Congratulations to all of our undergraduate award recipients! 

Essay or Other Written Project

First Place

“Health, Society, and Soul: African American Relation to Food Proposal and Annotated Bibliography”

Project Creator: Piper Eades

Second Place

“#YesAllWomen”

Project Creator: Abigail Mitchell

Honorable Mention

“The Literacy and the Illicit”

Project Creator: Meghan Brockman

Documentary or Other Film

First Place

“Fighting Crowded Dorms & Empty Plates”

Project Creators: Kaylee Becknell,

By Richard LeComte 

Five recently hired faculty members associated with the African American and Africana Studies interdisciplinary program in the College of Arts & Sciences are broadening the range of diverse and inclusive course offerings to University of Kentucky students. The five new hires are JWells, Vieux Touré, Lydia Pelot-Hobbs, Brandon M. Erby and Aria S. Halliday. 

“It is important to hire Black faculty in these areas and all areas, because their individual and collective research expertise is essential to the mission of the University,” said Damaris B. Hill, interim director of the African American and Africana Program.  “This

By Richard LeComte

Janice Fernheimer has been interested in archives, since she first set foot in one as an undergraduate English major at the University of Maryland. Her current projects build archives that highlight the influence of minorities in Kentucky’s history.

For her contributions to the archival profession, she has received the Midwest Archives Conference President’s Award for 2020.

“I am very honored that the interdisciplinary, highly collaborative work of building the oral history project has been recognized for its significant contributions to pedagogic innovation, archive building and stewarding,  and community engagement,” said Fernheimer, Zantker Professor and director of the Jewish Studies Program in UK’s College of Arts &

By Ryan Girves

Before the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, 50 outstanding University of Kentucky undergraduate research students learned they were selected to present their faculty-mentored research at the National Conference on Undergraduate Research. The event was canceled, but UK's Office of Undergraduate Research is noting the achievement. Among them are more than a dozen students in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

The student conference, which would have been held this past weekend at Montana State University, is dedicated to promoting undergraduate research, scholarship and creative activity in all fields of study. It provides models of exemplary research and scholarship and strives to improve the state of undergraduate

By Sarah Mardon

 Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) Director William Haneberg and University of Kentucky Assistant Professor Lauren Cagle in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences ​have received one of two Building Capacity for Science Communication Partnership grants recently awarded by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM). The title of their project is “Engaging Nontraditional Geoscience Information Stakeholders in Appalachian Kentucky.”

The award, supported by funds from the Rita Allen Foundation and the Kavli Foundation, will support growth of an existing UK partnership to engage traditionally underserved KGS stakeholders who desire reliable and understandable

A portrait unveiling of civil rights pioneer Lyman T. Johnson highlighted the University of Kentucky's 29th annual Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Awards Banquet Oct. 11 at the Gatton Student Center.

The UK Alumni Association Lyman T. Johnson African American Alumni Group honored students and alumni during the awards ceremony as part of the 2019 Lyman T. Johnson Homecoming Celebration. 

UK’s academic colleges and units selected one African American alum whose faith, hard work and determination has positively affected the lives of people on the UK campus, the city, state or nation. These individuals received the Lyman T. Johnson Torch of Excellence Award. These units also chose an African American student within their respective colleges/departments whose academic achievement and ability to impact the lives of others warrant them the Lyman T. Johnson

By Whitney Hale, Ellie Wnek and Hannah Edelen

Senior Dealla Samadi discovered a missing piece of the book "La Reine Albemarle," which was published posthumously without the segment. Her discovery has led to an article published in a French philosophy journal.

Seven interns in the University of Kentucky Libraries' Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) Learning Lab will represent UK at the second World Conference of Undergraduate Research (World CUR).

These students will travel to Oldenburg, Germany, May 23-25, to present their research, discuss global issues and create an international research partnership. Funding for their travel is provided through 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

By Lindsey Piercy

Foodies, mark your calendars! Dan Pashman will be speaking at the University of Kentucky on Monday, September 24. The event titled, "Audio Storytelling in Food and Beyond", is presented by the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies.

Food lovers are probably familiar with Pashman. He is the creator and host of WNYC's James Beard Award-nominated food podcast, The Sporkful. Pasham and his guests often obsess over the details of eating to uncover truths about food and people.

"The Sporkful is one of the best podcasts available today because it's funny, informative and persuasive. It is a major part of the new movement in food writing," Jeff Rice, department chair, said.

The podcast discusses diverse topics, such as the search for a Syrian sandwich, the origins of Cambodian