By Jordan Strickler

Lexington, Ky. — Since beginning at the University of Kentucky's Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food, and Environment this past year, Peyton Zelenak has worked to integrate sustainability practices into the U.S. military, focusing on reducing pollution. 

Zelenak’s natural resources and environmental science major goes beyond the classroom; it forms the foundation for her future leadership in promoting environmental conservation within the military. She is not just another student navigating the Martin-Gatton CAFE classrooms. She’s also a cadet in the UK Army ROTC.

Her military dreams resonate from her mother, an airborne and air assault soldier, who planted the seeds in her daughter from an

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 2, 2024) — At the University of Kentucky, Laurel Riggs, from Bardstown, Kentucky, wears many hats. The pre-law senior and Lewis Honors College member is majoring in political science with a minor in writing, rhetoric and digital studies, while also serving as a coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences’ Ambassador program, member of Chi Omega sorority, vice president of membership Standards for UK Panhellenic, and assistant attorney general for the Student Government Association.

Riggs is also the recipient of

By Dan Knapp 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2024) — The article below, which appeared in the Spring 2024 edition of Kentucky Alumni magazine, tells the story or Deidra White, a University of Kentucky representative of the May Class of 2024.

White will graduate this Friday with a Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing from the College of Arts and Sciences and will also present a spoken word poem at each ceremony titled "Here in Kentucky."

Learn more about the May 2024 Commencement Ceremonies at https://commencement.uky.edu/may-2024. 

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Gliding into a rickety wooden chair, Deidra White

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2024) — University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto has selected four student representatives to speak at the UK May 2024 Commencement Ceremonies, taking place this Friday, May 3, and Saturday, May 4.

The student speakers are Sophia Salyers, Alayna Tobo, Emily Wiley and Princess Magor Agbozo.

Sophia Salyers

Salyers, from Lexington, Kentucky, is a Lewis Honors College student graduating with a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the UK College of Arts and Sciences with a minor in criminology and a

By Hayden Gooding and Ben Branscum 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2024) — They were born to be Wildcats.

When Lizzy Hornung was  born, her mom drove all the way to Lexington so her daughter would take her first breaths at the University of Kentucky instead of in Louisville.

Caroline Sumner was born in Louisville, but she had a UK beanie placed on her head the second she entered the delivery room.

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2024) —  The Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation Awards were launched in 2023 to highlight the work done by University of Kentucky faculty and other campus community members.

The first

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence is honored to announce the 2024 class of Chellgren Student Fellows.

The program is open to all majors and takes place during the student's second year at the university. Outstanding faculty members from across campus serve as individual mentors for the Fellows. Through regular meetings and conversations, mentors will help students develop strategies for engaging in the intellectual life of the university. This year’s cohort drew 29 high-achieving freshmen. 

New fellows are: 

By Ann Blackford 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 30, 2024) — Jim Adams loved his nearly 40-year career as a coal miner, following in the footsteps of his father, grandfather and great grandfather before him. He never regretted his decision to go into mining despite his lifelong dream of attaining a college education.

Yet during his time spent in the mines mining coal, or outside working as a mechanic, he still longed for a college education. Now, on Friday, May 3, Adams will walk across the stage at the University of Kentucky and see his dream come true when a diploma is placed in his hand.

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Adams grew up in Isom, Kentucky, a small town near Hazard in eastern Kentucky. At 17 he married his high school

By A Fish

NeuroCATS has a new tool to teach students throughout the Commonwealth and beyond about the nervous system  — SynapseKentucky.  

The series of videos is broken down by grade range: elementary school, middle school and high school. They’re designed to augment science curricula as well as the outreach offered by NeuroCATS, a University of Kentucky student organization that visits schools with lessons on neuroscience. The videos feature students explaining key aspects of neuroscience, Titles include “Introduciton to the Spinal Cord” and “Conceptual Check: The Central Nervous System.” 

Since 2016, NeuroCATS members have visited more than 8,000 K-12 students in Kentucky classrooms. This year, they shared

Preserving History

by Tanzi Merritt

Smiley Pete Publishing

The Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky came into being in 2020, as the murders of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor became part of a national conversation at the height of the global pandemic. But its roots within the university had been established well before. Read more here. 

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2024) — The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants with the Outstanding Teaching Awards during the 2024 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony onApril 25.

The Outstanding Teaching Awards recognize faculty and graduate teaching assistants who go above and beyond what is expected and demonstrate outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Selected via nomination, candidates were reviewed by a

By Lindsay Travis 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2024) — On Friday, the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees approved 16 University Research Professors for the 2024-25 academic year. Established by the Board of Trustees in 1976, the professorships program recognizes excellence across the full spectrum of research at UK.

“Each year it is truly gratifying to recognize these distinguished experts who have made significant contributions across the breadth of research fields at the University of Kentucky,” said Lisa Cassis, UK’s vice president for research. “Our next cohort of University Research Professors have demonstrated

By C. Lynn Hiler 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 25, 2024) — The University of Kentucky chapter of Phi Beta Kappa recently inducted 22 members into the academic honor society. This year’s induction ceremony was  Wednesday, April 17, at the Lewis Honors College Scholars Lounge and featured a keynote address from John Thelin, professor emeritus in the College of Education.

“We are approaching the 100th anniversary of the Alpha Chapter of Phi Beta Kappa and we are enormously proud of the students admitted to our chapter,” said Lynn Hiler, chapter coordinator. “This honor recognizes their hard work and commitment to a liberal arts education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.”

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 25, 2024) — Appalachia, often viewed through a lens of disability, will serve as the backdrop for a special event this fall.

Tthe Symposium on Dis/Ability & Debility in Appalachia, scheduled for Sept. 28 at the University of Kentucky, will unite experts from Appalachian studies and disability studies. The symposium aims to foster collaborative conversations and solutions for disabled Appalachians. 

Mack Thompson, a UK master’s student studying applied anthropology, is coordinating the symposium.

"As someone doing disability justice work in Kentucky, I have done disability studies and Appalachian studies research, and seen how clearly related but separate these two fields are,” Thompson said

By Trey Conatser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 23, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching has announces the 2024-25 Teaching Innovation Institute faculty members. This cohort represents 11 colleges and 24 departments or schools across UK. They are:

By Hayden Gooding and Eric King 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 24, 2024) — Since its inception in 2016, the WilDCats at the Capitol internship program at the University of Kentucky has allowed students to embark on transformative experiences in Washington, D.C.

Developed through a partnership between the Office of Federal Relations, the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences and the Student Government Association, the program has become a cornerstone of

By Emily Sallee 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that three UK students have been awarded Barry M. Goldwater Scholarships:

Kachroo, O’Neal and Yang are among 438 students selected nationwide to receive the 2024-25 scholarship. This year’s recipients were selected from a pool of 1,353

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2024) — The University of Kentucky Women’s Executive Leadership Development program has announced its 2024 cohort of faculty and staff participants. The eight-month program seeks to develop a new generation of leaders of higher education who can adeptly navigate our complex environment and successfully chart the future of the university through retreats, monthly meetings, conversations with upper-level administrators and other group interactions.  

WELD is supported and organized through the Office of Faculty Advancement and is in its 10th year. Current faculty trustee

By Owen Chesemore 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2024) — Shria Holla, a Lewis Honors College member and senior mathematical economics major with minors in political science and statistics in the College of Arts and Sciences, has collected a variety of research experiences thanks to mentors and opportunities through the UK Office of Undergraduate Research.

In the summer of 2023, Holla was an economic

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 18, 2024) — More than 450 UK undergraduates will converge for the 18th annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars. The showcase allows undergraduates to share their discoveries, ideas and creative works with the campus community and public.

The showcase is from 1 to 5 p.m./ Wednesday, April 24,  in the Gatton Student Center Grand Ballroom It features 450 students and 373 presentations representing 94 disciplines and 17 colleges.

Each spring, the showcase unites undergraduates from all disciplines, their faculty mentors and members of the community. At UK, undergraduate research is central to creating a well-rounded student experience.