By Victoria Dekle

90 miles to the north of Lexington on the banks of the Ohio River is the “The Queen City.” The nickname itself could probably be the topic of a panel discussion when the 37th annual meeting of the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) rolls into town in early November. There will be presentations, roundtables and workshops about anything and everything relating to critical studies of gender, from the ways gender is taught, experienced, and promoted in society including higher education.

Most notably, GWS chair Karen Tice will be headlined in an innovative feature of this year’s conference, the Authors Meet Critics roundtable. It is an event in which authors of recently published books hear and respond to comments from experts in

By Victoria Dekle

Piecing together the developments of Mesoamerican civilization is not easy… or comfortable. University of Kentucky archaeologists Christopher Pool and Michael Loughlin have spent many summers in southern Veracruz working among snakes, spiders and sharp sugar cane fields in dense humidity so they can learn more about ancient Mesoamericans.

Pool and Loughlin are both scholars of the Olmec culture -- considered by most archaeologists to be one of the earliest complex societies in Mesoamerica and the creators of giant stone heads that weigh over six tons -- and the succeeding Epi-Olmec culture that produced some of the oldest writing in the Americas.

One of the top scholars in Olmec archaeology, Professor Pool published one of the

Have you ever wondered what Dia de los Muertos is all about? As part of the Viva Mexico events and activities, all are invited to participate in several opportunities to experience Mexican culture and celebrations.

Learn more about the cultural significance of this day by making plans to attend a slide show that explains the Day of the Dead on Wednesday, October 23, at 5:00 p.m. in the Student Center Theater.

Build a Day of the Dead altar with local artists Jacobo and Janice Aragon on Thursday, October 24 from 3:30 – 5:30 p.m. Anyone interested is invited to meet in Room 122 of the Whitehall Classroom Building to learn more and help create an altar.

On Friday, November 1, The Living Arts and Science Center will be hosting a Day of the Dead Festival. Join the Lexington and UK community at 362 Martin Luther King Boulevard from 5:00 – 9:00 p.m. for this celebration

by Claudia Hopenhayn

(Oct. 15, 2013) — Shoulder to Shoulder Global recently led 49 University of Kentucky students, faculty, staff and community members in a multidisciplinary health brigade experience to Santo Domingo, Ecuador.

STSG is a UK-based organization that strives to improve the health and well-being of impoverished communities while offering learners the opportunity to work in a multicultural and interdisciplinary setting.

The brigade, which took place Aug. 2-11, was the culmination of months of preparation that included the credit-bearing course, "Interprofessional Teamwork in Global Health." Throughout

by Keith Hautala

A one-hour documentary exploring the history of one of Lexington's most diverse neighborhoods will have a special advance screening at 4 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 25, at the University of Kentucky's William T. Young Library auditorium.

"Davis Bottom: Rare History, Valuable Lives" reveals the fascinating history of a working-class neighborhood established in Lexington after the Civil War. Davis Bottom is one of about a dozen ethnic enclaves settled primarily by African-American families who migrated to Lexington from the 1860s to the 1890s in search of jobs, security and opportunity. 

The documentary is part of the Kentucky Archaeology and Heritage Series, produced by Voyageur Media Group, Inc. for the Kentucky Archaeological Survey and the Kentucky Heritage Council. The series is distributed by Kentucky Educational Television (KET) to

by Sarah Geegan & Grace Liddle

 The College of Arts and Sciences is offering 13 courses that begin in the middle of the fall 2013 semester. For students who may have recently dropped a class or hope to pick up some extra credit hours, these courses provide flexibility after the regular registration period.

Course topics range from the science of what we eat, archaeology and history of ancient Mexico, an introductory course on the city of Lexington, and a study on the culture and economics of local and global food systems.

The "Global Food & Local Agriculture" course explores questions associated with why people eat what they do and what that implies about society. To answer these questions, the class

by Whitney Hale & Jennifer Sciantarelli

The people, lands and livelihood of Inner Mongolia and Kentucky come together in celebration next week in "Living Landscapes," a weeklong festival of international arts and culture.

Presented by the University of Kentucky College of Fine Arts and the UK Confucius Institute in partnership with the Art College of Inner Mongolia University (IMU) and the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region International Culture Association, "Living Landscapes," running Sept. 22

by Keith Hautala

Kentucky archaeologists are presenting a two-day educational event this weekend for school children and the general public at the Gladie Learning Center, in Kentucky's Red River Gorge. 

Now in its 25th year, the Living Archaeology Weekend (LAW) is Kentucky's largest and longest-running archaeological event. It is also the flagship event for the Commonwealth’s first Kentucky Archaeology Month. Demonstrations will explore the technologies and folkways of Kentucky's first settlers, the Native Americans, as well as the early pioneers who came here more than 200 years ago. Participants will also get an introduction to the science of archaeology and site preservation.

The Friday program, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., is for school groups with prior reservations.

by Whitney Hale & Grace Liddle

A popular old time music duo and an exceptional Horse Country Musical Mashup are next up in the “Appalachia in the Bluegrass” concert series. On Friday, Sept. 20, banjo player Jimmy McCown and his wife Ada, a guitarist, return to UK for a performance. The following Friday, Sept. 27, the music of Appalachia and Inner Mongolia will be showcased in a concert featuring the Red State Ramblers and the Horse Head Fiddle Ensemble of Inner Mongolia. Both free public concerts will take place at the 

by Sarah Geegan & Breanna Shelton

The College of Arts and Sciences is kicking off its fourth year in its Passport to the World Initiative: "¡Viva México!" will be a year-long celebration of art, culture and history of Mexico and what makes it unique. Join in the kickoff from noon-2 p.m.today, Tuesday, Sept. 17, on the Student Center patio for free food, free T-shirts, music and games. 

History Professor Francie Chassen-Lopez, and anthropology Professor 

video courtesy of UK Public Relations and Marketing

article by Jenny Wells

Planning and hosting a national conference is no easy task, but for the UK community, collaboration makes it all possible. The University of Kentucky will host the 2014 National Conference on Undergraduate Research, or NCUR, next semester, which will bring nearly 4,000 additional students from across the country to the UK campus. And as students, faculty and staff can attest -- it is something worth bragging about.

NCUR will take place April 3-5, 2014, all throughout UK's campus. The conference will give undergraduates a unique opportunity to present their research and creative endeavors, while meeting other like-minded students from all across the country. They not only promote their individual

by Kami Rice

Photos by Mark Cornelison

By Jacob Most

University of Kentucky Wildcats from all eight of UK’s spring sports teams combined to earn a total of 71 spots on the Southeastern Conference Spring Sports Academic Honor Roll, Commissioner Mike Slive announced this week.

UK’s honorees included 16 women’s track and field team members, 14 from baseball, nine from softball, seven women’s tennis players, eight men’s track and field team members, six each from men’s golf and men’s tennis and five women’s golfers.

A total of 1,247 student-athletes from around the league earned spots on the honor roll, which is based on grades from the 2012 summer, 2012 fall and 2013 spring terms.  In order to make the SEC Academic Honor Roll, a student-athlete must have a 3.0 grade-point average for the preceding academic year or his/her entire collegiate career, be at least a sophomore in academic

by Sarah Geegan and Zachary Dodson

Three University of Kentucky students have been awarded the fall 2013 Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship by the Institute of International Education to support their study abroad experiences.

The Gilman Scholarship is a congressionally funded scholarship provided by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) at the U.S. Department of State and administered by the Institute of International Education.

The award supports a diverse group of students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, such as students with significant financial need, community college students, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities.

The University of Kentucky students receiving the scholarship for Fall 2013 are:

·Ana Garner, an 

By Ellyce Loveless

Few students have the kind of passion for world news that recently-graduated International Studies major MeNore Lake has. Two years ago she sought to fulfill a need at the University of Kentucky through this passion. She wanted to create an online news publication that would publish monthly articles written by students about international politics, economies, science, sports, and culture, and thus The World Report was born.

Lake comes from a family that values the knowledge of international affairs, where discussing the culture of other countries is customary dinner conversation, and traveling out of the country is always an exciting yet familiar adventure. When she came to UK, she noticed a void in student interest concerning international issues.

 “

By Whitney Hale

Four students from the University of Kentucky have been selected as recipients of Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among 1,900 U.S. citizens who will travel abroad for the 2013-2014 academic year through the prestigious program. In addition, one of UK's four winners, medical student Juliana Odetunde, received one of only five prestigious Fulbright-Fogarty awards, which promote the expansion of research in public health and clinical research in resource-limited settings.

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government and is designed to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries. The primary source of funding

By Whitney Hale

The University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections will highlight the projects of its first full cohort of Learning Lab interns with an undergraduate panel presentation, exhibition and reception from 4 to 6 p.m. Tuesday, April 23, in the Margaret I. King Building. The events and exhibition are free and open to the public.

Currently in its inaugural year, the Special Collections Learning Lab (SCLL) is a center of primary research, experiential learning, and training. Targeting undergraduate students in the humanities, social sciences and arts, the SCLL promotes undergraduate research, scholarship and

By President Eli Capilouto

Last year, I had the opportunity to travel to China with a delegation from the University of Kentucky to advance several partnerships growing between UK's colleges and departments and universities and industries in a country growing in economic importance.

One such partnership is between UK's Center for Applied Energy Research and the world's largest power company. During a meeting with industry representatives, we shared our exciting work in the development of clean coal technology and discussed partnerships, the exchange of students, and faculty collaboration as part of the US-China Clean Energy Research Center.

As we met, they described several multi-billion dollar research and development investments in their country’s energy sector. In comparison, the proposed

By Sarah Geegan

By Guy Spriggs

Anthropology junior Chi Woodrich will be the first to admit that he took an unusual path to studying at the University of Kentucky. After graduating from high school, Woodrich spent 20 years working as an auctioneer and auto auction manager.

But when his father passed away, Woodrich – who is the only person in his family without a college degree – decided to go back to school. “My father valued education. This is a chance to do something I want to do, but it’s also a tribute to him, to honor his memory by going back to school,” Woodrich said.

“I worked for 20 years, saved all my money, scraped together, had gifts from my grandparents, and had enough to come back for schooling instead of taking out student loans and repaying them,” he said. “I’m a bit backwards in that way