By Francis Von Mann 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 19, 2025) – Allegra Solomon has been longlisted for the 2026 PEN/Robert W. Bingham Prize for Debut Short Story Collection, one of the most prestigious honors for emerging fiction writers in the United States. 

The award, presented by PEN America, recognizes an exceptionally talented author whose first short story collection demonstrates distinguished literary achievement and strong promise for future work. Solomon was selected as one of ten longlisted authors nationwide for her debut collection, “There’s Nothing Left for You Here” (Four Way Books). 

Solomon earned her Master of Fine Arts in creative

By Daniel Flener 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 18, 2025) — Husna Ahmadi isn’t sure what she will feel walking across the stage of Rupp Arena to receive her University of Kentucky diploma.

“I don’t know what to expect,” she said. “Maybe my whole journey here; the flights, the anxiety, the friends, the memories, all of it may just come rushing back.”

In late 2021, as the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, many students in the country suddenly found themselves in limbo, unsure of whether or how to continue their educations. After a year in another country, still in limbo,

By Jenny Wells-Hosley 

NEW YORK (Dec. 17, 2025) — Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11 million for up to 23 teams of researchers around the world to develop and apply artificial intelligence to archaeology, history, literature and other humanities disciplines, seeking to unlock new understandings of human history and culture, the organization announced today. 

By Rebekah Frazier 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2025) — The Kentucky Geological Survey received a $182,961 grant from the U.S. Geological Survey to advance geological understanding and hazard preparedness for Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati. 

The project will produce landslide inventory maps and landslide susceptibility maps for the region that will benefit city planners, local governments and landowners. 

“There is currently no published landslide inventory for the city of Cincinnati and only an incomplete landslide inventory for Northern Kentucky, despite

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. --  Johanna Miller absolutely wanted to go to the University of Kentucky, but when she found herself in economic need, she contemplated dropping out the next semester.  

That’s when the people of UK’s College of Arts and Sciences stepped in in the person of Christia Spears Brown, Ph.D., associate dean for student engagement and success. 

"Out of the blue, I was sitting in class, and I got a text message from the associate dean that said she wanted to have a phone call with me,” said Miller, an undergraduate Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Studies major from Lexington. “That's all she said, so I got really nervous about that. I was like, ‘You want to talk to me? That’s really strange.’ So after class, I

By Francis Von Mann 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 10, 2025) - For an hour each week, the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences and the UK International Center make Lexington seem five countries bigger. Over steaming cups of international tea, the International Student Services space transforms into a crossroad of language and culture.

The gatherings are informal, half game night and half real-world practice, run by two student teams: Student Leaders

By Francis Von Mann

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 1, 2025) - The family of Gurney Musick Norman and the University of Kentucky Department of English invite the public to a weekend of words, music and film celebrating the life and legacy of the beloved writer, teacher and mentor. 

The memorial will be held over two days, Saturday, Dec. 6, and Sunday, Dec. 7, at the Gatton Student Center on UK’s campus. Events are free, open to the public and will be livestreamed. 

Norman, who died in Lexington on Oct. 12, 2025, at age 88, was an Appalachian fiction writer, documentarian, advocate and UK professor emeritus of English. He is widely regarded as one of Kentucky’s most important literary

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 25, 2025) — This year, the University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities launched an initiative designed to foster meaningful interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary collaboration across campus. 

The Gaines Humanities Cooperatives were created to bring together faculty, staff and graduate students from diverse fields to spark intellectual exchange and lay the foundation for innovative humanities-centered projects that engage both the university and the broader community. Supported by the Gaines Center through funding, meeting space and other relevant resources, the cooperatives are intended to serve as a hub for community.

The pilot cooperative, launched in 2024 under

By Ainsley Saurers 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 21, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and the UK Graduate Appalachian Research Community invite undergraduate and graduate students from all majors to submit proposals for the 15th annual Appalachian Research Symposium & Arts Showcase.

The showcase is Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, in the Healthy Kentucky Research Building first-floor atrium.

This year’s theme — “Interdependent Possibilities: Cultures of Care, Practices of Place-Making” — encourages participants to explore how care, community and place interrelate across disciplines and everyday lives.

“We

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Leon Sachs’ background in teaching a class in civil discourse led him to a seminar in North Carolina, where he picked up some new ideas about how to foster civil discussion at the University of Kentucky. Now he wants to get the word out to draw people on the UK campus into safe places for open discussion. 

"I would welcome other people interested in participating in civil discourse,” said Sachs, professor of French in the Department of Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures in UK’s College of Arts and Sciences and a Chellgren endowed professor. “It seems like UK's got people working on it, but they don't know about one another. There is an urgent need, I think, for people around campus to know who to contact if they want to get involved going forward.” 

Sachs has

By Allie Barnes 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 18, 2025) — University of Kentucky students are invited to learn how to thrive in an artificial intelligence-driven world through a new online course.  

UK is offering a 100-level, one-credit-hour course titled Transdisciplinary Educational Approaches to Advance Kentucky (TEK 100): Collaborative Intelligence — Understanding and Using Modern AI. 

This rolling, asynchronous course will be offered twice during the Spring 2026 semester to create multiple opportunities for students to fit this in their schedule. This course will run from Jan. 12 through March 2 and from March 9 through May 8.  

The launch of TEK 100 comes as part of the university’s recent effort and

By Haven L. Patrick 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 19, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research  recently announced the 21 undergraduate winners of the 61st annual Oswald Research and Creativity Awards. Chad Risko, Ph.D., faculty director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, and research ambassadors presented the awards.

Founded in 1964 by UK President John Oswald, the Oswald Research and Creativity Competition promotes undergraduate research and creative endeavors across all academic disciplines.

The competition spans these categories: biological sciences, design (architecture, landscape architecture and

By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Nov. 17, 2025) — When first-generation college students arrive at the University of Kentucky, they carry with them more than backpacks and class schedules. They bring the hopes of families, the weight of new beginnings and the courage to step into new spaces.

At UK, nearly one in four undergraduates identifies as a first-generation college student. Supporting those students is central to the university’s mission to advance student success and Kentucky. Through such units as CARES First-Generation, housed in the Office for Student Success, the university provides tailored academic guidance,

By Francis Von Mann

LEXINGTON, KY. (Nov. 12, 2025) – Bernadine “Bernie” McGhee never imagined herself with a college degree. But in 2022 at 61, McGhee crossed the stage of Rupp Arena with a bachelor's degree in liberal studies from the College of Arts and Sciences.

“I thought I’d be a factory worker for the rest of my life,” McGhee said. “College wasn’t part of the plan. But life has a funny way of circling back.”

McGhee grew up in Gary, Indiana, one of nine children in a family where steel dust clung to everything: clothes, homes, hopes and dreams. Her parents both worked in the mills, and she expected to do

By Jennifer T. Allen

“Recycling is one of the easiest ways everyone on campus can make an impact,” said Ryan Lark, zero-waste specialist in Facilities Management.

In 2024, the university collected 1,138 tons of recycling from the blue bins around campus to send to their recycling partner. This was only 40% of the 2,869 total tons recycled last year. The rest came from operations efforts including collecting scrap

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 30, 2025) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research and UK Sustainability have announced the six winners of the fifth annual sustainability research poster competition.

The competition was in conjunction with the annual UK Sustainability Showcase in the atrium of the Healthy Kentucky Research Building on Oct. 15.

As part of the showcase, graduate and undergraduate students in all majors were invited to submit their research related to the

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2025) —The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research announces the eighth annual 5-Minute Fast Track student research competition finalists. These undergraduates will present their research during the final round from 5-8 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 29, in 150 Healthy Kentucky Research Building.

The 5-Minute Fast Track challenges students to present their research clearly, concisely and engagingly with no props and one single static slide, in front of a panel of judges and live audience. The 10 finalists will share their scholarship in a jargon-free, five-minute talk for a general audience. Students develop their academic, presentation and research communication skills

By Clarissa Rhule 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 29, 2025) — The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies program is once again highlighting the research and creative scholarship of students and faculty through the annual Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress series.

SWAP encourages collaboration across disciplines, fostering dialogue among researchers, students and community members. By featuring ongoing projects, the series highlights the breadth of inquiry taking place at UK and its continued commitment to understanding and supporting Appalachia.

This year’s SWAP series will feature presentations running from Fall 2025 through Spring ’26, spotlighting recipients of the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Just miles from the mansions of Newport, Rhode Island, University of Kentucky anthropologists are helping to unearth a Revolutionary War-era fort that promises to yield artifacts and data about 18th century America. 

The site, called Butts Hill Fort, left enough evidence for ground-penetrating radar to pick up an outline of what once were barracks  for the British colonial army in 1777, two years after the start of the revolution and a year after the Declaration of Independence. 

"This fort was developed in 1777 as a response, primarily by the British,” said Hugo Reyes-Centeno, Ph.D., assistant professor in the Department of Anthropology at UK’s College of Arts and Sciences. "There had been activity by the

Written by: Kat Brown

Pooja Sidney, Ph.D., is trying to answer the question: How can we help students learn math? One simple idea for helping students has turned into a blossoming research-based community partnership with Lexington schools. 

A cognitive developmental psychologist and associate professor at University of Kentucky, Pooja Sidney, Ph.D. researches how children and adults learn in academic settings. She focuses on improving students’ mathematical problem-solving and examining students’ attitudes toward mathematics. 

Within her research lab, the questions she explores are often driven by the motivation of the lab members, both graduate and undergraduate students. For example, one student in Sidney’s lab who is interested in the medicine-related decision-making is exploring how graphs