By Ja'Mahl McDaniel 

For more than 30 years, the United States has recognized Sept. 15 as the start of Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Enacted in 1988 by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan, Latinx/Hispanic Heritage Month, which takes place from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15, allows the country to come together to celebrate the long and diverse history of Latin American identity, cultures, languages and vast contributions.   

At the University of Kentucky, we have seen a significant increase in the number of Latinx and Hispanic-identifying students, faculty and staff. On campus, we have departments, clubs and organizations that foster opportunities for community building, educational awareness 

By Jenny Wells-Hosley

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 14, 2022) — Next week will kick off the Many Mountains Fall Festival, a student-led, weekslong celebration of Appalachian and Latinx cultures. Including arts, music, food and dance, the festival celebrates Appalachian cultural diversity with a special emphasis on Latinx experiences and expressions in the region. The week will be anchored by a performance by Cornbread & Tortillas, a dynamic bilingual production that features stories, music and dancing.

The festival is a collaboration between the University of Kentucky Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program; the 

LEXINGTON 9/15/2021 - Beginning today, the University of Kentucky Martin Luther King Center, in collaboration with campus partners and student organizations, will honor National Hispanic Heritage Month.

This year, in response to student preference to acknowledge the entire Latin American diaspora, and not only the Hispanic — or Spanish-speaking — communities/countries, the university will stray away from using the phrase "Hispanic Heritage Month" and instead will celebrate Latinx Heritage Month, broadening the month to include a larger population. 

“We could not be more excited to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month juntos — together,” said Ruth González Jiménez, Latino student community specialist with the MLK King

By Richard LeComte

Even if students can’t travel to foreign lands this summer, they can extend their knowledge of languages through a series of courses offered online in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts & Sciences. 

“I think one really big advantage of online learning the lockdown – when students can’t leave their homes – is the ability to travel virtually,” said  Julie Human, assistant professor of French and Francophone Studies in UK’s Department of Modern & Classical Languages, Literatures & Cultures Department (MCLLC). “You can explore the customs and ways of the Francophone world whenever you’re stuck at home inside your four walls.”

Classes in Spanish, French, German and other languages are offered online through UK this summer. 

“We have all the elementary levels of

By Kathryn King

UK’s unique partnership with the Centro del Salud Hombro a Hombro general medicine clinic and the broader Santo Domingo, Ecuador community provides an abundance of opportunities for teamwork, professionalization, and engagement with local and global issues. The experience has the ability to change A&S students’ outlooks on the world and should be one all students consider, according to three recent participants.

“I had never traveled out of the country before [this summer],” said Sydney Adkisson, a current dual-degree student in psychology and public health. “It was amazing. You can learn about it in a textbook, but it is completely different stepping out in another place, eating, trying to get a taxi – seeing that people face the same

By Victor Allison

Education is often described as a journey. Those who decide to pursue higher education often find themselves experts on subjects dramatically different from where they began, and, in the case of Jacob Neely, thousands of miles away.

Neely grew up in Las Vegas, Nev. “We used to call the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the university of never leaving Vegas. So I chose to go to the University of Nevada (in Reno).” There, he studied political science and Spanish as an undergraduate and also received his master’s degree in foreign language and literature. Neely made the journey to the University of Kentucky in the fall of 2014 to begin his doctorate.

“I came here because I needed to do a Ph.D. to be successful in my field and I stayed because the professors kept my interest and guided me toward my passion,” Neely said. “Our Hispanic Studies

By Madison Dyment

Our world is rich in cultural differences, but the one connecting factor between all is language. Yet, as powerful as it can be to connect cultures, it can also work to promote discrimination between them. This distinct power is the largest draw of interest for Rusty Barrett, linguistics professor in the College of Arts & Sciences. 

Barrett received his bachelor’s degree in Russian Language and Literature at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. After receiving a Master’s in Russian and East European Studies at Yale, Barret worked as a translator and technical writer for the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics. There, he developed an immense appreciation for the subject of linguistics. 

“I did work as a technical translator for NASA,” Barrett said. “I was hired to translate Russian, but I was also asked to

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/.

The University of Kentucky is increasingly the first choice for students, faculty and staff to pursue their passions and their professional goals. In the last two years, Forbes has named UK among the best employers for diversity and

By Ryan Girves

Award winners are from left, front row: Jennifer Osterhage, Rachel Carr, Anna Voskresensky, Benjamin Braun, Suzanne Smith. Back row: Abraham Prades-Mengibar, Luc Dunoyer, Shane Clark and Sarah Wilson. Not pictured: Amy Taylor. Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

The University of Kentucky recognized exceptional faculty and teaching assistants with the Outstanding Teaching Awards during the 2019 UK Faculty Awards Ceremony held Thursday, April 18.

The Outstanding Teaching Awards annually recognize faculty and graduate teaching assistants who go above and beyond what is expected and demonstrate outstanding performance in the classroom or laboratory. Selected via nomination, candidates were reviewed by a selection committee empaneled by the Office for Faculty Advancement and the 

By Adrian Ho

The Braceros Photo Exhibit at the University of Kentucky’s William T. Young Library depicts the experience of Mexican laborers’ emigration as rendered by photographers who were uprooted. Featuring 18 images about the Bracero Program, the exhibit is free and open to all until May 1, 2019. 

“Immigration is a significant social topic these days. The Braceros Photo Exhibit offers an opportunity for people to view this topic from the historical perspective,” said Scott Hutson, professor of anthropology and director of the Latin American, Caribbean and Latino Studies Program at UK. “I appreciate anthropology Ph.D. candidate

By Sarah Jayne Johnson

This fall in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month the University of Kentucky Libraries Special Collections Research Center (SCRC) will be exhibiting "Los Códices: an exhibit of illustrated books from indigenous Mesoamerica," Sept. 12-Nov. 9, in the Great Hall of the Margaret I. King Library Building. The exhibit and a lecture with art historian Lori Diel are free and open to public.

National Hispanic Heritage Month runs Sept. 15 to Oct. 15. The celebration started as a week under President Lyndon Johnson and then expanded to the present 30-day period under President Ronald Reagan in 1988. It started Sept. 15, the

By Nate Harling

The University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences is entering the eighth year of its Passport to the World initiative, a yearlong exploration of the culture and history of different areas of the world and interdisciplinary topics. This year’s program explores the role migration has played and continues to play in shaping societies across the globe, and here at home.  

“Migration has played a crucial role in human history, and in shaping contemporary societies, and we want to emphasize and critically examine interconnections among world areas and people across the globe, as well as how migration is central to our societies,” said Cristina Alcalde, associate dean of inclusion and internationalization in the college, and one of the

Dr. Castillo discussed New Frontiers in Mexican American Literature

Dateline: Lexington, KY

By D. Stephen Voss, Political Science Department Publicity Director

The American Political Science Association contacted Prof. Abby Córdova on Wednesday to announce that she and a coauthor will be receiving APSA's Centennial Center grant for their research on female representation in El Salvador.

The $1,800 grant from the Women & Politics Fund, associated with the Centennial Center for Political Science and Public Affairs, supplements funding that Córdova previously received through Iowa State University's Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics.  It will allow Córdova and coauthor Annabella España-Nájera of Cal State-Fresno to pursue a

Click here for pdf version

By Amaya DeVicente 

Last year, 18 percent of the University of Kentucky graduating class graduated with global experience. The university’s International Center has taken steps to increase that percentage.

The UK International Center’s Education Abroad and Exchanges program (UK EA) recently announced a new 2018-19 scholarship and program fee reduction initiative for selected UK exchange partners around the world, ranging from $1,000-$5,000.

UK students who participate in an exchange program have the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the language and culture of a host university, city and country. They enroll in courses at the host institution for either a semester or an academic year and earn transfer credit, while still paying their regular tuition to UK.

Nicole Funk, a junior from

By Lori Minter

A record number of students made the University of Kentucky Dean's List for the fall 2016 semester. The 7,408 students were recognized for their outstanding academic performance.  That's an increase of more than 200 over the previous record reached in fall 2015 when the number of students on the UK Dean's List surpassed 7,000 for the first time.  Last semester's Dean's List includes over 700 more students than the spring 2016 semester's list.

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

By Gail Hairston

(Oct. 22,  2015) — A new assessment of the lasting impact of Hernán Cortés and the Spanish Empire’s conquest of the Aztec Empire will be discussed at “New Perspectives on Spanish Conquest and Empire: From the 16th to the 21st Centuries.” The event begins at 3:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23, in the Great Hall of the Margaret King Library at the University of Kentucky.

The event also kicks off the King Library’s November exhibition of singular photographs of Steve Raymer and event presenter Kathleen Myers. As the name suggests, the exhibition, “In the Shadow of Cortés: From Veracruz to Mexico City,” is a modern pictorial tour of the route Cortés marched from the sea to doomed Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Aztec Empire.