By Gail Hairston

University colleges typically only celebrate the writing of their students.

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies (WRD), however, presented its Excellence in Writing Awards to UK undergraduates as well as faculty and community writers.

Two UK faculty members and two writers who are well known to Lexingtonians were honored April 13, in the Colombia Room of the Boone Center (view the full program).   

Typically, faculty are honored only in their disciplines for achievements and contributions and not for their writing. WRD is proud to step out of that box to honor Shannon Bell,

By Gail Hairston

(March 24, 2015) — University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Year of the Middle East has scheduled three events this week. They are:

“The Arab Spring: The Youth Revolts of the Arab World Aren't Over” with Juan Cole

Tuesday, March 24, 7 p.m.

UK Athletics Association Auditorium, William T. Young Library

The youth revolts of 2011 and after in the Arab world have permanently changed the face of the region. While most observers have mainly interpreted them through the lens of high politics, this lecture argues that the big story here is the rise of a new generation of young Arabs, the Millennials, who have innovated in grassroots organization (including, but not limited to new ways of using social media for politics). It is too soon to know how the political

by: Lydia Whitman

(Feb. 2, 2015) — The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Science's Committee on Social Theory will host its 2015 lecture series, “Transnational Lives,” throughout the spring semester. This well-established series, organized around a different topic each year, gives the public access to lectures by four international scholars visiting the university campus to address a particular aspect of social theoretical thought from a variety of disciplinary perspectives. All lectures will be held on Fridays at 2 p.m. and are free to the public.

Committee director Marion Rust said these are among “the most exciting intellectual opportunities available to the UK community.”

by Sarah Schuetze

Sitting at the front of the room at a seminar table crowded with more students than anyone imagined, professor Francie Chassen-Lopez said, “I always say I have one foot on either side of the border.”

Chassen-Lopez is one of the four instructors teaching Social Theory 600, a graduate seminar called “Transnational Lives.” The professors include Ana Liberato, Cristina Alcalde, and Steven Alvarez—each representing a different discipline and approach to the course. “What makes this so exciting,” Alcalde said, “is we’re all coming at this from different perspectives.”

In many ways,

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 the

The Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digital Studies at the University of Kentucky invites applications for Chair at the rank of Advanced Associate or Full Professor. We seek applications from individuals with outstanding leadership skills, administrative experience, and a strong publishing record. We are particularly interested in candidates who can plan, articulate and implement a vision to lead the department over the next five years.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 5, 2014) — Assistant Professor Brandi Frisbi and Associate Professor Kevin Real, from the University of Kentucky College of Communication and Information, and Katherine Rogers-Carpenter, lecturer in the Department of Writing, Rhetoric, and Digitial Studies at the UK College of Arts and Sciences, led a series of college teacher training workshops at Qingdao Technological University in China from July 14 through Aug. 1, 2014.

The three-week workshops were collaboratively designed to improve English and teaching skills for campus-wide faculty members at Qingdao Tech and attracted the participation of more than 25 faculty members representing several disciplines (e.g., architecture, landscape design, pollution control, energy, literature, civil engineering

by Rachel Knuth

(July 29, 2014) — Adam J. Banks professor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies recently received the 2014 Rhetorician of the Year at The Young Rhetoricians Conference.

Banks, born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, received his bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University and his master’s and doctoral degrees in English from Penn State University. Banks is currently the director of writing, rhetoric and digital studies (WRD), teaching

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 Whitney Hale

(June 4, 2014) — In an evening that organizers are calling “Brave New Words,” Tina Chang, poet laureate of Brooklyn, N.Y., will join Pulitzer Prize winner Tracy K. Smith for a poetry reading and conversation at the keynote event of this year’s Kentucky Women Writers Conference. The noted poets will take the stage 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 12, at University of Kentucky's Memorial Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

The first woman named Poet Laureate of Brooklyn, Tina Chang was raised in New York City. She is the author of the poetry collections "Half-Lit Houses" and "Of Gods &

by Whitney Hale

The Kentucky Women Writers Conference (KWWC) will offer cash prizes and other benefits in writing contests and scholarships again this year, each with a postmark deadline of June 2. The deadline is one month earlier than prior years in order to allow winners more time to make appropriate travel plans. 

Now in its 36th year, the KWWC  is an annual event known for bringing notable women writers to Lexington for readings, writing workshops and discussions. A program housed in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, the conference is made possible in part by continued community partnerships, including its primary venue, the 

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 brand new

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 8, 2014) — A "¡Viva México!" event at the University of Kentucky will celebrate Latin American residents of Appalachia on Saturday evening, with a concert by the Latin-Appalachian roots band Appalatin, followed by the debut of a community-based theatrical performance titled "Las Voces de los Apalaches."

The concert starts at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 12, in the Worsham Theater at the UK Student Center. The staged reading of "Las Voces de los Apalaches" starts at 8:30 p.m. The event is co-sponsored by UK's Appalachian Center and College of Arts and Sciences.
Appalatin plays roots music bridging Latin American and Appalachian folk traditions. The six-member band uses all-acoustic instrumentation, featuring

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 4, 2014) — Alex Brooks, a book conservator and faculty member at theGaines Center for the Humanities at the University of Kentucky, has been selected as an NEH (National Endowment for the Humanities) Summer Scholar from a national applicant pool to attend one of 30 seminars and institutes supported by the National Endowment for the Humanities. 

The NEH is a federal agency that, each summer, supports enrichment opportunities at colleges, universities and cultural institutions, so that faculty can work in collaboration and study with experts in humanities disciplines.

Brooks is one of 16 educators who will participate in a seminar titled 

Video By Chanel Friday, UK Public Relations and Marketing Intern. 

by Kody Kiser, Amy Jones-Timoney, Chanel Friday

(April 3, 2014) — A popular on–campus resource for students is celebrating a major birthday. 

UK’s Writing Center, located in The Hub @ WT’s, turned 30 years old during the 2013-14 academic year.  Over the last three decades, graduate and undergraduate peer consultants have assisted thousands of students, faculty and staff in creating essays, reports, slide show presentations and videos at no charge. 

UK marked the milestone with a special reception Wednesday, March 5, 2014. The program began with speakers who shared the Writing Center’s history and included tributes about the center’s impact

by Gail Hairston

(April 2, 2014) - The University of Kentucky Board of Trustees greatly enhanced the education of its liberal arts students yesterday with two programs that will greatly impact their communication skills – a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing curriculum within the Department of English and a new Department of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies.

With realistic aspirations to be among the nation’s best programs by 2020, the UK College of Arts and Sciences Department of English will offer its students a full-residency Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing this fall. Modeled after some of the finest graduate-level creative writing programs in the nation, UK’s curriculum will be taught by a faculty of prominent award-

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 27, 2014) — Tearing down the walls of diversity is a task that requires one to think outside of the box. 'Boxes and Walls' is hosted by CATalyst, which has teamed up with six other organizations to build a multicultural museum for students to explore.

The exhibits are designed to personalize the struggle of tearing down these walls of oppression and to educate attendees on the impact of this persecution over time.

Keeping with this year's theme, "Oppression through Time," participating organizations are building their exhibits to reflect the impact of oppression on historically oppressed groups.

Alexis Asamoah, president of the African Student Association, says that she hopes their exhibit will take attendees back in time.

“We would like students to understand the effects of colonization through an interactive

by Gail Hairston, Rob Theakston 

(March 25, 3014) -- The University of Kentucky Late Night Film Series hosts award-winning filmmaker, author and community activist dream hampton, who will be presenting an exclusive director's cut of her current documentary "Transparent" at 7 p.m. Friday, March 28, at the University of Kentucky Worsham Theater. Admission is free.

"Transparent" is the story of Shelly Hilliard, a 19-year-old transgender woman living in Detroit who was brutally murdered. "Transparent" follows Hilliard's family and friends as they struggle to search for closure and tell the story of her life. The project is in its final phases and the Late Night Film Series will present a rough cut followed by a question and answer session with hampton, who prefers her name appear in lower case letters. A reception at the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center will