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By Jay Blanton, Amy Jones, Kody Kiser

As a young man growing up in Ashland, Ky., there was never a question in Larry Conley’s mind about where he would go to college.

“I am a Kentuckian. I grew up in Ashland. I loved basketball. I played basketball and there isn’t a state in the United States that reveres basketball like the state of Kentucky,” Conley said.

The University of Kentucky would be his home and Conley would make his mark playing for legendary Coach Adolph Rupp in the 1960s.

By Robin Roenker

Veteran UK Chemistry professor Jim Holler ended his tenure as one of the university’s most popular and celebrated teachers with a bang last December—literally.

On the last day of classes last semester, before officially retiring on Jan. 3, 2012, Holler led his students outside the Chemistry-Physics Building for some fun. The task at hand: seeing how much of a boom they could create while exploding enormous, hydrogen-filled balloons.

It was a suitable salute to Holler’s 35 years at UK, a career that was hallmarked by his passion for teaching and a love for sharing the fun of science with his students.

“Students will tend to remember things if they’re exciting enough,” said Holler, who taught high school chemistry and physics in his native Indiana for five years before deciding to pursue a doctoral degree. 

“I really enjoyed

By Krystal Delfino

I recently had the opportunity to communicate with Colonel Stephen Milton about his experiences at the University of Kentucky and the U.S. Army. Currently, the colonel is serving as a staff officer on Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, tasked to bridge communication and efforts between the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Strategic Command. When he has free time, he enjoys the outdoors and the company of family and friends. Here’s what Colonel Milton had to say about UK’s ROTC program:

What was your motivation for pursuing a career in the military? Why did you choose UK’s ROTC program?

Joining UK’s Army ROTC program was a defining moment in my life. I was not involved in high school JROTC nor do I come from a family with a significant military background.  Like many freshmen, I was undecided as to what major to pursue. I signed up

By Colleen Glenn, Sarah Geegan

This past fall, the Department of Psychology launched the Psychology Honors Program as a way to give students "the best of both worlds" — state-of-the-art research opportunities that large universities offer, as well as a feeling of community that smaller classes provide. So far, the program has demonstrated success.

Robert Lorch, chair of the Department of Psychology, and other faculty members in the department developed the Psychology Honors Program to provide incoming freshmen with smaller class sizes, more research opportunities and a built-in

By Sarah Geegan, Kami L. Rice

Baishakhi Taylor and Darina Lepadatu became fast friends when their paths converged at the University of Kentucky nearly 10 years ago. The two women, from India and Romania respectively, were among the few international students in UK’s sociology Ph.D. program.

As Lepadatu notes, they went through the acculturation process together. They even have young daughters who are almost the same age. Both scholars have recently taken on roles at different universities, and they credit the preparation they received at UK for their success.

On first glance, Taylor’s new job doesn’t appear to be the obvious choice for a research-minded sociologist. But Taylor says her sociology background was key preparation for the position she acquired last year at Duke University.

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The National Science Foundation's (NSF) Directorate for Social, Behavioral and Economic (SBE) Sciences recently announced the findings of a year-long study that just may be the future of federally-funded social science research.

This time, the submission process was different. Rather than completing applications for funding, the NSF wanted to start a conversation amongst the social sciences about its future through proposals from its own.

And so “Rebuilding the Mosaic: Fostering Research in the Social, Behavioral and Economic Sciences at NSF in the Next Decade” was born.

More than 252 teams of authors from the SBE community responded to the NSF call, which was the first of its kind. The University of Illinois contributed the most to “Rebuilding the Mosaic,” along with Harvard University.

Celebrity Mapping Project with Matt Wilson from UK College of Arts & Sciences on Vimeo.

by Sarah Geegan

The African American and Africana Studies Program at the University of Kentucky is partnering with the Lyric Theatre to provide a series of community lectures. Engaging the community and strengthening UK's relations with East Lexington, the lectures aim to "rebuild the block." 

The Rebuilding the Block, S.T. Roach Community Conversation series is a seven-month sequence of public lectures, led by UK experts and focused around the theme of African-American males. The conversations are broken into sub-themes, each presenting relevant issues in a

By Whitney Hale

Who do you think you are? That is precisely the question an NBC TV show of the same name answers for interested celebrities. Gerald Smith, associate professor of history at the University of Kentucky and general co-editor of the Kentucky African American Encyclopedia Project, will join the TV show on this quest to answer just that question for former Pittsburgh Steeler Jerome "The Bus" Bettis. The episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" featuring Bettis will air at 8 p.m. Friday, March 9, on NBC (local residents can see the show on local affiliate WLEX 18 and Insight Cable channel 8).

On Friday's episode,

By Sarah Geegan, Jonathan Spalding

With the incredible success the Division of Classics in the College of Arts and Sciences has demonstrated in the last decade, it is no surprise that recently two of its students, Lisa Jagoda and Claire Heitzman, have been awarded the Otis Singletary Fellowship as they prepare for graduate school in the fall. 

The fellowship is a one-time scholarship awarded to graduating seniors who are continuing their post-baccalaureate education at UK. Paralleling the growth of the

By Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky social work junior Jillian Harris has been named a finalist and will interview for the prestigious Truman Scholarship, which recognizes college juniors with a commitment to public service.

"Even being at finalist status puts me in a really elite group of individuals across the country," Harris said. "I’m really humbled to be even in the top 200 for consideration of this scholarship."

Named in honor of U.S. President Harry S. Truman, the Truman Scholarship is awarded to high-achieving college juniors who show commitment to public service and potential to continue that service beyond graduation. Recipients of the scholarship are awarded up to $30,000 for graduate study in public service fields and leadership training.

This year, the 

by Colleen Glenn

If you’re an incoming psychology major, UK has just developed a way to give you the best of both worlds. Large research universities like the University of Kentucky offer state-of-the-art research opportunities and prestigious faculty, but sometimes students in a popular major like psychology can be intimidated by the large class sizes.

After considering this issue, Bob Lorch (chair of the Department of Psychology) and other faculty members in the department put their heads together and created the Psychology Honors Program. The program, which launched this fall, offers incoming freshmen smaller class sizes, more research opportunities, and a built-in support network.

Students in the honors program take their core psychology courses as a cohort during their first two years at UK. The smaller, more intensive sections of the standard

By Kami L. Rice

Baishakhi B. Taylor and Darina Lepadatu became fast friends when their paths converged at UK nearly 10 years ago. The two women, from India and Romania, respectively, were among the few international students in UK’s sociology Ph.D. program. As Lepadatu notes, they went through the American acculturation process together. They even have young daughters who are almost the same age, deepening the bond between the two women. Both scholars have recently taken on new roles at their universities, and they credit the preparation they received at UK.

The Administrative Route can be the right track

On first glance, Baishakhi B. Taylor’s new job doesn’t appear to be a wise choice for a research-minded sociologist. But Taylor says her sociology background

By Sarah Geegan

Fifteen A&S Wired students gathered at Keeneland Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 29, to showcase their knowledge of human subject protection, cell biology, research ethics and history. With posters, movies on iPads, handouts and PowerPoints, they presented information on this wide array of topics — material they researched extensively in only eight weeks. 

The course, "A&S 100-12 Cell Biology, Society and Research Ethics: The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," focused on the medical and social significance of a woman who died in 1951 and whose cancerous cells laid the foundation for many aspects of future biological research.

"It was typical in the '50s for doctors to take tissue samples and

By Whitney Hale

The next Little/Gaines Artist Series presentation will explore how much life imitates art. "The Daily Routine: Theme and Variations," featuring the work of Little/Gaines artist Kit Donohue, a musician and UK graduate student, and her collaborator, dancer and UK alumna Kasey Shackelford, will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 6, at the Niles Gallery, located in University of Kentucky's Lucille C. Little Fine Arts Library and Learning Center. This event is free and open to the public.

As part of the Little/Gaines Artists Series, Kentucky

By Jonathon Spalding

For two millennia, the leading intellects of Western Europe expressed their most sophisticated thoughts in a language that is now largely considered extinct.

Although there are no remaining native Latin speakers, the language has transcended across time and cultures, lending itself to religious traditions and academic study, as well as uses in the fields of law, medicine and science. It is for this reason that the Division of Classics, within the UK Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literature and Cultures (MCLLC), approaches Latin as a living language that can be read, written, spoken and deeply cherished. 

In the last decade, the M.A. program in classics has undergone tremendous growth, attracting students from some

By Erin Holaday Ziegler, Sarah Geegan

From the halls of Congress to the streets of downtown Lexington, America might not agree much, but the majority of its citizens can see the disparity in the economic fortunes of rich, poor and middle class American families.

The myriad reasons behind economic inequality range from the decline of unions to the decline of the progressive income tax, but the outcome is undeniable: those at the very top of the income ladder have emerged as the biggest winners in a huge transformation of the American economy. 

As an interdisciplinary body striving to improve policy and government performance through the production and distribution of world-class scholarship, The University of Kentucky’s Quantitative Initiative for Policy and Social Research (QIPSR) wants to join the

By Keith Hautala

The University of Kentucky's Jamie Wheeler and Sebastian Bryson were honored as the recipients of the 18th Ken Freedman Outstanding Advisor Awards at a luncheon held on Friday, Feb. 24.

The award recognizes outstanding service in the field of academic advising. Two awards are presented each year, one to a full-time professional advisor and another to a faculty advisor.

"Every time a University of Kentucky student graduates, an advisor earns his or her wings," said UK Provost Kumble Subbaswamy, evoking Frank Capra's 1946 film "It's a Wonderful Life."

This year saw more nominations than in any year previous. In total, 35 professional advisors and 39 faculty advisors were proposed to receive the honor, with several garnering multiple nominations from the students they serve.

"This was a tough year," said Mike Mullen,

Susan Bordo is a professor in the Department of Gender and Women’s Studies at UK. On March 20th, 2012, professor Bordo will present a lecture, “The Queen with Six Fingers: Origins of Popular Myths about Anne Boleyn.” The lecture will be at 4pm in the president’s room at the UK Singletary Center for the Arts, and will address popular myths about Anne Boleyn, one of the wives of Henry XIII. Bordo's research on Boleyn has culminated in an upcoming book, "The Creation of Anne Boleyn." 

This podcast was produced by Cheyenne Hohman.