by Jenny Wells and Whitney Hale

(May 30, 2014) — Before embarking on a two-week tour of China, the University of Kentucky’s Jazz Ensemble will take a Bluegrass stage to present a preview concert of music they plan to perform on tour. The free public concert will begin 7:30 p.m. Monday, June 2, at the Singletary Center for the Arts.

The concert, featuring everything from big band swing music to more contemporary jazz performed by the UK Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Miles Osland, is designed to showcase the tremendous breadth of the American art form for Chinese audiences, who have become major fans of the genre but rarely get to hear live American performances. 

by Derrick Meads

(May 27, 2014) — Fifteen UK faculty members will teach students at Shanghai University (SHU) in China for a week this summer through the UK Confucius Institute’s (UKCI) “UK Faculty China Short-Term Teaching Program,” during the week of June 16-20.

The program fosters global literacy throughout UK’s multiple disciplines by embedding UK faculty members in SHU’s departments where they teach students for one week, meet professional colleagues, identify shared research interests and gain key insights into China that they can then share with their students in Kentucky.

"Students need to know how knowledge is created, disseminated and used in a commercial and global environment of commerce," said Susan Carvalho, associate provost for

by Whitney Haley

(May 5, 2014) — The University of Kentucky Office of External Scholarships has announced two UK students will study critical languages on scholarship in 2014-15.

Cassidy Henry, a graduate student at the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce from Navarre, Fla., has been awarded a National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship of up to $30,000 to study Russian in Irkutsk and Vladivostok, Russia. Henry is one of 106 graduate student award winners selected nationally from a pool of 497 applicants.

Samuel Northrup, a 

 by Sarah Geegan

(May 1, 2014) – Provost Christine Riordan will honor three tenured faculty members, two lecturers and six teaching assistants today at the 2014 University of Kentucky Provost's Outstanding Teaching Awards ceremony. The ceremony will take place from 1-2:30 p.m. in the Lexmark Public Room.

The award recognizes faculty and graduate teaching assistants who demonstrate special dedication and outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Recipients are selected via nomination and review by a selection committee based in the Provost's Office of Faculty Advancement.

Winners receive cash prizes of $5,000 for regular and special title series faculty, $3,000 for lecturer and clinical title series, and $1,000 for teaching assistants.

The Category One Faculty Award recognizes regular and special title series

by Whitney Hale, Allison Elliott-Shannon 

(April 28, 2014) — The 2014 issue of disClosure, an annual thematic publication dedicated to investigating and stimulating interest in new directions in contemporary social theory, is now available online through a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Committee on Social Theory (CST) and UK Libraries.

First published in 1992, the journal includes a variety of media including scholarly essays, poetry and visual art from a variety of disciplinary, geographical, and theoretical perspectives and genres. The journal aims to encourage work that employs innovative writing styles as well as formal

By Mark Lawrence Kornbluh

The College of Arts & Sciences is very pleased to announce that Professor Ana Rueda has been named the 2014-15 Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor. Dr. Rueda received her PhD from Vanderbilt University in 1985. After teaching at the University of Missouri-Columbia for many years, she came to the University of Kentucky in 2002.

Professor Rueda's distinguished career realizes an ideal balance between research, teaching, and service, which is a hallmark of this Award. An internationally recognized scholar of modern Spanish literature, her research has widely ranged from short story theory, epistolary, and war literature to interdisciplinary studies in music, women's writing, and cultural history. She has published six books and almost fifty book

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 25, 2014) — Two University of Kentucky juniors have received the Undergraduate Research Abroad Scholarship (UGRAS) which will support their international independent research projects during the 2014 summer session.

Tamas Nagy, a computer science and chemistry double major in the Colleges of Engineering and Arts & Sciences, and Alexis Thompson, an animal science/pre-veterinary science major in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, have been awarded the

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 25, 2014) — University of Kentucky Education Abroad (EA) is inspiring students to “enKompass” the world by sharing the stories and experiences of students who have studied, interned, researched and even taught abroad through journal entries, videos and program reviews.

“EnKompass is a one-stop forum for students by students,” said Seth Riker, promotion and outreach coordinator for Education Abroad. “Students can access candid testimonials, which will inspire them to dive into an education abroad program and find avenues to make it financially possible.

Riker believes students can relate to other students who have already experienced what a study abroad prospect plans to achieve.

Students who are interested in studying

Each year, the College of Arts & Sciences awards selected faculty with Outstanding Teaching Awards. The recipients of the 2014-2015 A&S Outstanding Teaching Awards are Clare Batty, Emily Beaulieu, and Jeorg Sauer.

Clare Batty joined the Department of Philosophy in 2007.  She excels in teaching courses at all levels, from the 100-level “Knowledge and Reality” to the graduate-level “Perception and the Body.”  Described by her students as “passionate,” “engaging,” “lively,” “knowledgeable,” “approachable,” “funny,” and “demanding but kind,” Dr. Batty motivates numerous students to take additional

(April 23, 2014) — Several scholarships, fellowships and grant opportunities to study and teach in China have been made available to University of Kentucky students and faculty through the UK Confucius Institute and partner universities in China.

Students at UK interested in studying in China should consider applying for Confucius Institute Student Scholarships or the Shanghai Summer School program.

The Confucius Institute Student Scholarships are available for both undergraduate and graduate levels of academic study in Chinese language, literature, history and philosophy. The Confucius Institute Student Scholarship provides support for terms lasting from one semester to five years. Awards vary depending on program type. 

by Whitney Hale

(April 8, 2014) — "Reel to Real: Special Collections at the Movies," the University of Kentucky Special Collections Library's film series, will close this year with a screening of "Our Day," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, at Worsham Theater in the UK Student Center. The film series explores celebrated movies through a historically accurate perspective based on primary source materials found in Special Collections. The screening is free and open to the public.

“Our Day” is a short 1938 documentary about the Kelly family of Lebanon, Ky. Filmed by Wallace Kelly, the home movie looks at a day in the life of the family.

Movie

by Derrick Meads, Carmen Stinson

(March 25, 2014) — Have you ever wondered what it is like to be part of a culture totally different from your own? The Cross Cultural Workshop, held at Natural Bridge State Resort Park Saturday, March 29, will help students explore and understand intercultural experiences.

The workshop, hosted by the University of Kentucky International Center and CATalyst, will bring international and domestic students together to talk about culture, learn interactively from each other, and clear up confusion and tension that cultural discussions often cause.

Students will participate in simulations that will teach them how to react in culturally diverse situations, partake in group discussions, and

by Whitney Hale, Whitney Harder

(March 14, 2014) — The relationship between two of the world's largest powers, the U.S. and China, continues to expand and become increasingly multifaceted. The University of Kentucky's Confucius Institute, UK's gateway to China, will present a talk by David Adams, a former administrator of the Fulbright Scholar Program, on the importance of the countries' partnerships in education.

"Chinese-American Educational Exchanges: A Window on the Bilateral Relationship," will begin at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 25, at the University of Kentucky Athletics Auditorium in William T. Young Library. The lecture is free and open to the public. A reception will follow Adams' lecture in

by Whitney Hale

(March 13, 2014) — Two University of Kentucky students have been awarded Critical Language Scholarships to study the Arabic and Turkish languages. Marketing and media arts and studies sophomore and Global Scholar Jordie Gamble will travel to Morocco for her Arabic language studies, while anthropology doctoral student Lydia Roll will return to Turkey for her second consecutive year of language coursework in Turkish.

The 

by Whitney Harder, Whitney Hale

(March 3, 2014) — "Reel to Real: Special Collections at the Movies," the University of Kentucky Special Collections Library's film series, will continue with "Coal Miner's Daughter," at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 4, at Worsham Theater in the UK Student Center. The film series explores celebrated movies through a historically accurate perspective based on primary source materials found in Special Collections. The screening is free and open to the public.

"Coal Miner's Daughter," is based on the life of country singer and Kentucky native Loretta Lynn, who recorded

By: Mary Venuto

Quirky Japanese fact #68: Folklore contains a creature known as Ashiarai Yashiki, a giant foot

that crashes through the roof in the middle of the night, demanding the terrified homeowner to

wash it.



Quirky Japanese fact #108: There are 67 different flavors of Fanta and over 200 flavors of Kit

Kats in Japan.



Sure, not only will you discover other fun cultural oddities, but you will also distinguish yourself

through unique summer study in Japan, where field learning opportunity and social network

will give you the best prospect to succeed for professional career in East Asia and the US.

Students enrolled in the Japan summer field seminar travel by bullet train across the country

and experience a wide variety of

by Whitney Hale

(Jan. 30, 2014) — As the Chinese Lunar New Year approaches, University of Kentucky Libraries presents an exhibition featuring two slide shows and a display of "Celestial Horses" in honor of the Year of the Horse. All three displays can be seen in William T. Young Library.

A reproduction of "Celestial Horses," a silk painting presented by the artist, General Yeh Tsui Pai, to the university, is on display in the atrium of Young Library. The inscription on the banner commemorates the 100th anniversary of the institution. The original silk banner, housed in the UK Special Collections, is in fragile condition and not suitable for display. The banner was

by Whitney Hale



(Jan. 28, 2014) — Evan Sweet, a University of Kentucky geography senior from Brooklyn, N.Y., has been selected to present the 20th annual Edward T. Breathitt Undergraduate Lectureship in the Humanities at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 30, in the UK Athletics Auditorium at William T. Young Library. Sweet's free public lecture focuses on how "slums" are depicted in society and in particular in Oaxaca, Mexico.

The Breathitt Lectureship was named for an outstanding UK alumnus who

by Jenny Wells, Derrick Meads

(Jan. 27, 2013) — Former governor of Utah, 2012 presidential candidate and former U.S. Ambassador to China and Singapore Gov. Jon Huntsman will visit the University of Kentucky next month.  His talk, “China: Opportunities and Challenges,” will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20, in UK’s Memorial Hall. While tickets are required for entry, the event is free and open to the public.

Huntsman will discuss his years of experience working closely with American business owners to facilitate commerce in the growing Asian market, and outline ways to bring jobs and capital back to America, engage China from a position of strength and level the economic playing field in order to protect the U.S. economy.

View a flyer about the event.