Archive issue
Sept. 25, 2000

News

UK to raise $600 million by 2003
Know the code! New area code becomes permanent
Events highlight National Hispanic Heritage Month
UK dedicates Hardymon Networking Building
Self study requires participation of UK community
Classics fellowship honors Lou Swift
Freshman enrollment sets record
Group to address disability issues on campus, in community
Outstanding Alumni
New heart device implanted at UK heart institute
University has banner research funding year
UK joins U.S. environmental study
Forum discusses state of Kentucky women
LCC named lead in IT center grant
Briefs

UK to raise $600 million by 2003

The University of Kentucky announced a goal of $600 million for its first-ever comprehensive fund-raising campaign and the most ambitious fund-raising effort in the history of the commonwealth of Kentucky during a luncheon Sept. 15. The campaign, known by the title "A Call To Greatness," continues through June 30, 2003.

University of Kentucky President Charles T. Wethington Jr., campaign National Chairperson James W. Stuckert of Louisville and UK's Chief Development Officer Terry Mobley reported that UK already has received gifts, contribution commitments and pledges totaling $318,054,449, more than half the campaign goal.

The much-anticipated announcement from the University came in a campaign kick-off celebration attended by many of UK's alumni, friends and donors, as well as UK students, faculty and staff.

President Wethington said the campaign funds would permit UK to make a major "investment in people - the students, faculty and staff who will take this University to the level of a top-20 public research institution by the year 2020."

Speaking to the crowd of UK supporters, Stuckert said, "This is a Kentucky day. Not just for the University of Kentucky, but for the people of Kentucky. We will reach our goal, and we need everyone to give and give generously."

Mobley said some of the money raised in the campaign will be used for capital projects including buildings and equipment, but the great majority will help bolster the University's endowment and investment in people.

"The impact of this extraordinary fund-raising effort will be felt throughout the university and across Kentucky," Mobley said.

The announcement was a central event in a weekend of special events focusing on the Campaign for the University of Kentucky and the academic programs the fund-raising effort would support.

Following the announcement of the campaign goal, all the colleges of the University campus, including those in the Albert B. Chandler Medical Center, opened their doors to the public to present various academic showcases spotlighting each of their scholastic expertise.

On Sept. 14, UK students, faculty and staff gathered in the botanical gardens near the UK student center for a rallying picnic in support of the campaign.

Many of the showcases, featuring everything from demonstrations of magnetic resonance imaging to the sermons of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., remained open for public viewing on Sept. 16.

A musical spectacular featuring "The Ladies of Note," jazz singers Lainie Kazan, Melba Moore and Nnenna Freelon in their premiere performance together, continued the UK festivities Thursday evening.

A Campaign Gala and Fellows Dinner at which this year's UK Fellows take center stage was held Sept. 15 in Rupp Arena. UK Fellows are persons who have contributed $10,000 or more to the University.

On Sept. 16, UK played Indiana in Commonwealth Stadium, an annual football rivalry that usually fills the 68,000-plus-seat stadium. A special halftime show featured the University' recently announced fund-raising campaign.

Festivities also included the beginning of the UK Art Museum's in yearlong celebration of its 25th anniversary with a "Director's Forum" and a UK Symphony Orchestra Concert.

Ralph Derickson

Know the code! New area code becomes permanent

The new 859 area code for the University of Kentucky will become permanent Oct. 1. At this time, the 606 previously used by the University and Northern and Central Kentucky will no longer work for those areas. It will be dedicated entirely to Eastern Kentucky.

The area code change was effective April 1 and had a "permissive dialing" period through Oct. 1 that allowed callers to use either the 606 or 859 area codes. The numbers 859 correspond to UKY, a trick University friends and family can use to remember the new code.

Staff report

Events highlight National Hispanic Heritage Month

Events range from film to discussion groups.

A film, a forum and a colloquium will focus attention on Hispanics and their diverse cultures during the UK Latin American Studies Program's celebration of National Hispanic Heritage Month.

Chris Pool, director of the program, said the first event will be Friday, Sept. 29, when Transylvania University sociology professor Brian Rich, Lexington's director of Hispanic services Abdon Ibarra and Rosa Martin, outreach coordinator of UK's Kentucky Farmworker Health Program discuss issues and future trends for Hispanics in Central Kentucky. The forum will be held at 1 p.m. in Room 230 of the UK Student Center.

On Wednesday, Oct. 4, the feature film "Like Water for Chocolate" will be shown at 6:30 p.m. in Room 110 of White Hall Classroom Building. The film and its magical realism will be discussed at a colloquium at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 10, in Room 231 of the UK Student Center.

Pool noted native Kentuckians by now should be aware of mushrooming growth in the Hispanic population.

"I've heard that there are 70,000 Latinos in Kentucky, but I think that's an underestimate. The numbers I've seen thrown around in Lexington is 20,000 to 30,000, but I think that's a low count," he said.

Martin agreed. Her work with the Farmworker Health Program brings her into direct contact with Latinos in Fayette, Scott, Bourbon and Clark counties.

Dan Adkins
Rosa Martin and Chris Pool display items celebrating Hispanic heritage. Pool, director of UK's Latin American Studies Program, is coordinating several events marking National Hispanic Heritage Month at UK. Martin, outreach coordinator in UK's Kentucky Farmworker Health Program, will participate in a forum. Events slated include "Issues and Future Trends for Hispanics in Central Kentucky," 1 p.m., 230 Student Center, and "Like Water for Chocolate," 6:30 p.m., 110 White Hall Classroom Building; discussion, Oct. 10, 3:30 p.m., 231 Student Center.

"Even in a town like Georgetown, you've got a big community there," she said.

The evidence is indisputable: Pool and Martin pointed out that Hispanics have opened businesses like grocery stores, restaurants, bakeries and other shops in the region.

"Even one of the larger computer stores here is owned by Hispanics," Martin noted.

Pool and Martin cautioned against making assumptions and stereotypes about Kentucky's Latino population. The term "Hispanic" includes a broad diversity of nationalities and races.

"I would imagine that virtually every country in Latin America is represented in Kentucky's Hispanic communities," Pool said.

The Latin American Studies Program is one that shows UK's ability to anticipate future needs. It was founded a quarter-century ago by Ken Coleman, formerly with UK's political science department. The program offers a major and a minor for undergraduates, with its classes taught by professors from a broad range of disciplines, including Spanish, anthropology, history, political science, economics and others.

The program and events it sponsors, like Hispanic Heritage Month, aim at increasing multicultural understanding. Pool and Martin said it's important that long-time Lexington residents consider the value Latinos bring.

"I hear some people complain about spending their tax dollars for the immigrants. But Hispanics pay far more in taxes than they are taking in services," Pool said.

Martin noted the contributions the Hispanics are making to Kentucky's prosperity.

"Historically, when immigrants come into a community, the community flourishes," she said.

Dan Adkins

UK dedicates Hardymon Networking Building

Building namesake gives gift to establish five scholarships.

On Sept. 11, officials at the University of Kentucky dedicated the $4.8 million James F. Hardymon Building that will house UK's Alliance for Networking Excellence designed to support research of evolving network and communications systems. The ceremonies also included an announcement of a new scholarship for students focusing on networking and communications technology.

"This building will help us retain our already excellent faculty and will facilitate the recruiting of other top minds in this field. As the UK Alliance for Networking Excellence gains international stature, students of extraordinary ability will seek out its opportunities," UK President Charles T. Wethington Jr. said.

The building is named for James F. Hardymon, former chairman and chief executive officer of Textron Corp. Hardymon also is a former member of the UK Board of Trustees and earned his bachelor's and master's degrees in civil engineering at UK. Hardymon attended the dedication. Hardymon provided a gift in April 1999 to establish five scholarships for students seeking a dual degree in engineering and business administration and two endowed chairs in the UK College of Engineering.

Tim Collins
President Charles T. Wethington Jr. and Gene Williams, vice president for information systems, tug loose a drape to unveil the frieze bearing the name of the James F. Hardymon Building. Hardymon, an alumnus, University supporter and former UK trustee, stands to Wethington's left.

The two-story, 25,324-square-foot building provides infrastructure to support basic and applied research in high-speed computer networks and communications. It also enhances the University's connectivity to other universities, laboratories and researchers across the nation.

Wethington also announced the establishment of the UK Alliance for Networking Excellence Corporate Scholarship Program. UK's College of Engineering will offer 10 full-tuition, two-year scholarships annually for students focusing on computer networks and communications. The scholarships are funded through support of corporations partnering with the University in its Alliance for Networking Excellence.

The opening of the Hardymon Building further cements UK's position as a leader among American universities engaged in high-speed computing and networking. UK already serves as a primary member for the South East Partnership to Share Computational Resources, a network that connects supercomputers at six southeastern state universities.

UK also is actively involved in the development of Internet II and is a regional partner in the National Science Foundation's Partnerships for Advanced Computational Infrastructure supercomputer grant awarded to the National Computational Sciences Alliance. UK's new supercomputer recently thrust it into the ranks of the world leaders on a joint listing by the University of Tennessee and Mannheim University. UK ranked 10th among U.S. universities and 200th among the world's commercial, industrial, governmental and academic supercomputer sites.

Dan Adkins

Self study requires participation of UK community

University re-accreditation is the goal of the self study.

Meeting the highest standards is always a goal of the University of Kentucky. Continuous assessment helps, as do the reviews by many of the organizations to which the University belongs. During the 2000-2001 year, the University will undergo its Commission on Colleges, Southern Association of Colleges and Schools self-study process, a requirement for accreditation.

"Having an accreditation of this type is like a Good Housekeeping seal," said self study director John Piecoro. "It tells people this is something that has withstood a thorough testing. It gives the consumer a lot of confidence in the product."

The self study is required by COC/SACS every 10 years. It is an institution-wide assessment that will generate a report on the quality of the University's educational effort and will make recommendations for enhancement and improvement. The report will cover policies, processes, programs, services, facilities and personnel. In April 2002, a visiting committee will be on campus to review and verify the report and make a recommendation to COC/SACS on the reaffirmation of the University's accreditation.

To gather the information needed for the report, Piecoro and the self study's 10 committees will work with University departments and programs. More than 150 people, including faculty, staff, alumni, students and trustees, are serving as committee members. They will do various surveys by mail and phone of faculty, staff and students. The surveys will be mailed beginning this month, the first being a staff survey.

"The surveys are an opportunity for staff, faculty and students to comment on the University, ask questions and provide other information," Piecoro said.

For the self study, the University must review and compare itself to 470 "must" statements in the "Criteria for Accreditation." How the University responds will come in part from the survey responses, Piecoro said.

"It's very important that faculty, staff and students participate to the fullest in the surveys," he said. "They give the University a lot of useful information we can't get from other places."

Focus groups to be held in September, October and November also will help Piecoro and the self-study committees collect information.

In December 2001, a final self-study report will be sent to the COC/SACS visiting committee chair. The committee will visit campus April 15-18, 2002, to verify the study and collect any other needed materials. The decision on the accreditation renewal will come in December 2002, when SACS will have its annual meeting.

"It is a tremendous job, but meeting the standards of a professional organization says this is a first-class institution," Piecoro said. "It tells the public this is a place they would want to send their family members to study and tells potential faculty why they should want to work here."

Piecoro said more volunteers are needed for some committees. A complete list of committees and more information on the self study is available at www.uky.edu/selfstudy. Information also is available by calling or visiting the self study office at 257-7915 or 7A Administration Building.

Selena Stevens

Classics fellowship honors Lou Swift

Graduate position to be created.

The UK Department of Classics will establish an endowed graduate fellowship in honor of Lou Swift, who has taught in the department since 1970. Swift also served as dean of undergraduate studies at UK from 1990 to 1999.

Administrators of the fellowship said they hope donations will allow them to build on a $10,000 anonymous donation until they reach approximately $50,000. At that point, the fellowship could qualify for state matching funds, said Bob Rabel, chairman of the department.

The fellowship was named for Swift because his colleagues in the department think he exemplifies the best kind of classics scholar-teacher, Rabel said.

"Everyone seemed to think that he was exactly right for this," he said.

Swift, in typical fashion, said he felt blessed by the honor, Rabel said.

"He's slightly embarrassed by the whole thing," he said.

In a related issue, the classics department, together with the Kentucky Classical Association, is seeking donations for the Longacre Fellowship, named for the late Ruth Longacre, a well-known Lexington-area Latin teacher. The fellowship will be used to encourage teachers to get K-12 certification to teach Latin. The classics department, acting for the KCA, is administrating the fellowship, which will be used in the College of Education.

UKPR file
Professor and former dean of undergraduate studies Lou Swift will be the namesake for an anonymous gift to UK. His colleagues selected him because they thought he exemplifies the best kind of classics scholar-teacher.

Donations for the Longacre and Swift fellowships should be sent to the University of Kentucky, Office of Development, Sturgill Development Building, Lexington, Ky. 40506-0015.

George Lewis

Freshman enrollment sets record

LCC total enrollment gained 5 percent to 7,150 students.

Banner freshman enrollment and a dramatic increase in the number of Lexington Community College students have taken the University of Kentucky's combined enrollment to nearly 31,000 for the first time.

The freshman class on the Lexington Campus jumped to 2,957 students, an increase of nearly 10 percent over the preceding year, according to preliminary enrollment figures.

The increase in the freshman class is consistent with a record number of applications for UK undergraduate admission. Applications reached 8,328 during the year, a record since the University implemented selective admissions in 1984.

The quality of the freshman class remained high based on the incoming students' grade point averages and their scores on the American College Test. The middle 50 percent of the freshman class had a GPA of 3.2 to 3.8. The range of the ACT composite score for the same grouping of students is 22 to 27. The top 23 percent of the freshman class scored 28 or higher on the ACT.

In the freshman class are 59 National Merit Scholars, three National Achievement Scholars, one National Hispanic Scholar, 98 Governor's Scholars and 86 high school valedictorians.

UK President Charles T. Wethington Jr. had high praise for the student recruitment efforts that resulted in the positive enrollment outlook, including an outstanding freshman class.

"This represents a lot of good work by a lot of good people," he said. "Enrollment areas where the University should continue to put major emphasis and effort include increasing the number of part-time students, the number of transfer students and the quality of the entering freshmen classes."

Lexington Community College enrollment is up 5 percent to 7,150 students, the most since the school became a community college in 1965.

LCC President James Kerley praised the faculty and staff for "taking the college into the community" during the year and recruiting heavily, particularly in the African-American community, with a resulting increase of 20 percent in first-time African-American students.

African-American students comprise 10 percent of LCC's enrollment and make up 5.5 percent of UK's Lexington Campus and Medical Center campuses. The year's entering freshman class includes the largest number of African-American students ever to be enrolled on UK's Lexington Campus.

The total estimated enrollment for the Lexington Campus and the Medical Center is 23,816, an increase from the actual enrollment in the fall of 1999 of 23,742. A significant increase was recorded in the number of full-time undergraduate resident students to 12,862.

Final enrollment figures must be reported to the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education by November.

At UK, undergraduate enrollment increased in the colleges of Agriculture, Business and Economics, Communications and Information Studies, Education and in the Undergraduate Studies program.

Reflecting a national trend, graduate school enrollment was down 36 students. Graduate School Dean Mike Nietzel said part of the drop could be attributed to a record number of doctorates being granted the preceding year. He also said the number of part-time graduate students is down, perhaps as a result of a good economy in which there ample jobs are available.

Graduate enrollment was up, however, in the colleges of Agriculture, Allied Health, Architecture, Communications and Information Studies, Dentistry, Education, Engineering and Medicine.

Ralph Derickson

Group to address disability issues on campus, in community

Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute leads employee, student group.

A newly-formed University of Kentucky student, alumni and staff group plans to tackle disability issues on campus and in the community. Led by UK Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute Project Director Kathy Sheppard-Jones, the group plans to address issues facing individuals with disabilities, such as accommodations for disabilities, assistive technology needs, coordination of support services, transition from college to the workplace and lack of community knowledge about Americans with Disabilities Act requirements.

"People with disabilities typically don't have a strong voice," Sheppard-Jones said. "The biggest mission of our group is to be a voice for students with disabilities and to work toward expanding a network."

The group's initial plans include recruitment of members on and off campus, creation of recruitment kits and a campus tour geared toward high school students with disabilities. In addition, the University is hard at work to ensure that the campus is accessible. This group hopes to create a map of campus showing accessible features of campus buildings.

The group's formation is the result of a study conducted by the National Center of Postsecondary Education Supports based at the University of Hawaii in Manoa, Hawaii. UK was one of 10 sites participating in the study, which addressed experiences and perceptions of incoming and former students with disabilities regarding access to and participation in postsecondary programs, available education supports for students with disabilities and how well postsecondary schools prepare students for employment and transition to the workplace.

For more information on the group, contact, Sheppard-Jones at 257-8104 or 257-1714 or kshepp-jones@ihdi.uky.edu.

Kim Cumbie
Kathy Sheppard-Jones

Outstanding Alumni

Submitted
The University of Kentucky recently announced the recipients of the 1999 Alumni Service Award. The awards were presented at the UK Alumni Association summer workshop, held this year in Covington.

Left to right are award winners Thomas J. Cobb, Class of 1947, former member of the Alumni Association Board active in the Shelby County Club; Paula Pope '73, '75, board member and former chair of the House Renovation Committee; James D. "Danny" Norvell '63, former member of the board active in the Cumberland Valley West Club; and Robert Pickard, immediate past president of the association and past president of the Nashville Club. Unavailable for the photo was Sallie R. Bryant, long-time supporter of the Alumni Association active in the Birmingham Club.

New heart device implanted at UK heart institute

For the first time in Kentucky, a team of physicians and staff at the Linda and Jack Gill Heart Institute at the University of Kentucky has implanted a new investigational monitor in two heart failure patients. The new device under study will allow the UK health care team caring for the patients to monitor the patients' conditions long distance via the World Wide Web.

William Abraham, co-director of the Linda and Jack Gill Heart Institute at UK and chief of cardiovascular medicine, is the principal investigator for the study at UK and a member of the national committee overseeing the development of the device. Westby Fisher, a UK electrophysiologist, implanted the device Aug. 22, in Susan Levy, 61, of Cincinnati, and Wanda Moore, 50, of Ashland.

The Chronicle Implantable Hemodynamic Monitor is the world's first implanted monitor for the medical management of patients with heart failure. About 100 such devices have been implanted at eight centers across the country, and the Gill Heart Institute at UK is the only one to offer it in Kentucky.

The device is unique because it allows doctors to monitor their patients' conditions long distance. Information from the Chronicle IHM can be downloaded over the telephone to a secure Web site accessible to the UK heart failure team.

The device continuously monitors the heart's function by measuring and recording the pressure changes inside the heart.

The first Chronicle IHM was implanted in 1998, and the device is still in the investigational stage.

Vikki Franklin

University has banner research funding year

Growth of contracts, grants, gifts brings record to $155.2 million.

University of Kentucky faculty and staff experienced record success attracting research contracts, grants and gifts during 1999-2000. Extramural funding for research climbed to $155.2 million -a 17.4 percent increase over the previous year.

"This spectacular growth is the last chapter of a 10-year plan to magnify the research profile of this institution," said Fitzgerald B. Bramwell, vice president for Research and Graduate Studies. "We are seeing a huge return on our investment in faculty, staff, students and research resources beginning with major recruitment efforts in the early '90s and new facilities such as the Health Sciences Research Building."

UK received $82.5 million in grants and contracts from federal agencies, nearly 55.4 percent of the extramural funding total.

"Federal funding is considered an important measure of success among top research universities," Bramwell said.

Intellectual property activity is another indicator of a top research university. During 1999-2000, 27 patents were issued to the University and another 30 applications were submitted for new patents. UK holds 225 patents, primarily in the areas of pharmaceuticals, plant biotechnology and biomedical engineering.

UK-originated technologies that are licensed for use by business and industry generated $2.8 million in royalties during the past year. Top royalty-producing inventions include a nasal delivery method for pharmaceuticals, three vaccines for horses and an implant device for treating eye diseases.

UK holds 67 license agreements with various companies, 12 that were issued during 1999-2000. Eight licenses were issued to Kentucky businesses.

"This year's success is a tribute to our top-notch faculty and staff who are dedicated to improving our lives through research," Bramwell said.

Deborah Weis

UK joins U.S. environmental study

Superfund grant makes UK one of the top-10 universities for environmental research.

The University of Kentucky's Graduate Center for Toxicology will receive $10.5 million over the next five years for both basic research and intervention studies involving PCBs, a substance used in hydraulic oil used in electric insulators and other products.

In addition to the basic research, UK researchers will study ways to intervene and perhaps prevent or correct the harmful effects of PCBs that are carcinogens and contributors to heart disease and other ailments.

The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences awarded the research funds to UK. The money comes from the federal Superfund established in 1980 that gets its money from companies that have polluted the environment.

UK Superfund
The UK Superfund Basic Research Program is a multidisciplinary effort involving 24 faculty members representing 17 academic units and two other institutions, said project Director Larry W. Robertson, a professor of toxicology and a member of the Mackey Cancer Center and the Graduate Center for Nutritional Sciences.

Robertson said the UK Superfund program is a "large and complex grant" that started in 1997. The new funding places the University in the "top 10 in scientific merit" among institutions involved in such research. He noted the University competed for the project nationally and beat out such institutions as the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Albany, Mount Sinai and Colorado State.

PCBs were outlawed more than 20 years ago, but have a long life and remain in the environment, being transmitted through the food chain and into the atmosphere in various ways. As a result, there is worldwide contamination with these pollutants. Millions of pounds of PCBs are still in use, said Robertson, mostly in electric transformers.

Robertson said UK's research and intervention studies are critically important because, "Our program has the potential to propose nutritional interventions against PCB-mediated diseases, such as atherosclerosis and cancer.

"Not only are we studying underlying mechanisms of toxicity, but we want to find intervention processes for relief for people who are at risk from PCB exposure," he said.

Among the faculty working on the Superfund Program is Bernhard Hennig, a professor in animal sciences in the College of Agriculture.

Hennig's research suggests diets rich in certain unsaturated fatty acids may amplify the adverse vascular effects of PCBs. Hennig's research also gives insight into the potential uses of vitamin E to limit PCB-mediated endothelial cell injury resulting from PCB exposure.

Robertson, who earned his doctorate in environmental health sciences at the University of Michigan in 1981, said there are three basic categories of PCB contamination:

- Accidental poisoning, such as an incident in Japan in which PCBs leaked into a cooking oil in 1968 and poisoned 1,200 to 1,500 people;

- Occupational exposures, including people who live near places where PCBs are located or who might have worked on putting oil into transformers or in the electrical transmission industry;

- "Average Joe" exposures, resulting, for example, from the consumption of foods high in PCBs. High levels of PCBs, for instance, have been found in some sports fishermen in Michigan who ate fish polluted with PCBs caught in Lake Michigan.

Three projects in the UK Superfund program deal with cancer including the direct effects of PCBs as initiators of tumors, PCBs as promoters of carcinogenesis and investigations of how PCBs help cancers metastasize. One segment of the research looks at how PCB exposure causes clogging of arteries and increases the risk of cardiovascular disease.

Robertson said the UK Superfund projects will benefit not only people in Superfund chemical areas but also those whose risk appears smaller.

"We all carry around residues of these chemicals in our blood and fat tissue, albeit at low levels," he said. "What we don't know however, is what the long-term effects are."

For more information about the Superfund program, go to www.uky.edu /~1wrobe01/.

Ralph Derickson

Forum discusses state of Kentucky women

The University of Kentucky Women's Studies Program and the Department of Political Science will present a panel titled "The State of Women in the Commonwealth" from 3:30 to 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 28, in Room 206 of the UK Student Center.

Beverly Watts, executive director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights; Susan Westrom, state representative from the 79th District in Lexington; and Joanna Badagliacco, associate professor of sociology at UK, will be the featured speakers. The topics they will cover will include women's rights in Kentucky, representation of women in the legislature, housing issues and homeless women in Kentucky.

For more information, contact UK Women's Studies at 257-1388 in 112 Breckinridge Hall. Information also may be found at the Women's Studies Web site, www.uky.edu/AS/WomenStudies.

Staff report

LCC named lead in IT center grant

National program to develop regional technology centers.

Lexington Community College has been named the lead institution in a National Science Foundation grant to develop the concept and plan for an Advanced Technological Education Regional Information Technology Center. LCC will direct a consortium of regional community and technical colleges and was awarded a $50,000 grant for planning the technology center. Others involved in the project are Jefferson Community College-South West and Paducah Community College.

The consortium will build on information technology activities and initiatives involving community colleges, technical colleges and high schools to develop a plan for a regional center. Such a center would facilitate comprehensive access to information technology skills and training.

"We have developed a statewide collaborative model that is unique and that has been extraordinarily effective in developing and implementing an up-to-date, flexible information technology curriculum," Crowley said. "This is an exciting opportunity to build further on the experience and expertise we have acquired in the two previous ATE grant projects. It is timely and has the potential to benefit work force development initiatives and to impact education at all levels across the state."

This project represents LCC's continued involvement in the area of technological education. The college has been part of two previous Advanced Technological Education grants, totaling $1,650,000, from the NSF. These projects are linked to the establishment of Cisco and Nortel Academies in KCTCS colleges and high schools.

Julie Wiedmer

Briefs

Deford lunches with WUKY
WUKY, the University of Kentucky public radio station, will present Frank Deford during an Oct. 10 luncheon at Keeneland. Deford is one of the most respected sports writer/commentators in America.

The event is part of the station's 60th anniversary celebration, which also will include comedians The Capitol Steps Oct. 27; Garrison Keillor and a live broadcast of "A Prairie Home Companion" Nov. 11; the Keeneland Art Fair Dec. 2 and 3; jazz by Tuck and Patti Dec. 8; the "Heard It Through the Grapevine" wine-taste Jan. 26, 2001; and cowboy poet Baxter Black March 13, 2001.

For more information and tickets to the luncheon, call 257-3221.

Frank Deford

Diversity dialogues begin Oct. 10
Two UK Diversity Dialogues will begin in October, one Oct. 10 and one Oct. 11. The dialogues are voluntary discussion groups that meet one night a week for five weeks to talk about issues of diversity.

For more information, contact David Stockham at 257-3754 or dstock@pop.uky.edu or John Lindsay at 252-7781 or jclind2@gte.net.

Breast cancer fashion show set for Oct. 7 at Sheraton Suites
The Fourth Annual Step by Step Fashion Show will be held from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 7, at the Sheraton Suites Lexington.

The fashion show will feature breast cancer survivors as the models. The University of Kentucky Comprehensive Breast Care Center, the UK Markey Cancer Center, the McDowell Cancer Foundation, UK HealthCare and Dillard's are hosting the free event in celebration of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

To register, call UK Health Connection at 257-1000.

Class help women select career, educational path
Women who are contemplating a career change or considering a return to school will want to register for Women in Transition.

The course will include vocational testing and self-exploration experiences. The class meets from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 19, and continues through Tuesday, Oct. 24. There is a $55 fee, and a text is required. To register, visit the Central Advising Service and Transfer Center in 109 Miller Hall or use a credit card to register by calling 257-3383.

GRE math review held
If you are preparing to take the Graduate Record Exam, a math review class at the University of Kentucky will help you prepare.

Math Review for the GRE will be offered Sept. 21, through Oct. 26. There is a $80 fee, and a text is required. To register, visit the Central Advising Service and Transfer Center in 109 Miller Hall or use a credit card to register by calling 257-3383.

Back-to-school workshop held
The University of Kentucky will hold a free back-to-school workshop for adults on Thursday, Oct. 19, from 7 to 9 p.m. in 230 Student Center.

Sponsored by University Extension, the workshop is open to all adults who are returning to college or to those who will attend college for the first time.

Representatives of the UK offices of graduate and undergraduate admissions, academic advising and financial counseling will offer guidance and answer participants' questions.

For more information, call Sarah Sizemore at 257-6126.

GMAT assistance offered
If you are preparing to take the Graduate Management Admission Test, review classes at the University of Kentucky will help you prepare.

Verbal Review for the GMAT will be offered on Wednesdays and Math Review for the GMAT will be offered Thursdays, each for six weeks beginning the week of Sept. 18. There is a $80 fee, and a text is required. To register, visit the Central Advising Service and Transfer Center in 109 Miller Hall or use a credit card to register by calling 257-3383.

Women's cancer facility groundbreaking to be Oct. 3
A ceremony for the groundbreaking for the new women's cancer facility at the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 3, next to the Davis-Mills Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy Center.

All UK faculty and staff are invited to attend.

Events highlight mental illness
Faculty, residents and staff from the University of Kentucky College of Medicine Department of Psychiatry, University Health Service, and the UK Counseling and Testing Center are working with the Mental Health Advocates of Central Kentucky to increase mental illness awareness during September and October and to highlight National Mental Illness Awareness Week, set for Oct. 1-7.

Events will include a candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Sept. 28 at Eastern State Hospital and a free depression screening on National Depression Screening Day from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Oct. 5 at the William T. Young Library.

For information, call 323-6021, ext. 272.

Training offered for alternate portfolios
The Kentucky Alternate Portfolio Fall Development Training is under way in all eight educational regions in Kentucky.

Schools in Kentucky are held responsible for student progress by the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. The alternate portfolio ensures that students with significant challenges are represented in school accountability systems.

The training is open to any interested persons, including regular and special education teachers, administrators, assistants and parents. Information on dates and times can be found at www.ihdi.uky.edu/projects/KAP.

MSRRC trains officials on CD use
UK's Mid-South Regional Resource Center will conduct a national training event, "CDing in D.C.: Go for the Burn," Oct. 25-27 in Washington, D.C.

Employees of state departments of education will learn how to customize a CD that integrates statutes, regulations, policies and practices based on the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.