By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Laws originally designed to protect family farm owners from frivolous lawsuits have, in some states, grown in scope to protect the practices of industrial agriculture – a phenomenon that’s drawn the interest of UK researcher Loka Ashwood. 

"Originally these laws were a way to get agricultural exemptions to nuisance suits,” said Ashwood, assistant professor of environmental sociology in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences. “These nuisance suits are fundamentally about, OK, if somebody infringes upon my right to enjoy or use my property, technically I or my local government can file a nuisance suit. But right now, right to farm laws are about curbing the ability of real people and local government

By Aimee Nielson

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 30, 2021) — When Quentin Tyler was a student in the University of Kentucky College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, he often found himself in Professor Lionel Williamson’s office.

“I just stopped to say hello, but when I looked at my watch, sometimes three hours had passed,” Tyler said. “He was so knowledgeable, and he taught me many life lessons. I’m forever grateful for him.”

Williamson was just one of Tyler’s mentors at UK that steered him onto his current career path and impacted his philosophy on leadership. After graduation, Tyler remained at UK, first as an extension associate for recruitment and retention. Later, he directed the college’s Office of Diversity as assistant dean. In 2018, Tyler became

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences will induct six new members into the A&S Hall of Fame next week as part of its 2020 class of inductees.

For the first time in 21 years, the Hall of Fame ceremony will take place virtually, offering the campus community and the public the opportunity to watch the induction ceremony and celebration. The ceremony had to be delayed last year due to COVID-19 restrictions. Those interested in attending must register at https://forms.as.uky.edu/hof-rsvp and can tune in at 7 p.m. EDT Friday, April 9, at www.as.uky.edu/hall-fame-live.

The 2020 alumni inductees include:

Ouita Papka Michel (

By Mallory Profeta

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 26, 2021) — Since 2018, the Disparities Researchers Equalizing Access for Minorities (DREAM) Scholars Program has supported the training of exceptional, underrepresented pre-docs, post-docs and assistant professors at the University of Kentucky who are committed to health equity research.

The program began in 2015 as mentoring program in the UK College of Nursing for “people who needed to belong—racial, sexual, and gender minorities”, said Lovoria Williams, Ph.D., who currently co-directs DREAM. Now led by the Center for Clinial and Translational Science (CCTS) and the 

By Richard LeComte 

Anna Hansen’s path to an M.D./Ph.D. at the University of Kentucky is taking her into the rural areas of Kentucky, where she is investigating issues surrounding pregnancy and birth. She’s working between her second and third years of medical school to earn a doctorate in sociology – quite an unusual undertaking for a would-be clinician studying in the College of Medicine. 

“The College of Medicine gives students the opportunity to pursue a Ph.D. in any department that they want, as long as they can make a good argument for it,” Hansen said. “Most other universities require that a student gets a Ph.D. within the college of medicine, so you have to go through a medical graduate department.” 

That flexibility allowed her to stretch all the

By Jessica Bowman-Jones

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 16, 2020) — Ten University of Kentucky undergraduate student finalists recently competed in the final round of the third 5-Minute Fast Track Research Oral Competition.

The competition included two virtual preliminary rounds, with the top 10 students advancing to the final championship competition. This year’s final round was hosted in the UK's Worsham Cinema and livestreamed to a virtual audience.

Cultivating students’ presentation and research communication skills, competitors were challenged to present their research in five minutes, using only one static slide, in front of a panel of three judges and a virtual audience.

The top three winners are:

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 7, 2020) —  University of Kentucky graduate Chimene Ntakarutimana of Lexington has received a 2021 Marshall Scholarship to study at  University College London. Ntakarutimana is a  2020 graduate of psychology and sociology in UK's College of Arts & Sciences as wel as the Lewis Honors College.

The scholarship finances two years of graduate study in the United Kingdom. Ntakarutimana is the sixth UK student to receive the honor from the Marshall Aid Commemoration Commission.

By Richard LeComte

Although the FBI collects statistics on hate crime in the United States, what gets reported as a hate crime depends on several factors, including whether police, victims and witnesses regard the act as an actual hate crime.

Chenghui Zhang, a doctoral candidate in sociology in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences, is studying the factors that go into how people interpret hate crime. She received a $50,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice for her study, “Social Construction of Hate Crime in the U.S.: A Factorial Survey Experiment.”

“My research contributes to understanding how social structure influences crime and crime reporting behaviors, with a specific focus on how racial inequalities affect perceptions of and reactions to bias crimes,” Zhang

By Alicia Landon and Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. — Two University of Kentucky research projects have been selected to receive funding from the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW).

The minigrant program, “Advancing Research Regarding Violence Against Women,” is designed to stimulate innovative research with the potential to improve the lives of those affected by violence against women, or to prevent such violence.

One project is “Firearm Regulations and Gun Violence against Women in the U.S.,” led by Janet Stamatel, associate professor in the UK Department of Sociology in the 

By Kody Kiser 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 24, 2020) — Beginning Aug. 3 and running through Aug. 22, University of Kentucky offered COVID-19 testing on campus for its approximately 30,000 students — undergraduate, graduate and professional — at no cost to students. The idea was to create a baseline for university officials as plans are implemented for ongoing daily screening, contact tracing and other health measures.

In addition, students moving into residence halls on campus are being provided ‘health kits’, containing digital thermometers, sanitizers, masks and other items, in an effort to promote healthy behavior to reduce transmission of the virus and flatten the curve. This behavior includes washing hands, sanitizing common surfaces, and maintaining at least 6

By Madison Dyment

Sociology doctoral candidate Henry Zonio in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences was selected as the recipient of the 2019-2020 Graduate School Presidential Fellowship.

This competitive fellowship recognizes and rewards one graduate student annually for her or his  exceptional academic and research merit in their field of study.

Receiving this award allowed Zonio to advance in his field by giving him the ability to focus on completing ethnographic field observations and drafting his dissertation he will be defending this coming fall semester. Within sociology, Zonio focuses on social inequalities, the sociologies of childhood, education and religion. His dissertation is an ethnographic study on how Sunday school teaches children about race and gender, with the studies focusing on three racially homogenous churches,

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (July 17, 2020) — From the Great Depression to the Civil Rights Movement — each generation has been shaped by the national and international events that take place during their formative years.

Will the same be said for the COVID-19 pandemic?

Anthony Bardo, an assistant professor with a dual appointment in Health, Society and Populations and the Department of Sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, believes it’s important to consider how perspectives will change. As a medical sociologist and health demographer, his research is driven by the desire to

By Madison Dyment

LEXINGTON Ky (June 22) – Carrie Oser, professor of sociology, will serve as the new Di Silvestro Professor in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Kentucky. UK’s Board of Trustees approved the appointment in June.

The Di Silvestro Professorship recognizes a full professor who is dedicated to enhancing research excellence. As a five-year appointment that begins on July 1, the DiSivestro Professor receives an annual research stipend.  Oser, who was also a UK sociology and psychology undergraduate, was nominated by Dean Mark Kornbluh.

“I’m grateful for the wonderful alumnae of the College of Arts & Sciences for their contributions to support the research, education and service missions of UK,” Oser said.

Oser, associate chair in the Department of Sociology, is a ’ 98 UK graduate, the associate director of the

We in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and all social movements to combat racial injustice in law enforcement and society. From the groundbreaking work of the great Black founder of American Sociology, W.E.B. Du Bois, sociologists have been committed to revealing and eradicating racism in all its forms. We know that racism is not some rare personality flaw, but a deeply entrenched feature of our social institutions and personal lives. Sociological research has uncovered systematic racial inequality in education (Noguera et al., 2016), health (Clark et al., 1999) and health care (Boulware, et al., 2016), employment (Quillian, et al., 2017), as well as criminal justice (Davis, 2017).  

These facts are not opinion. They are based on documented scientific evidence, some of which has been collected by

By Richard LeComte

Myles D. Moody, now the holder of a doctorate from the University of Kentucky, has been giving his knowledge back to students through the SPARK program – an effort to train undergraduates from under-represented backgrounds in sociological research.

“I’m passionate about research and I really wanted the opportunity to transfer those skills and knowledge to younger folks,” said Moody, who earned his doctorate in sociology in UK’s College of Arts & Sciences. “It’s been very rewarding for me. I love seeing light bulbs go off. And it even reinforces some things for me. It’s been great in that regard.”

Moody was a first-generation doctoral student in the Sociology Department and a research assistant at the new Center for Health Equity Transformation at UK. In the SPARK program, he led undergrads through the process of getting research on human

By Richard LeComte

The College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding TA Awards recognize excellence in undergraduate instruction by teaching assistants. Fifteen teaching assistants were recognized for the 2019-2020  academic year .

Eligible students are current A&S graduate student teaching assistants in at least their second year of graduate work and must be responsible for instruction in some or all of a course offered by the College. The TAs recognized this year taught in courses offered through A & S departments and interdisciplinary programs. 

“Graduate Teaching Assistants are fundamental to the high-quality education that the College of Arts & Sciences provides to undergraduate students,” said Sarah M. Lyon, A&S associate dean for graduate studies. “I am routinely impressed with their hard work and the contributions they make to

By Lindsey Piercy

In response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the public is being asked to do what we aren’t always well-equipped to do in the face of a crisis — nothing.

By now, you are probably more than familiar with the term “social distancing.”

Humans have basic needs for emotional and social connection. While that connection may be more natural in-person, we — as a society — need to do our part to reduce transmission of the virus and flatten the curve.

Those efforts include washing your hands, sanitizing common surfaces and maintaining at least 6 feet of distance from others. But as Tony Love, assistant professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts and Sciences, stresses in the Q&A

Carrie Oser, professor and associate chair in the Department of Sociology, is a ’ 98 UK graduate, the associate director of the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) and a faculty affiliate of the Center on Drug & Alcohol Research (CDAR). Her research interests include addiction health services, health disparities/equity, HIV risk behaviors/interventions, social networks, implementation science and substance use among rural, African American or criminal justice populations. 

In 2015, Oser received the Senior Scholar Award from the American Sociological Association's Alcohol, Drugs, & Tobacco section.  She leads the Geographic variation

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

A new book by researchers in the University of Kentucky's Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW) explores adjudication options on sexual misconduct on college campuses.

Published in January by Cognella, "Adjudicating Campus Sexual Misconduct and Assault" was edited by CRVAW Director Diane Follingstad and Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair Claire Renzetti.

"There is considerable confusion around policies and procedures for addressing campus sexual misconduct and assault and a good deal of diversity across campuses," said Renzetti, who is also professor and chair of the UK Department of Sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences. "One of our goals has been to

By University Press of Kentucky

The University Press of Kentucky will feature its “Place Matters: New Directions in Appalachian Studies” series of books at the upcoming Appalachian Studies Association Conference hosted on the University of Kentucky campus March 12-15.

“Literacy in the Mountains: Community, Newspapers, and Writing in Appalachia” by Samantha NeCamp is the newest title in the series. By looking at five Kentucky newspapers printed between 1885 and 1920, it