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:

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 availability

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 a generous gift

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 more than a third of

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 than two decades

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 improvements in

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 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 otherwise) put my

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 towards