By Kathy Johnson

The "Civic Life" panel series, developed by the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, is a new weekly forum exploring a wide range of issues confronting society today. Open to the entire UK campus, these lunchtime panel discussions will take place each Wednesday for the remainder of the semester, and the series kicks off Wednesday, March 22, with a discussion of immigration — a topic making headlines worldwide.

“At the core of the mission of the College of Arts and Sciences is the commitment to prepare students to be engaged citizens in our Commonwealth, in an increasingly diverse nation, and in an ever-more interconnected world," said Mark Kornbluh, dean of the college. "Faculty members across all of the disciplines of our college take this commitment seriously and are seeking to provide

By Whitney Hale

Paige A. Dauparas, a University of Kentucky accounting, English and Spanish literature and culture senior from Mokena, Illinois, has been selected to present the 23rd annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Dauparas' free public lecture focuses on diversity and how the search for individuality impacts unity.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who showed an exceptional interest in higher education and

John Jay Allen, emeritus professor of the University of Kentucky’s Department of Hispanic Studies, has been made a corresponding member of the Spanish Royal Academy of the Language (Real Academia Española de la Lengua), one of the highest academic honors in the Spanish-speaking world.

Allen taught in the UK College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Hispanic Studies (formerly Department of Spanish and Italian) from 1983 to 1999 and as emeritus professor since 2000.

Allen´s accomplishments are quite numerous, but the most salient are: National Endowement for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship for Independent Research, 1981-82; NEH Summer Seminar for College Teachers, 1989; Residential Fellowship to the National Humanities Center, North Carolina, 1989-90; UK's Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize; and an honorary doctor of letters from Middlebury College

By Tasha Ramsey

When given the option, some students would jump at the chance to graduate early. But for Mason King, a senior double majoring in Spanish and political science at the University of Kentucky, the decision to forego an early graduation date in order to take part in an internship with the U.S. Department of State is one he doesn't regret.

In the spring of 2015, King learned that he could choose to participate in the December commencement rather than take another semester of classes to stay on his four-year track. Seeing this as an opportunity to extend his education rather than starting his career search an entire semester early, King set out in search of internships instead.

“I really didn’t care to rush my undergraduate experience and

By Jenny Wells

(Aug. 26, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence honored its newest class of Chellgren Fellows Sunday, Aug. 23. Five Chellgren Endowed Professorships were also announced. 

The Chellgren Fellows Program is for students with exceptional academic potential and aspirations, who are eager to participate in a special learning community designed to cultivate extraordinary achievement. Outstanding faculty members from across campus serve as individual mentors for the Fellows.

The students selected as 2015-16 Chellgren Fellows include:

•  Sloan Ander, a biology major from

By Guy Spriggs

(Aug. 5, 2015) — Started in the summer of 2012 as an intensive “boot camp” to help the University of Kentucky’s new students prepare for college-level calculus, the FastTrack program has become an integral part of efforts to help students transition to the college classroom and set them up for success in the College of Arts and Sciences.

The curriculum for FastTrack has expanded over the last four years, and now gives students an invaluable introduction to UK’s math, biology, chemistry, engineering, Spanish and WRD (Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies). A key part of the program’s continued growth is the recent addition of FOCUS (FastTrack Orientation for College Undergraduate Success), a component built around developing the non-academic skills students need to achieve in coursework.

By Chris Shoals

(July 1, 2015) — Student-athletes from all eight of Kentucky's spring sports teams combined to earn a total of 84 spots on the Southeastern Conference Spring Academic Honor Roll, Commissioner Greg Sankey announced on Tuesday.


UK's honorees included 22 baseball players, 14 softball players, 13 women’s track and field members, 13 men’s track and field members, eight women’s tennis players, four men’s tennis players, six men’s golfers and four women’s golfers.

A total of 1,191 student-athletes from around the league earned spots on the honor roll, which is based on grades from the 2014 summer, 2014 fall and 2015 spring terms. In order to make the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or his/her entire collegiate career, be at least a sophomore in academic standing, and meet

By Gail Hairston, Whitney Harder

(April 22, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will honor its faculty at 4 p.m. today at the William T. Young Library Auditorium.

The recipients of this year's college faculty awards are:

Charles Carlson, psychology, 2015-16 Distinguished Professor. For more information, visit http://uknow.uky.edu/content/carlson-honored-teaching-research-and-service

Beth Guiton, assistant professor of chemistry ‒ Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentoring Award

Guiton leads a materials chemistry group in the Center for Advanced Materials, investigates chemistry at the nanometer length scale, working at the intersection between solid state chemistry and

By Provost blog

Wednesday, April 15, 2015

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge."
 

These words by Albert Einstein ring especially true today as our community honors seven faculty members and three teaching assistants who have dedicated themselves to preparing, advising and inspiring our students.

I will have the honor of recognizing these 10 individuals at the 2015 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony this afternoon. 

The Outstanding Teaching Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series faculty for outstanding teaching performance. The 2015 winners are:

•  Matthew J. Beck, College of Engineering, Department of