By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 30, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for Humanities has selected 12  undergraduates as scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 academic years.

The Gaines Fellowship is presented in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities. Founded in 1984 by a gift from John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center for the Humanities is designed to enrich the study of the humanities at UK and functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education on

By A Fish 

LEXINGTON; Ky. — When one hears about archaeology, one thinks of Indiana Jones, Egypt, anything — but rarely does one hear about archaeological sites in the rolling hills of Kentucky. Elena Sesma has started two research projects at the University of Kentucky so that anthropology students can get hands-on experience while in undergraduate and graduate programs. 

The first project is a reanalysis of a site in Nicholas County, Kentucky, that was excavated in the mid ’90s by the Kentucky Archaeology Survey. 

“The site today is on the property of the North Central 4H camp” said Sesma, an assistant professor at the University of Kentucky. “It was a home site for an African American family in the last 20 years of the 19th century, and what I have been doing in this research is reanalyzing the artifact assemblage to get a better understanding of the family's

By A Fish 

Kristin Monroe

LEXINGTON; Ky. — Internet is available nearly everywhere in the United States, but people in other countries often go to great lengths to obtain this modern necessity. Solar panels are often needed to help people power their phones and connect to the Internet.  

Kristin Monroe, an associate professor in anthropology and director of graduate studies, has been traveling to Lebanon regularly since the early 2000s in the pursuit of her research, but due to global events, namely the COVID-19 pandemic, she had not been able to go to Lebanon for a couple of years. She returned last summer and published an article on sapiens.org about the recent solar panel boom that rich and poor alike have embraced so they can have WiFi, lights, working refrigerators and so on. The article, titled “In Lebanon, Solar Power Is Booming, Why?,” is in the January

HEVA member Bruno Athié Teruel presented his summer research to the University of Kentucky Board of Trustees during their recent retreat on October 20th. Bruno, a double major in Anthropology and Computer Science, is currently writing the results of his research as part of his undergraduate Honors Thesis in the Department of Anthropology and the Lewis Honors College. The work is a collaboration with the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at the University of São Paolo, Brazil.

The UNited In True Racial Equity Research Priority Area (UNITE RPA) welcomed its inaugural cohort of 18 graduate students from 6 colleges to the UNITE Predoctoral Research Enhancement Program. 

UNITE is led by Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Ph.D., and associate vice president for research, diversity and inclusion. She created this program in 2022, with support from the Office of the Vice President for Research, Office of Institutional Diversity and The Graduate School, to engage and support scholars who enhance diversity, equity and inclusion in Ph.D. programs at UK. The program is aligned with university priorities to create cultures of inclusive excellence while integrating students into the world of research and academia. 

“The UNITE Predoctoral Research Enhancement Program is designed to meet the needs of exceptionally talented graduate students, determined to achieve

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. --- Gabriela Spears-Rico, assistant professor of Chicano Latino Studies and American Indian Studies at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, will lead off the University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology’s Autumn Colloquium Series with a talk titled “Malinche’s Refusal: New visions for a decolonized Latinidad. “

This first event, at noon Friday, Oct. 14 in the Young Library Auditorium, is free and open to the public. Sponsors are the UK College of Arts & Sciences, Martin Luther King Center and the Gaines Center for the Humanities.

Spears-Rico will discuss the idea of “Dia de la Raza,” or “Day of the Race,” which Spanish-speaking communities often celebrate in place of Columbus Day. She will explore the origins of the term “la raza” and how it relates to gendered

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 23, 2022) — University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences students have received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to support their education abroad goals.

The Gilman Scholarship supports students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to  students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process and must use the award, ranging from $100 to $5,000, to defray the cost of tuition, room and board, books, local

By Richard LeComte 

Check out this gallery of photos from the dig. 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Behind the older but spiffed-up University of Kentucky buildings along East Maxwell Street, beneath a canopy, UK students methodically dig two orderly, rectangular and deep holes. In said holes, they find what seems to be the foundation of a former outbuilding, some 1960s pull-tabs from old soda cans, pieces of ceramics and shards of china and glass — treasures from a recent past.  

“So far we

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 positive difference

By Alicia Gregory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 19, 2022) — It’s the signature on a bourbon barrel. It's the ancient footprints in Mammoth Cave. Heritage science is all around us and has deep roots in the Commonwealth. Kentucky’s story begins in prehistoric times, when mammoths roamed the Ohio River Valley at Big Bone

By Alicia Gregory

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 16, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Office of the Vice President for Research has named four fellows to the Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowship and the University Research Postdoctoral Fellowship.  The Lyman T. Johnson Postdoctoral Fellowship is named in honor of UK's first Black graduate student and prioritizes funding for candidates from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in the faculty ranks. The University Research Postdoctoral Fellowship is for individuals training in disciplines with limited gender diversity.  

One of the University Research Postdoctoral Fellows is Amber Plemons, Department of Anthropology, College of Arts and Sciences. Her mentors are Hugo Reyes-Centeno and James Hartsfield. Plemons, a biological and forensic anthropologist

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2021) — Growing up in Stanford, Kentucky, Gary Chandler’s aspirations stretched far beyond the small farm he called home.

It was 1971, and the 18-year-old was on the brink of a big decision — where to attend college.

“Growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, the University of Kentucky was the school to go to if you lived in the Commonwealth,” he said. “I never thought of going to any other school.”

Feelings of anticipation and apprehension were intertwined as Chandler made a life-changing decision — to become a Wildcat. 

While UK was everything he hoped it would be, Chandler admits, he didn’t live up to his own expectations. “During the 70’s, I was not a great student — to say the least,” he continued. “My GPA barely allowed me to graduate.”

By Lindsey Piercy, Alicia Gregory, and Ben Corwin

It’s the signature on a bourbon barrel — it's the ancient footprints in Mammoth Cave.

Heritage science is all around us and has deep roots in the Commonwealth.

Kentucky’s story begins in prehistoric times, when mammoths roamed the Ohio River Valley at Big Bone Lick.

Now, thanks to a $14 million infrastructure grant from the National Science Foundation, the University of Kentucky is poised to tell that story in new, groundbreaking ways through the lens of heritage science.

“We are at a turning point,” Brent Seales, UK Alumni Professor in the Department of Computer Science, said. “Science and technology present a host of

By Haley Evans

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 22, 2021) — Four University of Kentucky faculty members have been named Southeastern Conference Academic Leadership Development Program Fellows during the 2021-22 academic year. They represent the 13th cohort of SEC ALDP Fellows.

Established in 2008-09, the program seeks to identify, prepare and advance academic leaders for roles within SEC institutions and beyond. Main features of the program include a university-level development program designed by each institution for its own fellows and two SEC-wide three-day workshops held on specified campuses for all program participants.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, members of cohort 13 will participate in virtual sessions and in-person workshops. The University of Georgia hosted a virtual program launch last

Phyllis Johnson, a University Research Postdoctoral Scholar in the Department of Anthropology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, was recently named a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Emerging Scholar, established this year by the SEC Provosts. The Emerging Scholars program encourages top scholars, with attention to those from historically underrepresented groups, to seek out employment and mentorship within SEC colleges and universities. The program provides professional development and networking opportunities for current doctoral students and postdoctoral researchers who are considering careers in higher education.

Johnson earned her Ph.D. in anthropology from Vanderbilt University and her master’s degree from the University of Tennessee. She develops and applies innovative computational methods to address difficult questions surrounding ancient economies

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

UK undergraduate researchers Bridget Bolt and Gretchen Ruschman. Students are encouraged to explore undergraduate research opportunities at the Research + Creative Experience Expo.

At the University of Kentucky, undergraduates have access to outstanding research and creative work activities led by world-class faculty and staff that promote self-discovery, experiential learning and lifelong achievement.

Explore exciting undergraduate opportunities at the first annual UK Research + Creative Experience Expo 3-5 p.m. Monday, Sept. 13, around the Gatton Student Center’s Social Staircase.

“The goal of the Research + Creative Experience Expo is to introduce undergraduates to the diversity of research and creative work conducted at UK,” said Chad Risko, faculty director of the

What drew you to the University of Kentucky graduate program?

I have a Licenciatura degree in archaeology from the Universidad Veracruzana in Mexico, my country of origin, obtained in May 2016. I moved to the United States in 2017, when I was accepted to the Ph.D. program in Anthropology with a Research Excellence stipend at the University of Kentucky.

I have been part of several archaeological projects in Mexico since 2013 as an undergraduate and graduate student. At the Eastern Lower Papaloapan Basin, where I focus on for my dissertation research, I was part of all the field and laboratory seasons of the Recorrido Regional Arqueológico Tres Zapotes project (Tres Zapotes Regional Archaeological Survey, RRATZ), directed by University of Kentucky professor Christopher Pool and staff archaeologist Michael Loughlin. My interest in populations under Aztec and

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 24, 2021) — It's a question that is critical to families and communities across the Commonwealth — how do we tackle the opioid epidemic?

The University of Kentucky is helping to organize and host the second annual Edward Kremers Seminar in the History of Pharmacy & Drugs in hopes of continuing the conversation surrounding addiction and recovery.

The 2021 “Kreminar” will feature virtual seminars about the history and contemporary status of opiates, opioids and addiction.

“The Cooperative for the Humanities and Social Sciences (CHSS) is pleased to co-sponsor these events because it is important to understand that drug use and

By Trey Conatser

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 3, 2021) — Of its many effects, the COVID-19 pandemic brought about rapid innovations in teaching. Courses were redesigned for a range of delivery modes to in-person and remote students (often at the same time) and the conversation about active learning, class community and belonging took on new urgency as the challenges of the pandemic amplified the barriers — systemic and discrete — to student engagement, motivation and success.

Cohort members include Ruth Brown, senior lecturer Hispanic Studies; Anushka Karkelanova, lecturer, Statistics; Katherine Paullin, lecturer Mathematics; Elizabeth Williams, assistant professor, Gender and Women’s Studies; and Heather Worne, assistant professor, Anthropology. 

Innovation, of course, is a long-term project whose