By Lindsey Piercy

Crystal Wilkinson didn't become a writer to obtain fame and fortune. But the accomplished author is receiving some well-deserved recognition and funding to support her craft.

"I am absolutely elated."

Wilkinson, who is also an associate professor of English at the University of Kentucky, has been named a 2020 USA Fellow by United States Artists.

Since being founded in 2006, United States Artists (USA) has awarded unrestricted monetary grants to compelling artists in various disciplines. Following a rigorous nomination and panel process, each chosen fellow is given $50,000 — which can be used for whatever means the artist wishes.

“We

By Allison Perry

The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system.

Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment (GATE) study, the five-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person’s decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD) — methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone.

Although research shows that these medications are highly effective at reducing opioid use, infectious disease transmission and drug-related

By Whitney Hale

Evie Shockley, a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Poetry for her book "semiautomatic," will give the keynote speech at the 2020 Kentucky Women Writers Conference scheduled for Sept. 17-20. The free public talk, presented in conjunction with University of Kentucky Libraries, will begin at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18, at the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center, in Lexington.

Shockley is the author of three books of poetry: "semiautomatic" (Wesleyan, 2017), which won the Hurston/Wright Legacy Award and was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the LA Times Book

By Lindsey Piercy

Thomas Janoski, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky, will celebrate the release of not one but three books this year.

As a professor at UK for more than two decades, Janoski has made significant contributions to the field of political sociology. Some of his previous works include, "Citizenship and Civil Society," "The Political Economy of Unemployment," "The Ironies of Citizenship" and "Dominant Divisions of Labor."

Janoski' s research combines political sociology with economic sociology, while comparing countries and economies over decades and even centuries.

Janoski' s latest endeavors — described in detail below — are a testament to his long-standing

By Ryan Girves

At Saturday’s University of Kentucky basketball game, winners of the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Awards, Beth Hanneman and Erik Myrup, were honored on the court, acknowledging their role in fulfilling the teaching and learning mission of the university.

Each year, the Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Award is presented by the UK Advising Network to one full-time professional adviser and one faculty adviser for outstanding service. Ken Freedman, the award's namesake, was one of the founders of the UK Advising Network in 1986 and served as a professional adviser at UK until his death in 2001.  

Both Hanneman, from the Stuckert Career Center, and Myrup, College of Arts and Sciences, received many nominations

By Madison Dyment

Most people have a desire to make their world a better place, but a special few devote their lives to this form of service. Royal Todd, a fourth-year philosophy major with sociology and African American and Africana Studies minors at UK, is one of those few. 

Todd and his family come from the west end of Louisville. From a young age, Todd felt called to be of service to those around him. He has spent his life answering that call in many ways. At 12, he began gospel ministry, preaching his first sermon on his 13th birthday. But it was during high school that Todd began forming his core personality and beliefs.

“From my eighth-grade year to my ninth-grade year, I started doing church work and ministry,” Todd said. “I started putting a lot more emphasis on education and not just being socially competent but also more politically competent.”

By Allison Perry

The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system.

Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment study, the 5-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person’s decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder – methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone.

Although research shows that these medications are highly effective at reducing opioid use, infectious

University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Sociology Mairead Moloney is interested in why women who are middle age and older sleep less than the general population – specifically women in Appalachia, who have some of the highest rates of insomnia in the nation.

Moloney wanted to conduct a comprehensive study to learn more about insomnia among women in Appalachia and help address this health disparity, but a sleep intervention study examining cognitive behavioral therapy and sleep medication use was out of her expertise.

Through UK's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health program, Moloney met UK Associate Professor of Pharmacy Daniela Moga and Assistant Professor of Psychology Christal Badour, whose expertise and research backgrounds were a

By Lindsey Piercy 

Last year,  Nick Wilson outwitted, outplayed and outlasted 20 competitors on the 37th season of "Survivor." The University of Kentucky alumnus claimed the title of "Sole Survivor" and the $1 million prize on the season finale. Now, he will be returning to the hit CBS competition in hopes of claiming victory once again. And this time, there's more at stake.

On Wednesday, the network announced Wilson as one of the cast members of the show’s 40th season, “Survivor: Winners at War," which will pit 20 former winners against one another for the largest prize in reality TV competition history — $2 million.

"It was a quick turnaround to play again so suddenly. But it was a no-brainer for me to say yes, because I could never turn down a chance to