By Allison Perry

The University of Kentucky recently received $3 million from the National Institute on Drug Abuse and National Institute on General Medical Sciences to fund new opioid-related research in the criminal justice system.

Known as the Geographic variation in Addiction Treatment study, the 5-year project is led by Carrie Oser, professor of sociology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences. Oser and her colleagues will be focusing on the factors that influence a person’s decision to use one of the three FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder – methadone, buprenorphine and extended-release naltrexone.

Although research shows that these medications are highly

University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Sociology Mairead Moloney is interested in why women who are middle age and older sleep less than the general population – specifically women in Appalachia, who have some of the highest rates of insomnia in the nation.

Moloney wanted to conduct a comprehensive study to learn more about insomnia among women in Appalachia and help address this health disparity, but a sleep intervention study examining cognitive behavioral therapy and sleep medication use was out of her expertise.

Through UK's Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health program, Moloney met UK Associate Professor of Pharmacy Daniela Moga and Assistant Professor of Psychology Christal Badour, whose expertise and research backgrounds

Congratulations to the Top 10 Student Finalists and the Top 3 Overall Winners of the 2nd annual 5-Minute Fast Track Research Competition!

The students competed in two preliminary rounds and were selected as a Top 10 finalists to advance to the final round of competition. The Final Championship round was held on Wednesday, October 23 in the WT Young Library Auditorium. The students had five minutes and one static slide to present their research to an audience and panel of judges that included Provost David Blackwell, Dr. Marilyn Campbell, and Carol Street. The students were competing for cash prizes ($750 – 1st place; $500 – 2nd place; $250 – 3rd place).

The Top 3 Overall Winners include:

Dr. Keiko Tanaka, Professor of Sociology in the College of Arts & Sciences and Professor of Rural Sociology in Community, Leadership, and Development in the College of Agriculture, has just finished her term as the 81st President of the Rural Sociological Society (RSS). RSS is the national professional society for scholars of rural life, communities, and the environment. Dr. Kanaka is the 15th president with ties to the University of Kentucky and the 8th person to serve as RSS president while a faculty member at UK. This is one of the highest numbers from any one institution in RSS history.

2018 RSS Annual Meeting in Portland, Oregon
Outgoing President Doug Jackson-Smith handing the gavel to incoming President Keiko Tanaka

2019 RSS Annual Meeting in Richmond, Virginia

By Carl Nathe

Photos by UK Athletics

James "Boogie" Watson and children.

Another group of University of Kentucky student-athletes recently made a service trip to Ethiopia and each returned with a dramatically different outlook about how other people in the world live, as well as a fresh perspective on their own lives.

Wildcat football player Jamar “Boogie’ Watson, a sociology major with a minor in criminology, together with other Wildcat football players traveled to the African nation and interacted with children and adults who face markedly different challenges from themselves, yet manage to keep a smile on their faces and in their hearts. What follows below, in their own words, are a few thoughts from each of these young men on the impact of this experience.

For a look at the recent media

By Lori Adams

The University of Kentucky has released its Dean's List for the spring 2019 semester. A total of 6,562 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance. 

To make a Dean’s List in one of the UK colleges, a student must earn a grade-point average of 3.6 or higher and must have earned 12 credits or more in that semester, excluding credits earned in pass-fail classes. Some UK colleges require a 3.5 GPA to make the Dean’s List.

The full Dean's List can be accessed by visiting: www.uky.edu/PR/News/DeansList/.

By Rebecca Longo

Top, l to r: Eli O’Neal, Chase Carleton, Melynda Price (director). Middle: Claire Hilbrecht, Josh Ehl, Carson Hardee. Front: Aileen Tierney, Hannah Thomas, Bria Northington, Daniela Gamez. Not pictured: Will Kueshner, Nicole Blackstone, Megan Yadav.

The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has selected 12 undergraduate students as new scholars for the Gaines Fellowship Program.

The Gaines Fellowship is presented in recognition of outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, an interest in public issues and a desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities. Founded in 1984 by

The opioid epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives and devastated millions more. This problem has engaged the passion, knowledge and persistence of researchers and health care providers who work on a daily basis to help people with opioid use disorder. 

In the largest grant ever awarded to the University of Kentucky, researchers from 

By Kristi Willett

In the largest grant ever awarded to the University of Kentucky, researchers from UK's Center on Drug and Alcohol Research (CDAR) and across campus — in partnership with the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services and the Justice and Public Safety Cabinet (JPSC) — will lead a project as part of the HEALing Communities study.

The four-year, more than $87 million study has an ambitious but profoundly important goal: reducing opioid overdose deaths by 40 percent in 16 counties that represent

How does a journal unravel the threat of violence against women and the many forms of violence in women's lives throughout the world?

The Violence Against Women journal tackles this complex topic by shedding light not only on the forms of violence that are widely discussed, but also on the lesser known forms of violence. After 25 years of publications, this international journal is now ranked ninth among journals focusing on women's studies and cited more than 3,400 times.

Claire Renzetti, chair of the Department of Sociology and Judi Conway Patton Endowed Chair in the UK Center for Research on Violence Against Women, founded the

By Tibidabo Publishing Inc.

Carlos de la Torre, professor in the Department of Sociology, has penned "Populisms. A Quick Immersion," a brief yet informative introduction to the topic.

What exactly is populism, and how do populists rise to power? Carlos de la Torre, professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky, has penned "Populisms. A Quick Immersion," a brief yet informative introduction to the topic.

The short volume explores global populism from a Latin American perspective. More specifically, de la Torre explains how learning from the experiences of populism in the global south could allow the global north to avoid making similar mistakes. “I have been researching populism for more

By Chris Crumrine, Amy Jones-Timoney, Kody Kiser, and Brad Nally

“To actually be in Washington, D.C. is unlike anything that you can experience in a classroom or here in Kentucky,” says Hayley Leach. “The hands-on experience is unlike anything you can get.”

That is the primary goal of the University of Kentucky’s WilDCats at the Capitol program — to provide students with unique opportunities in the nation’s capital; support them through organized housing, academic credit and financial aid; and provide a rewarding and professional experience that will serve them beyond graduation.

Over the last year, more than 40 UK students from multiple disciplines have walked the halls of Congress alongside elected officials and policymakers, gaining a dynamic academic and professional

By Olivia Ramirez and Kody Kiser

As the university for Kentucky, understanding and addressing the health needs of the people of the Commonwealth is the goal of many faculty, staff, clinicians and researchers. As a step toward improving health equity in the Commonwealth, the University of Kentucky Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) was established during the 2018 Board of Trustees meeting. 

On this episode of Behind the Blue, CHET director Nancy Schoenberg and associate director Carrie Oser discuss how, through research and training, CHET will increase the number of researchers and the amount of health-equity focused research at UK.

"[Kentucky] is one of several states where we see declines in life expectancy so there is a lot of work to be done. We believe that research can help inform the best practices that can support

By Lindsey Piercy

It's the diagnosis those 65 and older often fear, but what are the chances you will be unhappy if you develop some cognitive impairment in the years ahead?

A new study, authored by Anthony Bardo and Scott Lynch, tackles that very question by examining "cognitive life expectancy." What exactly does that term mean? Bardo, an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Kentucky, describes "cognitive life expectancy" as how long older adults live with good versus declining brain health.

"There is a great deal of stigma and fear surrounding declining cognitive ability that sometimes comes with age — especially among those nearing the second half of their adult lives. Yet, findings from my recent study show that cognitive impairment does not equate to unhappiness."

How

By Olivia Ramirez

Nancy Schoenberg and Carrie Oser

At the University for Kentucky, understanding and addressing the health needs of the people of the Commonwealth is the goal of many faculty, staff, clinicians and researchers. As a step toward improving health equity, the University of Kentucky Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) was established and recently approved by the UK Board of Trustees. 

Kentucky has the highest national rates of cancer incidence and mortality as well as high rates of cardiovascular disease, diabetes, substance abuse and other diseases. These burdensome health conditions disproportionately impact rural, racial/ethnic minorities, sexual minorities and those from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Health equity research examines health and healthcare for underserved populations and looks at the

By Nick Harling

The University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences has named the 2018 recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad and Internships in Politics, Government, Law, or Public Policy. Since its inaugural year of 2017, this competitive scholarship, sponsored by Robert ’78 and Anne Trunzo, awards funding to students planning to study abroad and to students for participation in internships.

The 2018 Recipients of the Trunzo Scholarship for Education Abroad are:

By Jenny Wells

Maggie Campe, a doctoral candidate in the University of Kentucky Department of Sociology and research assistant in UK’s Center for Research on Violence Against Women (CRVAW) is the inaugural recipient of the Lindsey M. Bonistall Research Fellowship from PEACEOUTside Campus. The fellowship will provide $15,000 to Campe to conduct research related to on- and off-campus safety.

“I thought that the fellowship proposal call coalesced with my dissertation work really well, and that my dissertation research could really align with the mission of the PEACEOUTside Campus Foundation,” said Campe, who is studying campus sexual violence. “It has really given me the opportunity to (quicker than I might be able to

By Lindsey Piercy

Amanda Bunting, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Kentucky, is one of 100 doctoral students in the U. S. and Canada selected to receive a $15,000 Scholar Award from the P.E.O. Sisterhood. She was sponsored by Chapter AO KY of Lexington.

Bunting is from Frederick, Maryland. She received a bachelor's degree from Hood College in 2009 and a master's degree from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County in 2014. At UK, she has received a Presidential Fellowship, the University of Kentucky Association of Emeriti Faculty Endowed Faculty Fellowship Award and is currently supported as a predoctoral scholar on a NIDA (National Institute on Drug Abuse) T32 training grant. Bunting is dedicated to research of employment, health and treatment outcomes among substance using individuals returning to society from prison

By Lindsey Piercy

In front of a crowd of fellow classmates, faculty, staff and local leaders, victimology student Ann Pitts stepped to the podium and began to share a heartfelt story of hurt, hope and healing.

"Beyond protecting society from crime, we need to protect our survivors," Pitts said. "This has inspired a fire in me to keep pushing for change."

Pitts is one of several passionate students who had a hand in organizing the Clothesline Project held on the University of Kentucky campus on April 12.

"I decided to speak because I believe if you want to change things, you have to be brave. I wasn't just being brave for myself but for all of the survivors in the audience," Pitts continued. "I was silent for three years of my life, but I know now that it's time to speak up. I don't want survivors to think speaking out is the only option

By Lindsey Piercy

Several University of Kentucky faculty members within the College of Arts and Sciences presented research at the Association for Asian Studies annual conference last weekend.

The four-day event, in Washington, D.C., brought together scholars, professors, researchers and authors from around the world to present research and discuss topics devoted to the study of Asia.

The Association for Asian Studies (AAS) is the largest Asian Studies conference held in North America. More than 3,000 people attended this year, including UK faculty: