By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky is one of America's first universities to receive students from the southwest Asian state of Oman in a five-year scholarship agreement with the nation's Ministry of Higher Education.  UK welcomed 50 undergraduate students to campus last week.

Most Omani students will be registering for American engineering, computer science and business courses in January 2012, after an intensive English language program (IELP) at their respective university, but UK has the ability to enroll students now, due to its English as a Second Language Program's (ESL)'s mid-fall admit date.

"Our Center for English as a Second Language has increasingly become an integral part of the academic program at UK, as we seek to provide academic advising even before the

Russian studies, 2008

During my four years at the University of Kentucky, I discovered my passion in life. My freshman year, I signed up for a Russian language class, and just fell in love with the language, the culture, and the literature of the Russian people. I had the incredible opportunity to take language classes from full professors, one of whom is the head of the department! I have since learned that a professor teaching an introductory language course is a rarity, as they are generally taught at universities by lecturers or graduate students, as well as an incredible treat. My first year teacher could answer any possible question I had in a completely logical way, and her enthusiasm for the subject was absolutely contagious. I am now teaching my own first year Russian class at Indiana University in Bloomington, and one of my goals is to impart the very clear

Date:

Friday, OCtober 28, 2011 - 4:00pm - 6:00pm

Location:

228 Student Center

"Re-thinking Difference"

According to Heidegger, the difference between being and beings is the most essential difference of all. Not surprisingly it is a constant in his thinking from beginning to end. Yet in the course of his work, he re-thinks this difference fundamentally, recognizing its at times ambivalent sense and even insisting on the need to abandon various versions of it, particularly as he foregoes his early project of fundamental ontology. His re-thinking of the difference plays a crucial role in his attempt to differentiate the leading question (Leitfrage) of metaphysics from the basic question (Grundfrage) of his thinking, especially in his work from the mid-1930s on. Consideration of Heidegger’s re-thinking of the difference between being and beings

Professor Brandon Look has been invited to be the Hans Kohn Member of the School of Historical Studies at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey for academic year 2011-12.

The Institute for Advanced Study is a private, independent research center, founded in 1930, whose goal is to foster and support theoretical research and intellectual inquiry in the sciences and humanities.  It is divided into four Schools -- Historical Studies, Mathematics, Natural Sciences and Social Sciences  -- and has a permanent faculty of 28 distinguished thinkers.  Each year the Institute invites approximately 190 scientists and scholars from around the world to be members and to work and study within its community.

Past faculty have included Albert Einstein, Kurt Gödel,

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

Four individuals will join the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame during a ceremony this evening at the Keene Barn and Entertainment Center. 

The school's Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding alumni, faculty and students whose foundation for success can be found in the Arts and Sciences.

"We are tremendously pleased about inducting these outstanding Arts and Sciences graduates and faculty into our Hall of Fame," said Mark Lawrence Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "As our students prepare for their own journeys, the achievements of our award-winning alumni and faculty serve as an inspiration, bringing honor to the entire university and improving

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky's College of Arts & Sciences welcomes an internationally renowned filmmaker to campus next week to discuss the history and memory of China's Cultural Revolution.

Sociology professor Keiko Tanaka will show scholar and filmmaker Carma Hinton's award-winning documentary, "Morning Sun," to UK's "Passport to China: Global Issues & Local Understanding," class at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 25, in Room 118 Classroom Building.

Hinton will join Tanaka's class at 5 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 27 for a discussion of the film. Both the film viewing and the discussion are open to the public.

"We are fortunate to have such a wonderful opportunity to hear a renowned director and great public speaker discuss her film in person," said assistant professor of Chinese

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

Grateful people aren't just kinder people, according to UK College of Arts & Sciences psychology Professor Nathan DeWall. They are also less aggressive.

DeWall proves his point with five studies on gratitude as a trait and as a fleeting mood, discovering that giving thanks lowers daily aggression, hurt feelings and overall sensitivity.

"If you count your blessings, you're more likely to empathize with other people," said the researcher who is more well-known for studying factors that increased aggression. "More empathic people are less aggressive."

Gratitude motivates people to express sensitivity and concern for others and stimulates pro-social behavior, according to DeWall. Although gratitude

The University of Kentucky Confucius Institute one-year anniversary celebration will culminate with a concert by world-renowned guest violin soloist Sha at 7 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 22, at Memorial Hall.

Sha is one of China’s leading violinists on the world stage today. Her singing style and dynamic stage presence have mesmerized audiences from East to West. Born in Shanghai, China, Sha started the violin at age 6, and as a child prodigy, appeared often on radio and television.

"We are so lucky to have Sha return to celebrate with us," said Huajing Maske, director of the Confucius Institute at UK. Sha participated in the UK Confucius Institute Inaugural Ceremony and Concert on Nov. 6, 2010.

"The Confucius Institute has achieved so much this year,"

By Guy Spriggs

University of Kentucky's Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES), in partnership with UK alumnus Tom Spalding (’80, ’82), accepted a $600,000 gift from Pioneer Natural Resources Company today.

Spalding is vice president of Pioneer, a large independent oil and gas exploration company based in Dallas, with operations in Texas, Colorado, Alaska and South Africa.

“Pioneer really went to bat for us,” said David Moecher, associate professor and director of undergraduate studies of EES in the 

Jeremy Popkin is the T. Marshall Hahn, Jr. professor of History for the College of Arts and Sciences, and the director of the Jewish Studies Program, an interdisciplinary minor.

He has been named one of six finalists for the 2011 Cundill Prize in History, the world‘s largest nonfiction history book award, for his recent publication of "You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery."

The Jewish Studies Program will have its open-house event on Wednesday, October 19th, from 12 - 1:30 p.m. at the Bingham-Davis House (213 E. Maxwell Street).

https://https://www.as.uky.edu/sites/default/files/Jeremy%20Popkin.mp3

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By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky's revamped UK Core Composition and Communication classes combine historically united concepts, while giving students the interactive skills they need for the future.

"This is the only program in the United States that we're aware of in which communication faculty from another department —  actually, another college  —  and writing faculty are collaborating on a joint curriculum," said Roxanne Mountford, director of the Division of Writing, Rhetoric and Digital Media in the College of Arts and Sciences. 

UK sophomore Jake Allgeier will remember his Composition and Communication classes (CIS 110 and 111 or WRD 110 and 111) for years to come.

The civil engineering student

The University of Kentucky Department of Anthropology welcomes renowned political reporter Mark Allen Peterson to campus this week to discuss the struggle between a confident future and controversial history for contemporary Egyptians.

A former political journalist in Washington D.C., Peterson will present the first lecture of the UK Department of Anthropology's Annual Colloquium Series titled "Egyptian Youth in Urban and Virtual Spaces" at 4 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 21 in Room 230 of UK's Student Center. His talk is the first colloquium for the 2011-2012 series with the theme "Youth and Urban Space in the Middle

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky Confucius Institute celebrates its one-year anniversary on campus with the opening of its first virtual Chinese cultural hub.

The UK Confucius Institute will mark the opening of the first of two Chinese Culture Experience Centers at 1 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 19, in the Hub of the William T. Young Library.  

The Chinese Culture Experience Center will feature two sets of interactive (touch screen) stations with various aspects of Chinese culture, including Chinese ancient technology, calligraphy, Chinese food, Chinese philosophers, Chinese martial arts, Chinese scenery and Peking opera.  

"This will be a smaller version of a display at Hanban headquarters in China," said Huajing Maske, director of the Confucius Institute at UK. "These

By Guy Spriggs

In June of 2011, UK’s Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences (EES) partnered with UK alumnus Tom Spalding (’80, ’82) to secure a $600,000 gift from Pioneer Natural Resources Company.

Spalding is Vice-President of Pioneer, a large independent oil and gas exploration company based in Dallas, with operations in Texas, Colorado, Alaska and South Africa.

“Pioneer really went to bat for us,” said David Moecher, professor in the EES Department. “Tom [Spalding] and Pioneer want to make sure that we have faculty in these fundamental fields to maintain a pipeline of future earth scientists.”

The gift, which is intended to be spread out over the next 3 years, will fund the Pioneer Natural Resources Research Professorship in

In celebration of National Chemistry Week, the UK Chemistry Department will be presenting a demonstration show Friday October 21, 2011 at 7 pm in room 139 of the Chemistry/Physics building at 505 Rose street. Come one come ALL!!! This fun-filled evening has become a much-anticipated annual event. Students of the Chemistry Department of the University of Kentucky will inform, entertain and amaze you with a variety of demonstrations of the colour, charm and excitement of chemistry. For children in school, ask your teacher if attendance can earn you extra credit in a science course. For parents, don't get left out, learning something new keeps you young!

For more information contact Pauline Stratman, psst223@uky.edu.

University of Kentucky history professor Jeremy Popkin has been named one of six finalists for the 2011 Cundill Prize in History for his recent publication of "You Are All Free: The Haitian Revolution and the Abolition of Slavery."

Popkin will compete for the world‘s largest nonfiction history book award, which offers the winning author a $75,000 grand prize.

Popkin's "You Are All Free," released by Cambridge University Press in September 2010, provides a gripping historical account of the Haitian Revolution and the abolition of slavery in the now disaster-torn country. 

Popkin, a renowned French Revolution scholar, tells a dramatic story, employing a wide range of sources, affording him the opportunity to capture Haiti's complex history

A creative writing professor at the University of Kentucky has been named a finalist for the 2011 National Book Award in Poetry. English professor Nikky Finney was named for the prestigious award for her recent work, “Head Off & Split,” on Oct 12.

“Head Off & Split” was published by Northwestern University Press in February of this year, and Finney has been touring with the book since late winter. 

"As an artist and a daughter of the South, and as someone who honors my feelings as often as I can, I don't have to acquiesce to the polite expectations of the moment," the Provost’s Distinguished Service Professor has said. "I have watched black people forgive and forget over and over again … I too forgive, but I don't forget … My responsibility as a poet, as an artist is to not look away."

Finney, a

By Katy Bennett, Student Activities Board

“Poetry is the rhythmical creation of beauty in words,” a famous poet once said. Come hear from poets who call Kentucky home at the third installment of the James Baker Hall Writer’s Series at 6 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 13, in the Student Center Small Ballroom. This event is free and sponsored by the Student Activities Board.

James Baker Hall was a renowned Kentucky writer, UK faculty member, intense Wildcat fan, and ultimately an interesting person. This series is dedicated to writers who have been raised or influenced by living in Kentucky and designed as a memorial to Baker Hall. This week the series will feature poets Erik Reece and Maureen Morehead.

Reece is a writer of prose and poetry and is the author of two acclaimed books and numerous essays and articles

By Erin Holaday Ziegler

The University of Kentucky's Committee on Social Theory will welcome a former faculty member and active debater in spatial science and geographic thought to campus for its Fall Distinguished Speaker and Founders Forum this week.

John Paul Jones III, dean of the University of Arizona's College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, will deliver the committee's annual lecture titled, "The Politics of Autonomous Spaces" at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14, in the West End Boardroom on the 18th floor of Patterson Office Tower.

Jones' visit and participation in the annual series is unique, as he was an esteemed professor and colleague on the faculty of UK's Department of Geography from the fall of 1991 to summer

By Jonathon Spalding

What do you think of when you hear the word “diversity”? Whatever it may be, chances are you learned of the word at a young age and it has been drilled into your head ever since. Generally, we think of diversity as one-dimensional, in only one context: the diversity of peoples. For Cadet Jay Hurst, senior Army ROTC Battalion Commander, diversity has evolved into a more personal endeavor.  

Jay graduated from high school in northern Virginia where his family was stationed; but with roots in Anderson County, Ky., he felt a definite gravitation towards the University of Kentucky and the Army ROTC program.

“I didn’t feel any pressure from my family to join ROTC,” said Jay, the son of a UK graduate and U.S. Army veteran, “I wanted to help people, especially while I am young.”

This past summer, Jay graduated from the U.S. Army