014) — “Democracy at Risk Around the World” will be examined at the next University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Year of the Middle East: Crossroads of the World event Nov. 7.

The Quantitative Initiative in Political and Social Research (QIPSR) contributes to The Year of the Middle East calendar with this fifth annual conference, featuring:

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 23, 2014) — Mark Wahlgren Summers, the Thomas D. Clark Professor of History at the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, has published his 10th book, “The Ordeal of the Reunion: A New History of Reconstruction.”

Summers takes a new look at the Reconstruction years, focusing on the nation’s need to form an enduring Union without sacrificing the framework of federalism and republican democracy.

"As one of the country’s most respected 19th-century political historians, Dr. Summers’ latest book showcases his strengths in research, writing and storytelling,” said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the UK College of Arts and Sciences. "In ‘The Ordeal of the Reunion,’ a new synthesis

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 17, 2014) — An expert in U.S. foreign relations in the Middle East since 1940 will discuss the historical foundations of the current crises in the region at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 20, in the UKAA Auditorium of the University of Kentucky's W.T. Young Library. The event, "Messy Little Wars: U.S. Approaches to Iraq Since 1990," is part of the UK College of Arts and Sciences event Year of the Middle East.

As an Ohio State University research scholar, Professor Peter Hahn has been supported by the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the Truman Library Institute, the John F. Kennedy Library, the Lyndon Johnson Foundation, the Eisenhower World Affairs Institute, the Office of United States Air Force History, and the U.S. Army Center of Military History.

His most recent

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 15, 2014) — One would be hard pressed to find a resume with accolades, awards and appointments of the quantity and quality equal to Jeremy Popkin’s. He will be adjusting that resume again shortly, as he has been named the William T. Bryan Chair of History.

Popkin has been a faculty member of the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of History since 1978. Educated at the University of California, Berkeley and Harvard University, Popkin has served as chair of the history department (1996-2000), director of the Jewish Studies Program (2011-12), as well as the current (2007-) prestigious T. Marshall Hahn Professor.

The Bryan Endowed Chair was established by a nearly $4 million gift from

by Gail Hairston

(Oct. 10, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame induction and festivities are slated Friday, Oct. 10, at 3:30 p.m. in the Recital Hall of the UK Singletary Center for the Arts.

Honorees include:

2014 ALUMNI INDUCTEES

Her Honor Ethelee Davidson Baxter was born in Jackson, Kentucky, in 1939 and was raised in Lexington, Kentucky. Baxter graduated from Lafayette High School in 1957 and was inducted into the first class of the Lafayette High School Hall of Fame in 1989. She graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1961 with a bachelor's degree in English, speech and drama. While at UK, she was a Wildcat cheerleader, president of the Blue Marlins synchronized swimming team, and a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta

by Gail Hairston 

(Sept. 30, 2014) — More than an “s” has been added since the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science was created in 1908 with only seven faculty members. In fact there was a College of Arts and Science even before the institution was named the University of Kentucky; the institution was called the State University, Lexington, Kentucky (previously Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky and State College) until 1916.

In those 106 years, several of today’s largest colleges were birthed from the original College of Arts and Science’s former programs, including today’s College of Education, College of Communication and Information, College of Social Work and College of Fine Arts.

The college grew quickly under the inspiration and commitment of President James Patterson, whose statue now graces the plaza next to

 by Diane Comer

(Sept. 17, 2014) – Gov. Steve Beshear has proclaimed September as Kentucky Archaeology Month to commemorate the contributions made through the professional practice of archaeology toward the public’s understanding of – and appreciation for – the Commonwealth’s rich cultural heritage.

The designation also recognizes the success of Living Archaeology Weekend (LAW), Kentucky’s oldest and largest public archaeology event, which has taken place since 1989 in Red River Gorge. The 26th annual free event will be Sept. 19-20 at Gladie Visitor Center.

During Living Archaeology Weekend, hundreds of preregistered school students will take part in demonstrations Friday, Sept. 19, including how to tan

by Gail Hairston

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 29, 2014) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Passport to the World program has already whisked students on four virtual globetrotting tours, yearlong explorations into the culture and history of a country or region. For the program’s fifth academic year, the college will delve into the turbulent, headline-grabbing region of the Middle East.

Once again the UK College of Arts and Sciences has chosen a region that impacts all of us. The eyes of the world have focused on the area for months, years. And yet, for many Americans, the Middle East is still mysterious and threatening, a culture and people churning with unfamiliar beliefs, traditions, expectations and dreams.

Like past programs

by Zachary Dodson

(July 7, 2014) — When University of Kentucky student Erica Mattingly enrolled in one of Andrew M. Byrd’s linguistics courses, she had no idea she would be rewriting history — or at least re-speaking it.

Byrd, assistant professor of linguistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, and his students have drawn national attention for their groundbreaking work to reconstruct and understand prehistoric languages.

Byrd has devoted much of his research time translating the language known as Proto-Indo-European (PIE). The language is thought to have been first used over 7,000 years ago, with some suspecting it was spoken even earlier. Byrd’s work focuses on the sounds and structure of the PIE

by Heather Chapman

(July 3, 2014) — This July, a University of Kentucky professor is headed back to Lichfield Cathedral in England to continue a labor of love: digitizing the nearly 1,300-year-old St. Chad Gospels.

William Endres, an assistant professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies, has already captured multispectral and historical images of the St. Chad Gospels and

by Rachel Knuth

(July 1, 2014) — Former University of Kentucky student Amanda Fickey is back at her alma mater this summer, teaching Appalachian history and culture to 60 high school students from Eastern Kentucky who are part of UK’s Robinson Scholars Honors Program.

Fickey, a native of Letcher County, served as the arts and cultural outreach coordinator for The Center for Rural Development in Somerset, Kentucky, prior to her time at UK. Fickey, who recently completed her doctoral degree in economic geography at UK, also holds a bachelor’s degree in 

by Benjamin Kandt, photo by Kiran Lannagadda

(June 13, 2014) - The University of Kentucky is proud to host a Confucius Institute (UKCI), a center dedicated to promoting awareness and appreciation of Chinese culture throughout the University of Kentucky and the Lexington community. UKCI’s offerings include Chinese language classes and cultural outreach events. It also serves as a bridge for the University of Kentucky to make connections with institutions