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 and the 

By Nate Harling

Students in Jeff Rice’s WRD 300: Introduction to Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies class presented on the week’s reading, “Made to Stick.” Rice is chair of the Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Everyone hears it at some point. Whether it is across the table from a relative at Thanksgiving dinner, on a quiet car ride home with a parent or while out for coffee with an old friend from high school. When a student majoring in the arts and sciences informs someone else of their field of study, they will be met with the same question, often accompanied by a slight lift of the eyebrows: “So what are you going to do with that?” This kind of skepticism is indicative of the widespread social perception that students of the liberal arts are less prepared for careers than their peers

By Whitney Hale

Virginia Clay McClure's senior photo from the university's yearbook. Photo courtesy of UK Special Collections Research Center.

The University of Kentucky community is celebrating Women’s History Month. Throughout March, UKNow will feature the women — past and present — on whose shoulders we stand and whose hard work has made our achievements possible. With a combination of fierce resolve and deep compassion, UK women have left indelible marks on our university. Join us as we highlight these #WomenOfUK.

The first woman who received a Ph.D. from UK said that her department chairman did not "want a woman to get a doctor's degree." Despite those words, Virginia Clay McClure, a native of Mt. Sterling, Kentucky, received her doctoral degree in American history in 1934.

By LIndsey Piercy

Jeffrey Matthews, author and distinguished alumnus of the University of Kentucky, will discuss his new book, "Colin Powell, Imperfect Patriot: National Intelligence, Torture, and the Afghan-Iraq Wars" on March 18. The event, hosted by the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce and co-sponsored by the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences, will be held at 5 p.m., in Room 331 of the Gatton Student Center.

Matthews will give a talk on his biography of Powell, who is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. During his military career, Powell also served as national security adviser, commander of

By Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky juniors Shania Goble, of Inez, Kentucky, and Katie Huffman, of Harrodsburg, Kentucky, have been awarded English-Speaking Union (ESU) Scholarships presented by the English-Speaking Union Kentucky Branch. The scholarships will cover Goble and Huffman's expenses for summer study at Oxford University.

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, lodging and meals for three-week courses at the recipient's chosen institution. Scholarships also include one week of lodging in London and a cash allowance. 

By Chris Crumrine, Amy Jones-Timoney, Kody Kiser, and Brad Nally

“To actually be in Washington, D.C. is unlike anything that you can experience in a classroom or here in Kentucky,” says Hayley Leach. “The hands-on experience is unlike anything you can get.”

That is the primary goal of the University of Kentucky’s WilDCats at the Capitol program — to provide students with unique opportunities in the nation’s capital; support them through organized housing, academic credit and financial aid; and provide a rewarding and professional experience that will serve them beyond graduation.

Over the last year, more than 40 UK students from multiple disciplines have walked the halls of Congress alongside elected officials and policymakers, gaining a dynamic academic and professional

Alli Peoples graduated in spring 2018 with her bachelor’s degree in International Studies and Spanish. Upon graduation, she moved to Madrid, Spain, where she is currently working as an English Language and Culture Assistant at the bilingual primary school, CEIP Lepanto. At Lepanto, Alli not only plays an active role in English instruction in the classroom in multiple subject areas, but also in helping students to develop a multicultural mindset. In her words, “being an International Studies major helped me develop a foundation of knowledge that gave me the confidence to pursue a job abroad.” She believes her ability to help cultivate this mindset in her students was greatly enhanced by her coursework as an International Studies major, which helped her to first understand the shared values and identities of her own culture and then employ this knowledge to develop an understanding and

By Nick Harling

Tracy Campbell, professor of history in the Department of History, has been awarded the E. Vernon Smith and Eloise C. Smith Professorship in American History.  

The Professorship, part of a nearly $6 million gift from alumnus E. Vernon Smith, was given to UK in 2011 and has had lasting positive effects on the university and its campus. With the state’s matching of the endowment, the generous gift has amounted to more than $11 million, with the bulk of the gift going to the College of Medicine. As part of the original gift, Dr. Smith, a 1937 graduate of UK, established a professorship in American history.

Campbell was nominated, “for his wide-ranging and broad-reaching scholarly endeavors in American History, his excellence in the classroom, his dedication to the University, and his own love of American History,” said Karen Petrone, chair

By Nate Harling

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences is entering the eighth year of its Passport to the World initiative, a yearlong exploration of the culture and history of different areas of the world and interdisciplinary topics. This year’s program explores the role migration has played and continues to play in shaping societies across the globe, and here at home.  

“Migration has played a crucial role in human history, and in shaping contemporary societies, and we want to emphasize and critically examine interconnections among world areas and people across the globe, as well as how migration is central to our societies,” said Cristina Alcalde, associate dean of inclusion and internationalization in the college, and one of the

By Whitney Hale

The National Archives and UK's Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center will present this year’s Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Awards to three Kentucky educators: Laura J. Cooley, Dustin Ferrell and Amber Sergent.

The National Archives and the University of Kentucky Libraries Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center will present this year’s Earle C. Clements Innovation in Education Awards to three Kentucky educators: Laura J. Cooley, of Pikeville High School; Dustin Ferrell, of Eastern High School; and Amber Sergent, of Woodford County High School. The awards, which recognize the state’s best educators in history and/or civics, will be presented by 

By Nick Harling

The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences has named the 2018 recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad and Internships in Politics, Government, Law, or Public Policy. Since its inaugural year of 2017, this competitive scholarship, sponsored by Robert ’78 and Anne Trunzo, awards funding to students planning to study abroad and to students for participation in internships.

The 2018 Recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad are:

By Blair Hoover Conner

The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants at the Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2018 University of Kentucky Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 19, in the Lexmark Room at the Main Building. Recipients of Inclusive Excellence Awards, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Diversity, were also recognized.

UK Provost David Blackwell presented the William B. Sturgill Award, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Outstanding Teaching Faculty and Teaching Assistant Awards.

"The diversity of disciplines reflected in the Outstanding Teaching Award winners speaks to the breadth and depth that distinguishes the University of Kentucky," Blackwell said. "But, of course, no matter the discipline, each recipient shares something of lasting importance: the art of great teaching

Charles P. Roland, alumni professor emeritus at the University of Kentucky, celebrated a major milestone last weekend. On Sunday, the leading scholar turned 100 years old.

Family, friends and colleagues threw a surprise party in his honor. Festivities included a military honor guard and the singing of “Happy Birthday to You” and the Army song by the UK Department of History's faculty. One of Roland's doctoral students, Thomas Appleton, presented a resolution commending Roland on behalf of UK President Eli Capilouto.

Roland, the son and grandson of teachers, holds a bachelor's degree from Vanderbilt University, a master's degree from George Washington University and a doctoral degree in history from Louisiana State University.

As a former captain in the United States Army, Roland's

By Lindsey Piercy

Several University of Kentucky faculty members within the College of Arts and Sciences presented research at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference last weekend.

The four-day event, in Washington, D.C., brought together scholars, professors, researchers and authors from around the world to present research and discuss topics devoted to the study of Asia.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is the largest Asian Studies conference held in North America. More than 3,000 people attended this year, including UK faculty:

By Stephanie Swarts

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has selected 12 exceptional undergraduates as new scholars for the university’s Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 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 students’ junior and senior years; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal consideration.

UK’s 12 new Gaines Fellows are:

By Whitney Hale

UK students in the 2018 Bingham Seminar will visit the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, over spring break.

This year’s Thomas D. Clark Lectureship in the Humanities, presented by the University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities, will be given by Leonard V. Smith, the Frederick B. Artz Professor of History at Oberlin College, 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13, in the Niles Gallery, located in the Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. The lecture, “Rites of Passage in French Soldiers' Testimony of the Great War,” is free and open to the public.

The 2018 Clark Lecture will give

By Gail Hairston and Alicia Gregory

Jane Calvert, associate professor of history in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is committed to showing the human side of one of America’s Founding Fathers, John Dickinson, through the John Dickinson Writings Project.

As the Dickinson project’s founding director and chief editor, Calvert is collecting, transcribing, editing and publishing the complete writings of Dickinson, who wrote more for the American cause than any other Founding Father.

As a young history professor, disillusioned by American politics and culture of the late 1980s and early ‘90s, Calvert had a lot of questions about her homeland. And being a passionate historian, she naturally turned to history for answers.

In the midst of her dissertation on the history of Quaker society in America, she noticed that the

By Gail Hairston

Organizers of the University of Kentucky’s Constitution Day activities last week have announced the winners of the essay contest associated with the national holiday.

Political science freshman RyAnn Schoenbaechler won the 2017 Constitution Day Essay Contest with her article titled “Donald Trump: The Modern Day Killer of the First Amendment.”

Schoenbaechler won $500 for her essay, which was evaluated by a panel of judges chosen by the Scripps Howard First Amendment Center. Their assessment was based on the following criteria: historical and legal accuracy of the content; the strength and logic of the argument; the original ideas presented; the organization of the argument, including the thesis; and the quality of the writing.

The second place winner Kelsey Mattingly, a

By Gail Hairston

All educational institutions receiving federal funding are required to conduct educational programming about the U.S. Constitution in recognition of Constitution Day, which this year falls on Sept. 17. The University of Kentucky chose Monday, Sept. 18, for its all-day celebration.  

Under the direction of the university’s Office of the President and Office of the Provost, the Office of Academic Excellence led the university’s planning committee with significant contributions from the College of Arts and Sciences. Staff and faculty worked with student organizations and other units on campus to develop a campuswide approach to the celebration of the rights and responsibilities of U.S. citizens and to develop habits of citizenship in a

By Amy Jones-Timoney and Kody Kiser

From Florida to California, from Alabama to Maine, monuments to the Confederacy have been under increased scrutiny and the subject of efforts to either preserve them or remove them from the grounds they occupy.

In an effort to get more perspective on the swirling controversy around the future of these statues, this week’s episode of "Behind the Blue" features Amy Murrell Taylor, from the Department of History in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. A 2016 winner of the UK Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award, Taylor’s research focuses on the social and cultural history of the U.S. South in the era of the Civil War and Emancipation.

Taylor’s first book,