NEWS
International Student Wins Gaines Fellowship
The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities has chosen Australian student Ben Barnes as one of twelve outstanding undergraduates selected as new scholars for the university's Gaines Fellowship Program for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 academic years. Barnes, who is majoring in kinesiology, is from Katherine, Australia.
Gaines Fellowships are given in recognition of students’ outstanding academic performance, demonstrated ability to conduct independent research, interest in public issues, and desire to enhance understanding of the human condition through the humanities. Fellowships are awarded for the tenure of a student's junior and senior years, or for the last two years of a five-year program; students in all disciplines and with any intended profession are given equal consideration.
All Gaines Fellows take a specially designed, four-credit-hour per semester seminar in the humanities both semesters of their junior year. Each of these students will complete a major independent study project in the senior year, earning them between six and 15 credit hours. The Gaines Fellowship carries a stipend of $2,000 in a scholar's junior year and $3,000 in the senior year.
In addition to the course requirements, Gaines Fellows enjoy a rich program of field trips, lectures, and other activities designed to widen and deepen their educational experience.
It is these varied requirements and opportunities that attract students to the Gaines Fellowship program. "I sought the intellectual community offered," said new fellow James Chapman. "I welcome the challenges it will present and the ability to form deep friendships with the other Fellows. I am also drawn to the community development aspect of the fellowship."
Founded in 1984 by a gift from John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education. Devoted to cultivating an appreciation of the humanities in its students and faculty, the Gaines Center embraces varied paths of knowledge, and particularly strives to integrate creative work with traditional academic learning.