By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 17, 2025) — When first-generation college students arrive at the University of Kentucky, they carry with them more than backpacks and class schedules. They bring the hopes of families, the weight of new beginnings and the courage to step into new spaces.

At UK, nearly one in four undergraduates identifies as a first-generation college student. Supporting those students is central to the university’s mission to advance student success and Kentucky. Through such units as CARES First-Generation, housed in the Office for Student Success, the university provides tailored academic guidance,

By Francis Von Mann

LEXINGTON, KY. (Nov. 12, 2025) – Bernadine “Bernie” McGhee never imagined herself with a college degree. But in 2022 at 61, McGhee crossed the stage of Rupp Arena with a bachelor's degree in liberal studies from the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I thought I’d be a factory worker for the rest of my life,” McGhee said. “College wasn’t part of the plan. But life has a funny way of circling back.”

McGhee grew up in Gary, Indiana, one of nine children in a family where steel dust clung to everything: clothes, homes, hopes and dreams. Her parents both worked in the mills, and she expected to do

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2025) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research and UK Sustainability have announced the six winners of the fifth annual sustainability research poster competition.

The competition was in conjunction with the annual UK Sustainability Showcase in the atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building on Oct. 15.

As part of the showcase, graduate and undergraduate students in all majors were invited to submit their research related to the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2025) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research announces the eighth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates will present their research during the final round from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in 150 Healthy Kentucky Research Building.

The 5-Minute Fast Track challenges students to present their research clearly, concisely and engagingly with no props and one single static slide, in front of a panel of judges and live audience. The 10 finalists will share their scholarship in a jargon-free, five-minute talk for a general audience. Students develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills

By Clarissa Rhule 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies program is once again highlighting the research and creative scholarship of students and faculty through the annual Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress series.

SWAP encourages collaboration across disciplines, fostering dialogue among researchers, students and community members. By featuring ongoing projects, the series highlights the breadth of inquiry taking place at UK and its continued commitment to understanding and supporting Appalachia.

This year’s SWAP series will feature presentations running from Fall 2025 through Spring ’26, spotlighting recipients of the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Just miles from the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, University of Kentucky anthropologists are helping to unearth a Revolutionary War-era fort that promises to yield artifacts and data about 18th century America. 

The site, called Butts Hill Fort, left enough evidence for ground-penetrating radar to pick up an outline of what once were barracks  for the British colonial army in 1777, two years after the start of the revolution and a year after the Declaration of Independence. 

"This fort was developed in 1777 as a response, primarily by the British,” said Hugo Reyes-Centeno, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at UK’s College of Arts and Sciences. "There had been activity by the

Written by: Kat Brown

Pooja Sidney, Ph.D., is trying to answer the question: How can we help students learn math? One simple idea for helping students has turned into a blossoming research-based community partnership with Lexington schools. 

A cognitive developmental psychologist and associate professor at University of Kentucky, Pooja Sidney, Ph.D. researches how children and adults learn in academic settings. She focuses on improving students’ mathematical problem-solving and examining students’ attitudes toward mathematics. 

Within her research lab, the questions she explores are often driven by the motivation of the lab members, both graduate and undergraduate students. For example, one student in Sidney’s lab who is interested in the medicine-related decision-making is exploring how graphs

By Francis Von Mann 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 17, 2025) – The University of Kentucky’s Creative Writing Division in the Department of English, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, will mark the 11th anniversary of its Master of Fine Arts program in Creative Writing with a special Visiting Writers Series event spotlighting three recent graduates whose debut books have already earned national attention. 

The reading will take place at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in the Esports Theater at the Cornerstone. The event is free and open to the public. 

Since its start in 2013, UK’s MFA Program in Creative

By Dave Melanson 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 10, 2025) — The University of Kentucky's Center for Applied Energy Research and the Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet have completed a risk assessment of representative fats, oils and grease feedstocks that can be used to produce sustainable aviation fuel in Kentucky. The project is funded by the Office of Energy Policyky. 

The study identified corn oil as the safest bet for making  

By Erin Wickey 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct.10, 2025) — UK Innovate marked the achievements of innovators across campus at Patent Palooza! 2025.

These researchers, entrepreneurs and industry partners all drive intellectual property creation, commercialization success and entrepreneurial growth at the University of Kentucky. In fiscal year 2025, UK saw the most patents issued, the most licenses executed and the second-most inventions disclosed in UK history.

In fiscal year 2025, 29 teams completed Launch Blue’s UAccel program. More than 100 UK innovators were issued 61 patents, had 40 licenses and options executed for their innovations and received four Small

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 9, 2025) — Filled with natural light, open gathering areas and state-of-the-art research labs, the newly renovated Chemistry-Physics Building at the University of Kentucky has become a vibrant center for learning and discovery — a transformation now celebrated by the American Institute of Architects Kentucky.

The project’s $60.9 million first phase, led by Omni Architects, has received the AIA’s only Honor Award for 2025 — the highest professional recognition presented by the organization that commemorates architectural excellence in Kentucky.

The teaching,

By Francis Von Mann

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2025) – In the Jacobs Science Building, a mural sprawls across a whiteboard. On one side, a magnified cell with swirling, intricate layers. On the other, Charles Darwin circled by Galápagos finches and double helixes. It is equal parts science and art, memorialized with a signature in the corner: Shane D’Souza, Class of 2018.

Seven years later, D’Souza stands in front of that same mural – untouched by students who have long admired it – delivering a lecture on his research in pediatric ophthalmology. The audience of biology undergraduates leans in. His subject is technical, but his metaphors are clear and vivid. What captivates students is

By Francis Von Mann

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 8, 2025) – In the Don & Cathy Jacobs Science Building, a mural sprawls across a whiteboard. On one side, a magnified cell with swirling, intricate layers. On the other, Charles Darwin circled by Galápagos finches and double helixes. It is equal parts science and art, memorialized with a signature in the corner: Shane D’Souza, Class of 2018.

Seven years later, D’Souza stands in front of that same mural – untouched by students who have long admired it – delivering a lecture on his research in pediatric ophthalmology. The audience of biology undergraduates leans in. His subject is technical, but his metaphors are clear and vivid. What

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 7, 2025) — When the sun dips below the horizon and the stars emerge over Lexington, the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences’ SkyTalk program invites the community to gather, look up and wonder — together.

For nearly two decades, the monthly talks have drawn people of all ages — from middle school students to retirees — to UK’s MacAdam Student Observatory to explore the mysteries of the cosmos

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- The  University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences has selected the 2025-26 class for its Student Ambassador Program.

The college started the program in 1999. Ambassadors promote pride in a liberal arts education and assist in strengthening the identity of the college and university.  Ambassadors develop leadership and communication skills while representing the College to visitors, alumni, and prospective and current students. For more information about the Arts and Sciences Ambassador Program, please contact asrecruiting@uky.edu

Activities

Ambassadors' activities include:

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 19, 2025) — University of Kentucky physics and astronomy professor Gary J. Ferland, Ph.D., has been named the 2025 recipient of the Catherine Wolfe Bruce Gold Medal, the highest honor awarded by the Astronomical Society of the Pacific.

The Bruce Medal, first awarded in 1898, recognizes a lifetime of achievement and contributions to astrophysics research. Past recipients include such influential scientists in astronomy as Edwin Hubble, Vera Rubin and Nobel laureates Hans Bethe and Willy Fowler.

Ferland, who has taught at UK’s Department of Physics and Astronomy in the College of Arts and Sciences for more than four decades, is best known for

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Crystal Wilkinson, the Bush-Holbrook Endowed Professor of English in the University of Kentucky's College of Arts and Sciences, is the winner of the 2025 Corrington Award for Literary Excellence.

She will give a reading and accept her award in a ceremony on Monday, Oct. 27, at Centenary College of Louisiana in Shreveport. 

Wilkinson’s work includes:

Her short stories, poems and essays have appeared in

By Francis Von Mann 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 29, 2025) - Janice W. Fernheimer, Ph.D., University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences professor, has been named a 2025-26 fellow of the Jewish Writers Institute Digital Storytellers Lab, a competitive program that supports and amplifies Jewish-themed creative projects. Digital Storytellers Lab fellows develop and produce untold and lesser-known Jewish stories or familiar stories retold in innovative ways and for new audiences. Fellows receive yearlong mentorship, funding and immersive educational experiences. 

By Meredith Weber

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 8, 2025) — On Sept. 12, the University of Kentucky will induct 20 alumni into the 2025 Hall of Distinguished Alumni. The alumni will be honored for their meaningful contributions to the Commonwealth, nation and the world. 

The prestigious event, held every five years, is the highest recognition bestowed by the UK Alumni Association. Since its establishment in 1965, the Hall of Distinguished Alumni has celebrated graduates whose

By Harper Propst 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 12, 2025) — Each year, the University of Kentucky Graduate School recognizes exceptional faculty for their achievements in graduate education and scholarly research. Ellen D.B. Riggle, Ph.D, receives the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, awarded for outstanding contributions to original research and scholarship.

Riggle is a professor of political science and gender and women’s studies in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. Riggle’s research explores topics including stress, health disparities and the effects of law and policy on the well-being of LGBTQ individuals and couples.

“I am honored to receive the Kirwan Prize in recognition of my scholarship and collaborations, and