By A Fish  

Carlos Verea Zacarias

LEXINGTON; Ky – Carlos Verea Zacarias sees his position as president of the University of Kentucky Latino Student Union as one that facilitates recovery — he makes sure his group has bounced back from the COVID epidemic and is set to help its members in their college careers. 

“The last couple of presidents were focused on making sure the group stayed active during COVID,” Zacarias said. “My job is now making sure that my students find a home here at UK and they make sure that they connect with one another and rely upon each other. My job is to regrow that community and make sure that everything stays in check both with administrative work and with the well-being of the students.” 

Healing is part of Zacarias’ future. The premed biology major was named an ambassador for The College of Arts and Sciences at UK. He’s hard at

By A Fish 

Nora Sypkens

LEXINGTON; Ky. — The Jerry D. Claiborne Scholarship is presented by the University of Kentucky Nu Circle of Omicron Delta Kappa to students who show prowess in such areas as leadership and mentorship. It also takes into account their academic and athletic achievements.  

Nora Sypkens, a chemistry major in the College of Arts and Sciences, was selected in the spring for the scholarship by her peers. Omicron Delta Kappa's Nu Circle has its home base at the Chellgren Center, and it’s one of the three major honors societies on UK’s campus. To apply for this scholarship, one must be part of the organization. 

“I was inducted into the group last September, and since then I have received a lot of e-mail blasts,” she said. “With the Claiborne Scholarship, my circle leader recommended that I check it

By A Fish 

Bethany Craig

LEXINGTON; Ky. — Scarred sea creatures and elementary geography usually don’t go together, they do in the mind — and the book — of University of Kentucky doctoral student Bethany Craig. She has taken her research about the connections between scars and geography and applied it to a children's book about three sea creatures to make her research accessible to people outside of academia and to comfort children who undergo surgery. 

“My research is all about how the body connects us to certain places and times, and I do that specifically through looking at scars,” she said. “I'm sure that when you look at your scars you remember exactly where you were, how old you were, what you were doing and all the events surrounding it. Scars kind of act as little like placeholders for times and places in our lives. 

“I decided to write a kid’s book

By Ryan Girves

Weiss Mehrabi

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 18, 2023) — Weiss Mehrabi, a doctoral candidate and teaching assistant in the College of Arts & Sciences, is one of 10 winners to receive the University of Kentucky’s 2022-23 Outstanding Teaching Awards. 

These awards identify and recognize individuals who demonstrate special dedication to student achievement and who are successful in their teaching. Recipients were selected via nomination and reviewed by a selection committee based in the UK Provost’s Office for Faculty Advancement and the Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching.

"I’m incredibly surprised, humbled and immensely grateful for this prestigious recognition," Weiss

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 8, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Undergraduate Research  has chosen 20 undergraduates for the 2023 Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program.

Sponsored by the Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research, the CURE Fellowship program helps undergraduates to become leaders for their respective communities by providing opportunities to develop knowledge and skills through research within six of UK’s Research Priority Areas: cancer, cardiovascular health, diversity and inclusion, energy, neuroscience and substance use

By A Fish 

Kasimma

LEXINGTON; Ky. — Writer Kasimma traveled to Croatia in 2022 to promote “Portret Za Dar-Mar,” the Croatian translation of her book, “All Shades of Iberibe.” The book is a collection of short stories mostly about Igbo people.  

Every short story gives different perception into facets of life in Nigeria as well as her feelings as a devout feminist and her complex feelings towards religions. 

“I wrote ‘All Shades of Iberibe’ from a place of love, deep love, for Igbo,” said Kasimma, who is from Igboland in Nigeria. “The Pula Book Fair is the biggest festival of books in Croatia. The organizers of the book fair read my book, liked it, and wanted me to come talk about the book.” 

Kasimma was flattered to be invited to the Book Fair(y) in Istria, Croatia. One of the short stories in “Iberibe” is about the Nigerian–Biafran war in the late

Samantha Malone

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Samantha Malone, a doctoral candidate in experimental psychology with a concentration in cognitive neuroscience at the University of Kentucky, is one of 110 students within the United States and Canada selected to receive a $20,000 PEO Scholar Award from the PEO Sisterhood.

She was nominated by PEO Chapter AO of Lexington. The PEO Scholar Awards program, established in 1991, provides merit-based awards for women in the United States and Canada who are pursuing a doctoral-level degree at an accredited college or university.

Malone is a 2017 summa cum laude graduate of East Tennessee State University in psychology: behavioral neuroscience. She holds an M.S. in experimental psychology and a graduate certificate in Applied Statistics from UK.

Malone has written articles in scientific journals and given numerous presentations

By Richard LeComte 

Nevaeh Eggleston

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Derrick Henry of the Tennessee Titans may look like the best running back in the NFL as he barrels down the field, but sports statistics may say otherwise, according to University of Kentucky student Nevaeh Eggleston. By analyzing statistics for NFL running backs, she can discern how Henry, while great, may not be the best in certain circumstances.  

“For football in particular, people look at rushing yards, and for a while Derrick Henry was rated as the No. 1 rusher until his numbers fell,” said Eggleston, a UK College of Arts & Sciences senior math major from Huntsville, Alabama. “But if you look at someone like (Cleveland Browns running back) Nick Chubb and everyone else, their yards after hits are higher than Derrick Henry’s as of right now.”  

Eggleston aims to bring her statistical skills to

By Lindsey Piercy 

People often experience stress, anxiety or even depression during the winter months. Each year, about 10% of adults in the United States experience seasonal affective disorder. The condition can reflect a change in serotonin levels and be linked to depression.

Matt Southward, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky, is researching treatment outcomes for those coping with anxiety, depression and personality disorders. He also works in the Treatment Innovation for Psychological Services Lab.

In the Q

By Nizhoni McDarment 

Statistics Graduate Student Association members bowl. 

LEXINGTON, KY. -- When the Statistics Graduate Student Association (SGSA) needs a study break from complicated data problems, the students bowl. Tori Stanton, current president and UK graduate student from Asheville, North Carolina, said the SGSA’s focus of the last year was to create opportunities for students to interact with each other outside of their classes.  

The SGSA represents graduate students apart of the Dr. Bing Zhang Department of Statistics in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. The SGSA facilitates bonds and promotes professional development for graduate students apart of the statistics program.  

The organization was revived in 2020 when Lee Park, former president and UK graduate student from Incheon, South Korea, was seeking

By Alan Fryar and Jenny Wells-Hosley

Elizabeth Avery

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2022) — As a child, Elizabeth Avery was inspired by that verse, and this week she will receive a Ph.D. in geological sciences from the University of Kentucky, based on her Fulbright research in Ukraine.

Avery’s path to a doctoral degree was nontraditional. After earning bachelor's and master's degrees in English at California State University, East Bay, she explored different career options. An undergraduate course in oceanography awakened her interest in geology and hydrology, which led her to a second master’s degree at the same institution. She worked more than three years as an environmental consultant before deciding to pursue a Ph.D. in 2017.

By Meg Mills 

Nizhoni McDarment

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 15, 2022) — The University of Kentucky strives to ensure every member of our community — regardless of who they are, where they are from, what they believe or who they love — feels a sense of belonging.

This sense of belonging is something journalism and political science double major Nizhoni McDarment had spent her whole life searching for, but says she didn’t find until she attended UK.

A child of a military family, McDarment spent 18 years moving from state to state, reintroducing herself to every new person she met. Each introduction came with questions about her name and her Native American culture. She and her family are proud Native Americans.

“For a long time, my Nana was not allowed to share that she was a proud

By Nizhoni McDarment  

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Christian Branham, a University of Kentucky senior from Lexington, and Nicolas Volosky, a University of Kentucky Alum from Walton, Kentucky, won Best Documentary and Best Feature at the Spring 2022 UKY Film Festival for their film “Rumble.”  

“Rumble” follows professional wrestler Noah Gabriel on his journey in Cincinnati. Braham and Volosky collaborated on the film with both filming and editing in February 2022.  

“The film process was really fast paced with only three days to film with two of those days being practice runs,” Branham said.  

The film was shown to judges and spectators at the 2022 festival in the Gatton Student Center’s Worsham Cinema on April 29. The UKY Film Festival showcases and celebrates the films created by UK students. The films were scored by a variety of local media professionals and

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 24, 2022) — The first cohort of interns in a new Kentucky Geological Survey program are spending their summers contributing to statewide research projects focused on geologic resources, environmental issues and natural hazards affecting Kentucky.

The new Paul Edwin Potter Internship Program is giving University of Kentucky students interested in geoscience research the opportunity to engage in a hands-on research project for 10 weeks throughout the summer. Although the program was limited to UK students during its first year, it will be expanded in future years to include students from other universities.

Supported by a gift from the late Paul Edwin Potter, a

By Jesi Jones-Bowman

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 23, 2022) — The Office of Undergraduate Research has selected 16 undergraduates for the 2022 Commonwealth Undergraduate Research Experience Fellowship program.

The new CURE Fellowships, sponsored by UK Office of Undergraduate Research and the Office of the Vice President for Research, empowers undergraduates to become leaders for their communities by providing opportunities to develop new knowledge and skills through research within UK’s seven research priority areas: cancer, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes & obesity, diversity and inclusion, energy, neuroscience and substance use disorder.

“Conducting summer research will provide me with valuable experience that

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Essays by two recent University of Kentucky graduates have won the 2022 Ireland Prize in History. One essay, by Pedro Fernandes Esteves Fonseca, deals with the fraught efforts of the Inquisition in colonial Brazil, while the other, by Elena Liu, examines the Spanish Flu pandemic in Mexico. 

The award, from the Department of History in the College of Arts & Sciences, carries a $10,000 prize, which was split between this year’s winners. The prize honors Robert M. Ireland, a retired history faculty member who taught at UK for 41 years. The award encourages and rewards outstanding historical research and

By Richard LeComte

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Twists and turns in business have led Dan DeHart from bourbon country -- and a degree from the University of Kentucky – to starting Gander Panama Rum. He earned a B.S. in mathematics from UK in 1988 and served as a director of Capital One and vice president of First Data Corp. But in 2013, he started DeHart Spirits, which produces the premium Gander Panama Rum, which is aged in bourbon barrels and is distributed through fine alcohol stores. The Panama operation includes its own sugar-cane fields and processing facilities, which makes it less vulnerable to trade disruptions brought on by the COVID pandemic. Now he’s ready to discuss how what he learned in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences has led him to making premium rum.

Q: How did your math major help you in your business career?

A: It was a combination of

By Elizabeth Chapin

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 6, 2022) — Each year, the University of Kentucky’s Office of Undergraduate Research selects a cohort of Undergraduate Research Ambassadors, a diverse group of outstanding students who serve as advocates for undergraduate research and creative scholarship at UK.

This year, the office launched the Excellent Undergraduate Research Ambassador award to honor outtanding ambassadors for their dedication to and promotion of undergraduate research and creative opportunities.

The six winners were announced at the 16th annual Showcase of Undergraduate Scholars. They are: 

By Sarah Geegan

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 19, 2022) — Ana M. Franco-Watkins has been named dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the oldest and largest college at the University of Kentucky.

Upon approval from the Board of Trustees, Franco-Watkins will join UK on July 1, 2022. Franco-Watkins currently serves as interim dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Auburn University.

“Ana Franco-Watkins has an impressive background as an educator, researcher and leader,” said Provost Robert S. DiPaola. “Her vision for the College of Arts and Sciences aligns with the aspirational goals of our strategic plan and our mission to advance Kentucky. We are pleased to welcome her to the UK family.”

Franco-Watkins has served as interim dean of the College of Liberal

By C. Lynn Hiler

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 6, 2022) — The University of Kentucky chapter of Phi Beta Kappa (PBK) recently inducted 49 new members. This year’s induction ceremony was held Wednesday, April 13, at the Singletary Center for the Arts.

“We are extremely proud of the students admitted to Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Kentucky,” said Anna Bosch, chapter president and professor of linguistics. “This honor recognized their hard work and their commitment to a broad liberal arts education in the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences.”

Celebrating excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, Phi Beta Kappa is the oldest and the most prestigious honor society. It contributes to opportunities for life-long learning and rounded lives outside of career, which follows the society’s