By Lauren Parsons

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 20, 2022) — More than 60,000 pages of Fayette County’s historical property records containing information about enslaved people from the late 1700s through 1865 will soon be available to the public online thanks to a partnership between the Fayette County Clerk, University of Kentucky’s Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies (CIBS), the Lexington Black Prosperity Initiative, Blue Grass Community Foundation and its Knight Foundation Donor Advised Charitable Fund.

The Fayette County Clerk began digitizing documents during the 1990s, but the books of historical property records remained on paper, including transactions detailing names of individuals sold and bought as slaves, mortgages naming enslaved people as

By Danielle Donham

Looking to learn more about the history of Juneteenth and civil rights in Kentucky? The University Press of Kentucky’s Civil Rights catalog has you covered.

With titles spanning the topics of African American studies, race and sports, and the struggle for Black equality, there are plenty to choose from.

Several of the titles in the catalog are authored and edited by University of Kentucky faculty members and community members, including Gerald L. Smith, Derrick E. White, Crystal Wilkinson — all faculty in the UK College of Arts and Sciences — and former

By Lindsey Piercy

Stephen Davis, an associate professor in the Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been awarded a 2022 ACLS Digital Justice Seed Grant.

The American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Digital Justice Grant Program is designed to promote and provide resources for digital humanities projects that aim to diversify the digital domain, advance justice and equity in

By Kody Kiser and Ryan Girves

Sunday, June 19, 2022, will mark the second year of the federally celebrated holiday, Juneteenth. 

Long celebrated in the Black community, Juneteenth marks the day U.S. Army Gen. Gordon Granger announced to the people of Galveston, Texas, that slavery was over — more than two years after President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation.

In recent years, we as a country have pushed for more. More discussion, more acknowledgment, more reform. With that has come more recognition of African American history that has been largely marginalized.

As the country continues to progress, so does the University of Kentucky, who made Juneteenth an academic holiday in 2020. The announcement came after the release of a multi-step action plan to increase the commitment to — and investments

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

Results from two separate research studies, led by University of Kentucky postdoctoral scholar Valeria Olivares and graduate student Arnab Sarkar, will be presented during the American Astronomical Society’s (AAS) semiannual meeting, taking place in Pasadena, California, this week.

As the largest astronomy conference in the United States, the AAS meeting will bring together more than 2,000 astronomers, educators, students and journalists to highlight the nation’s most groundbreaking work in the fields of physics and astronomy.

“Approximately 30 works from around the world are being highlighted at the AAS press conference, representing some of the highest impact findings of this year,” said Yuanyuan Su, assistant professor in the UK Department of Physics and Astronomy and faculty mentor to

by Jenny Wells-Hosley

This week, the University of Kentucky and surrounding communities will celebrate Juneteenth — the federal holiday that commemorates the emancipation of enslaved Black Americans — with a variety of community events.

While the Emancipation Proclamation was issued Jan. 1, 1863, declaring more than three million slaves living in the Confederate states free, it was not until Union soldiers arrived in Galveston, Texas, two years later, on June 19, 1865, that the last enslaved U.S. populations were informed of the proclamation. Since then, the date has served as a symbol for freedom and celebration for Black communities. This year marks the second time Juneteenth will be observed as a federal holiday in the U.S., as well as the second year the University of Kentucky will be closed in observance (Monday, June 20).  

Below is a list of

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that 10 students and recent graduates have been selected to receive government-funded National Science Foundation (NSF) Graduate Research Fellowships. In addition, a UK doctoral student and two alumni received honorable mention recognition from the NSF. 

As part of the five-year fellowship, NSF Fellows receive a three-year annual stipend of $34,000 along with a $12,000 cost of education allowance for tuition and fees for a research-based master's or doctoral degree in a STEM (science, technology, engineering or mathematics) field. In 2022, the NSF awarded approximately 

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 9, 2022) — Poor sleep is linked to a wide range of medical issues, including hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity and cancer. With more than a third of U.S. adults reporting insufficient sleep, researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention describe sleep deprivation as a public health epidemic.

The public health burden of sleep deprivation is especially high in Kentucky: Residents are some of the nation’s most sleep-deprived, particularly in rural Appalachia. In that area,  25-58% of adults report insufficient sleep, defined as less than six hours a day.

Two College of Arts and Sciences professors at the University of Kentucky have received a $3.7 million grant from the 

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 8, 2022) — David Weisrock, professor and chair of the Biology Department in the University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences, has received one of the the 2022 Excellent Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. The award recognizes exceptional leadership and support of student researchers.

Presented each year by the Office of Undergraduate Research, this student-nominated award recognizes UK faculty members who demonstrate an outstanding commitment to mentoring undergraduate researchers, provide exceptional undergraduate research experiences, as well as support and promote the undergraduate research initiatives on campus. This year, students nominated a record 41

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 8, 2022) — Julia Bursten, associate professor in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Philosophy, works together with scientists to help improve scientific methods for their experiments.

As a philosopher of science, Bursten studies epistemology, or the logical and conceptual foundations of scientific knowledge. Her highly interdisciplinary work merging philosophy and scientific research has been supported by both the National Endowment for the Humanities  and the National Science Foundation.

Bursten’s work supported by the NEH is focused on the philosophy of nanoscience, the study of structures and materials on an

by Amanda Nelson

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Researchers at the University of Kentucky have released a 10-minute film titled “Becoming Myself: Positive Trans & Nonbinary Identities.” It features narratives from the lives of seven transgender and nonbinary identified young adults, reflecting on their experiences navigating gender identity.  

The film’s executive producers, based in the colleges of Arts & Sciences and Education, are Zak Clements, Ph.D. candidate in counseling psychology; Ellen Riggle, professor and chair in the 

By Meredith Weber

Wildcat Network, a new networking platform, has launched and you’re invited to join.

The free online community is exclusive to University of Kentucky alumni, students, parents and campus partners. It provides a directory and mentorship platform and is designed to empower connections across the globe through personal and professional networks.

Wildcat Network serves as a platform for: 

Mentoring connections can be made between alumni or between alumni and students. Employment opportunities are pulled from 

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Essays by two recent University of Kentucky graduates have won the 2022 Ireland Prize in History. One essay, by Pedro Fernandes Esteves Fonseca, deals with the fraught efforts of the Inquisition in colonial Brazil, while the other, by Elena Liu, examines the Spanish Flu pandemic in Mexico. 

The award, from the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences, carries a $10,000 prize, which was split between this year’s winners. The prize honors Robert M. Ireland, a retired history faculty member who taught at UK for 41 years. The award encourages and rewards outstanding historical research and writing by history students. 

Liu, a recent graduate from Charleston, West Virginia, saw many parallels between the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918 and measures to contain the spread of COVID today — hence

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Twists and turns in business have led Dan DeHart from bourbon country -- and a degree from the University of Kentucky – to starting Gander Panama Rum. He earned a B.S. in mathematics from UK in 1988 and served as a director of Capital One and vice president of First Data Corp. But in 2013, he started DeHart Spirits, which produces the premium Gander Panama Rum, which is aged in bourbon barrels and is distributed through fine alcohol stores. The Panama operation includes its own sugar-cane fields and processing facilities, which makes it less vulnerable to trade disruptions brought on by the COVID pandemic. Now he’s ready to discuss how what he learned in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences has led him to making premium rum.

Q: How did your math major help you in your business career?

A: It was a combination of

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 6, 2022) — Each year, the University of Kentucky’s Office of Undergraduate Research selects a cohort of Undergraduate Research Ambassadors, a diverse group of outstanding students who serve as advocates for undergraduate research and creative scholarship at UK.

This year, the office launched the Excellent Undergraduate Research Ambassador award to honor outtanding ambassadors for their dedication to and promotion of undergraduate research and creative opportunities.

The six winners were announced at the 16th annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars. They are: 

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 31, 2022) — A new initiative led by Jewish Studies in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky will provide educators from across the Commonwealth with the professional development and teaching tools necessary to enhance K-12 Holocaust education.

Funded by a grant from the Jewish Heritage Fund for Excellence, the UK-JHFE Holocaust Education Initiative will create opportunities for interdisciplinary content sharing, pedagogical training and collaborative planning.

The program aims to empower Kentucky teachers to meet the challenges of

UKNow is highlighting the University of Kentucky’s 2022-23 University Research Professors. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorship program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research, scholarship and creative endeavors at UK. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 27, 2022) — Carrie Oser, the DiSilvestro Endowed Professor in the Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, has been named one of 14 University Research Professors. 

The 2022-2023 University Research Professorship Awards honor faculty members who have demonstrated excellence that addresses scientific, social, cultural and economic challenges in the Commonwealth, across the

By Daniel T. Flener

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 25, 2022) — The International Center at the University of Kentucky has announced the 2022 UK Global Impact Award winners. Among them is Ann Kingsolver, professor of anthropology and director of the Appalachian Studies Program. 

The awards honor faculty, staff, alumni and community members who have contributed to the university’s global engagement through education, research and service as well those who have fostered a culturally diverse, welcoming environment.

“This past year has reinforced for us just how interconnected our world really is, and how critically important international collaboration is in research and higher education,” said Sue Roberts, associate provost for internationalization. “These individuals are making a wonderful and

By Shanna Wilbur

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 24, 2022) — University of Kentucky Libraries has awarded the 2022 UK Libraries Medallion for Intellectual Achievement to UK American history professor Tracy Campbell.

Created in 1990, the medallion honors a Kentucky resident whose accomplishments represent the pinnacle of education and creative thought in the fields of science, literature, art and philanthropy. Medallion recipients are determined by the UK Libraries National Advisory Board after receiving nominations from the public. Past recipients include John Anthony, Wendell Berry, James Still, Bobbie Ann Mason, Thomas D. Clark, Laman A. Gray Jr., Guy Davenport, George C. Herring, Adalin Wichman,

By Doug Curl and Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 23, 2022) — The Kentucky Geological Survey (KGS) at the University of Kentucky hosted its first seminar focusing on the intersection between geoscience research and climate change on May 12. The 61st Annual KGS Seminar highlighted how interdisciplinary research is vital to shaping Kentucky’s future when it comes to climate change.

“Climate change is here, and the impacts reach far beyond geology," said Bill Haneberg, state geologist and KGS director. "It’s an economic, human health, and policy issue. Our job at KGS is to provide unbiased data and information to help mitigate potential