By Loretta Stafford

Josie Dupler traveled to Iraq and Turkey to teach and tutor immigrant children.

Servant leadership has always been important to University of Kentucky alumna Josie Dupler. After earning a degree in international studies with a minor in Arabic and Islamic studies, Dupler traveled to the middle east to teach, tutor and empower migrant children in Iraq and Turkey. 

Throughout the months of April, May and June, Dupler volunteered with the Light A Candle Project, a nonprofit organization that focuses on providing aid and relief to families fleeing from war-torn areas. While in Iraq, she taught English to children ages two through eight; she also tutored middle and high school students.  

Many of the

By Olivia Ramirez

Tsage Douglas standing in front of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia.

The connection between public health and economics might not be obvious to some, but the two fields have a unique and surprising interplay. Economics and public health both impact the well-being of the community. That is one of the reasons Tsage Douglas chose to earn a degree in public health from the University of Kentucky College of Public Health and a degree in foreign language and international economics in the UK College of Arts and Sciences.

Since taking Advanced Placement Micro and Macro Economics at Scott County High School, Douglas has been interested in the Federal Reserve. It was at this time that her interests in macroeconomic and developmental economic

It is with great sadness that we report that our beloved former instructor of Japanese, Nobuko Patton, passed away on August 4, 2018, after a prolonged illness. She is survived by her husband, Nathan Patton.

There will be a memorial service for her at 2 p.m. on Saturday, August 18, at Yuko-En on the Elkhorn in Georgetown, Kentucky: https://georgetownky.com/yuko-en-on-the-elkhorn

After completing the M.A. in Teaching World Languages program at UK, Nobuko became Lecturer of Japanese in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures in Fall 2012 and remained in that position until she retired in Spring 2017. Prior to this promotion, she had already established herself as an enthusiastic, dedicated, and experienced instructor of Japanese at a number of

By Whitney Hale and Jenny Wells

More than 45 of the University of Kentucky's students and recent graduates had the world's most prestigious scholarship, fellowship and internship organizations take note this year. The newest class of highly regarded scholars include UK’s 14th Truman Scholar and first Pickering Fellow.

Helping prepare these UK students and recent alumni to compete for and win such honors is the mission of the UK Office of Nationally Competitive Awards. Under the guidance and leadership of Pat Whitlow, the office identifies and works with young scholars on the application process for large scholastic prizes awarded by regional, national and international sources.

This year UK students and alumni were recognized with the following awards:

By Whitney Hale

University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that four recent UK graduates and one doctoral student have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships. The UK recipients are among approximately 1,900 U.S. students who will travel abroad for the 2018-19 academic year.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 160 countries.

The UK students awarded Fulbright grants are:

By Whitney Hale

Recent University of Kentucky Chinese studiesand international studies graduate Bridget Nicholas has been selected for a fellowship from the Princeton in Asia program. As part of the program, Nicholas will serve in Dunhuang, China.

Princeton in Asia (PiA) sponsors more than 150 fellowships and internships in 21 countries and is the oldest and largest organization of its kind, unique in its scope, size, century-long expertise and emphasis on service. PiA’s goal is to provide transformative, service-oriented experiences for bright, talented graduates and to serve the needs of Asia as determined by host institutions and Asian partners. PiA arranges fellowships and internships in the fields

By Nick Harling

The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences has named the 2018 recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad and Internships in Politics, Government, Law, or Public Policy. Since its inaugural year of 2017, this competitive scholarship, sponsored by Robert ’78 and Anne Trunzo, awards funding to students planning to study abroad and to students for participation in internships.

The 2018 Recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad are:

By Lindsey PIercy

UK College of Arts & Sciences graduate Claire Bishop pictured with "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek.

Here's today's "Daily Double" question: This Lexington teacher will compete in the "Jeopardy!" Teachers Tournament tonight. Answer: Who is Claire Bishop? That's correct!

Bishop, a graduate of the University of Kentucky, is one of 15 upcoming competitors on the long-running TV quiz show. The "Jeopardy! Teachers Tournament" starts airing tonight (May 7) on CBS.

"I was shocked when I looked down at my phone after the bell rang on a Friday afternoon to see a voicemail from a California area code. It had been several months since I had gone to the in-person audition in Nashville," she said. "After a while you forget and/or give up

By Tatyanna Pruitt

“I’m just happy to come to UK, it was so worth it!” said Veronica Abt, a senior majoring in Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures (MCLLC)/Japan Studies track in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, with a minor in linguistics. Abt came to the University of Kentucky from Brookline, New Hampshire.

“My older brother is the one who got me interested in Japan, not just the anime, but the Japanese culture as well. Japanese history is so rich and so much longer than America’s,” Abt said. “During my sophomore year of high school, I knew I wanted to major in Japan Studies when I came to college and that I wanted to be an English teacher in Japan.”

Abt grew up in a small town with a population of less than 5,000. While researching Japanese programs for college, she stumbled upon the Japanese

By Blair Hoover Conner

The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants at the Outstanding Teaching Awards at the 2018 University of Kentucky Awards Ceremony on Thursday, April 19, in the Lexmark Room at the Main Building. Recipients of Inclusive Excellence Awards, in partnership with the Office for Institutional Diversity, were also recognized.

UK Provost David Blackwell presented the William B. Sturgill Award, the Albert D. and Elizabeth H. Kirwan Memorial Prize, the Outstanding Teaching Faculty and Teaching Assistant Awards.

"The diversity of disciplines reflected in the Outstanding Teaching Award winners speaks to the breadth and depth that distinguishes the University of Kentucky," Blackwell said. "But, of course, no matter the discipline, each recipient shares something of lasting importance: the art of great teaching

Awards are rolling in for Political Science major Hadeel Abdallah.

First, she won entry into the College of Arts & Science's Trunzo Scholars Program, taking the top ($5,000) award so that she could pursue a nationally recognized internship.

Then, she won the university's VanMeter Award for outstanding volunteer and community service.

But the big prize -- and the big surprise -- came today.  A number of top UK administrators joined Hadeel's mentors, Prof. Jesse C. Johnson and Prof. Tiffany Barnes, in a surprise visit to Hadeel's class to announce that she'd received the nationally competitive $30,000 Truman Scholarship for graduate study.  Given to students intending to pursue a career in public service.

By Lindsey Piercy

A group of UK College of Arts & Sciences students in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures and Cultures, are being recognized for outstanding accomplishments on a national level.

Sophia Decker was named the 2018 recipient for best student paper at the Eta Sigma Phi (National Classics Honor Society) convention, held March 23-25, in Carlisle, Pennsylvania. The paper titled, "Dorians Are Allowed to Speak Doric: Theocritus’ Idyll XV in the Context of Panhellenization" will be published in its entirety in the society's newsletter, NUNTIUS. Developed under the guidance of Jackie Murray, assistant professor of classics at UK, the paper reads the idyll as a manifesto for the survival of Greek regional dialects against the spread of a standardized form of Greek.

Valerio Caldesi Valeri, assistant

By Lindsey Piercy

Several University of Kentucky faculty members within the College of Arts and Sciences presented research at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference last weekend.

The four-day event, in Washington, D.C., brought together scholars, professors, researchers and authors from around the world to present research and discuss topics devoted to the study of Asia.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is the largest Asian Studies conference held in North America. More than 3,000 people attended this year, including UK faculty:

By Stephanie Swarts

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has selected 12 exceptional undergraduates as new scholars for the university’s Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2018-19 and 2019-20 academic years. Gaines Fellowships are given 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.

Gaines Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of students’ junior and senior years; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal consideration.

UK’s 12 new Gaines Fellows are:

By Sarah Wood

When University of Kentucky students signed up for the MCL 591: Russian Radio class, they didn’t realize they would be reaching people 5,000 miles away.

Dedicated to the improvement of students’ linguistic and cultural knowledge, “Russian Radio” is a unique class offered by the UK College of Arts and Sciences. It is not a typical class, however. Instead of taking exams and conducting research, students in Russian Radio learn through live readings on UK’s independent student radio, WRFL-FM (88.1).

“We don’t have exams in this class. Every week is like an exam when students try to read on the radio. This extra time is dedicated to a student’s deeper understanding of language, culture and connection to Russian,” said 

By Gail Hairston, Amy Jones-Timoney, and Kody Kiser

Six University of Kentucky educators have been officially named recipients of the UK Alumni Association 2018 Great Teacher Award. They received their public recognition, award and reward last night.

The recipients are:

By Amaya DeVicente

While on a University of Kentucky Education Abroad and Exchanges (UK EA) program, UK student, Natalie St.Clair, immersed herself in her new community in Mexico, and giving back any way that she could.

St.Clair, a senior from Louisville, Kentucky, is a foreign language and international economics major and political science minor who studied abroad in Oaxaca, Mexico.

St.Clair’s two-month program in Oaxaca during summer 2016 was not enough. "I decided to return to Oaxaca to strengthen my relationships with friends and the community, and become more deeply involved," St.Clair said. She studied abroad again in fall 2017 on a UK EA partner program: Study Abroad and Spanish Immersion in Mexico – Intensive Language with Sol Education Abroad.

"The program and academic staff were a

By Gail Hairston

The University of Kentucky recently announced the 16 undergraduate winners of the 53rd annual Oswald Research and Creativity Competition.

Established in 1964 by former UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Program encourages research and creative activities by undergraduate students at UK. The objectives of the program are to stimulate creative work by undergraduate students and to recognize individuals who demonstrate outstanding achievement.

Categories include biological sciences; design, including architecture, landscape architecture and interior design; fine arts, including film, music, photography, painting and sculpture; humanities, from creative and critical-research approaches; physical and engineering sciences; and social sciences. All submissions are sent anonymously to faculty reviewers in related fields and

By Whitney Hale

Ashley Judd delivers the UK College of Social Work Irma Sarett Rosenstein Lecture on campus Dec. 1. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

Watch a video above with "the silence breakers" created by Time magazine.

University of Kentucky graduate Ashley Judd is among the group of “silence breakers” that has been named Time magazine's Person of the Year for their efforts to shine a spotlight on sexual misconduct in America.

“The galvanizing actions of the women on our cover … along with those of hundreds of others, and of many men as well, have unleashed one of the highest-velocity

By Amaya DeVicente 

Last year, 18 percent of the University of Kentucky graduating class graduated with global experience. The university’s International Center has taken steps to increase that percentage.

The UK International Center’s Education Abroad and Exchanges program (UK EA) recently announced a new 2018-19 scholarship and program fee reduction initiative for selected UK exchange partners around the world, ranging from $1,000-$5,000.

UK students who participate in an exchange program have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the language and culture of a host university, city and country. They enroll in courses at the host institution for either a semester or an academic year and earn transfer credit, while still paying their regular tuition to UK.

Nicole Funk, a junior from