1.         President Todd, Speaker Richards Help Launch Regional Technology Center

UK President Lee T. Todd Jr. joined Kentucky House Speaker Jody Richards in a groundbreaking in late October for the Morgan County Regional Technology Center, a facility designed to open new economic opportunities for an 11-county region of Eastern Kentucky.  The $4.4 million, 45,000-square-foot building will provide facilities for business teleconferencing, access to a broad range of information via the Internet and training for teachers in the use of technology.  The center will house a branch office of Eastern Kentucky University’s Innovation Enterprise Center.  UK also will offer information technology and help desk support for the center, along with workshops and other activities for high-school teachers and students in the region.  The center will also feature a “visualization center” to promote the teaching of math and science courses in a technology-enriched environment.  UK Information Technology provided consulting and design services for the center.

2.         President Todd Approves Leave Policy for Adoption and Childbirth

In a innovative move, President Todd took his first step toward improving the balance between work and life of UK employees by approving the use of accrued temporary disability leave (TDL), commonly known as sick leave, for time off during the adoption of a child.  Also, TDL can now be used more extensively by a father for the birth or adoption of his child.  The policy amendment is a more generous benefit than any provided by the university's benchmark institutions.  The revision allows both male and female employees to use up to six weeks (30 working days) of accrued TDL for the adoption of a child.

3.         Center for Drug and Alcohol Research Wins Five-year Grant

Carl Leukefeld, director of UK’s Center on Drug and Alcohol Research, is the principal investigator of a five-year, $2.44 million grant to establish a center focusing on improving the transitions of drug abusers from prison to community and to community treatment.  The grant, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a division of the National Institutes of Health, establishes the Central States Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Research Systems Center in Lexington, one of seven centers in the U.S.

4.         UK Law Professor Is Confirmed for Sixth Circuit Appeals Bench

UK College of Law professor John Rogers won confirmation to the U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in November, 10 months after his nomination by President George W. Bush.  At UK since 1978, Rogers teaches international and constitutional law.  A graduate of Stanford University and the University of Michigan law school, he was an appellate attorney in the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice prior to teaching.  Twice, he has been a Fulbright Senior Lecturer in China.  Only the U.S. Supreme Court can overturn a circuit court decision.

5.         UK Ophthalmologist Studies Implant’s Value in Reducing Diabetic Blindness

A researcher in the UK College of Medicine Department of Ophthalmology is investigating the effectiveness of an ophthalmic implant for treating diabetic macular edema, in which damaged blood vessels leak and cause blurring of central vision.  Andrew Pearson, chair of the department, has found significant improvement in patients who received the implant six months after the procedure.  The patients will be monitored for 42 months.  The implant is a tiny drug reservoir implanted into the back of the eye.  It uses technology developed by Pearson and colleagues at Envision TD to enable sustained and consistent delivery of a drug directly to the affected area of the eye for up to three years.

6.         UK Fossil Fuel Researchers Win $5.7 Million Grant to Seek New Fuels

The University of Kentucky Consortium for Fossil Fuel Science has won a
$5.7 million research grant from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Fossil Energy to explore ways to convert natural gas and synthetic gas produced from coal into clean, high-quality gasoline, diesel fuel, jet fuel and hydrogen.  The research could contribute to the nation’s goal of reducing its dependence on foreign oil while increasing the fuel efficiency of transportation vehicles.  Gerald Huffman, director of the consortium, estimates development of these technologies should be completed in the next five to 10 years.  The consortium is part of the UK College of Engineering.

7.         Gatton College’s Marketing Department Ranks Among Top 10 for Publications

The UK Gatton College of Business and Economics Department of Marketing ranks seventh in the nation among its peers based on faculty publication in top academic journals, the Journal of Marketing Education reports.  The department stood ahead of Carnegie Mellon University, Purdue University, Vanderbilt University, Yale University and others.  Scott Kelley, director of UK’s Sports Marketing Academy, was ranked 11th among all scholars from the same group of schools.

8.         UK Researcher Evaluates Drug That May Help Diabetics Produce Insulin

A UK College of Medicine physician is evaluating an experimental drug that may preserve the ability to produce insulin for patients recently diagnosed with latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA).  Dennis G. Karounos, associate professor of endocrinology and molecular medicine and director of the Diabetes Program, is a co-investigator in the multi-center Phase II clinical trial. LADA is a disease like type I diabetes in which the body's immune system attacks and destroys insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas, decreasing the body's ability to produce insulin.  Up to 3.2 million American adults who think they are suffering from type II diabetes actually may have LADA. UK is one of five centers  including Washington University in St. Louis, Mo.; University of Colorado in Denver; University of Alabama in Birmingham; and University of Washington in Seattle  to begin the study sponsored by the biopharmaceutical company Peptor.

9.         UK Inducts 273 New Donors Into UK Fellows Society

UK inducted 273 new donors into its Fellows Society. Members have contributed or committed $10,000 or more to UK.  Since the program began in 1966, more than 5,700 Fellows have made or pledged gifts in excess of $520 million. The program honors various levels of giving: University Fellows ($10,000 or more, individuals only); Barker Fellows ($50,000 or more); Bowman Fellows ($250,000 or more); Patterson Fellows ($500,000 or more); and Presidential Fellows ($1 million or more).

10.        Study Finds Anti-rejection Drug May Aid Spinal Cord Injury Patients

A drug currently used for treating organ transplant rejection prevents the delayed degeneration of nerve cells in spinal cord injury, according to the results of a study at the UK Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center.  Stephanie Nottingham, graduate student, and Joe Springer, Anatomy and Neurobiology, UK College of Medicine, have demonstrated that the immunosuppressant drug FK506, also known as tacrolimus, can prevent the delayed degeneration of the oligodendroglial cells.  This is the first demonstration of a specific drug therapy that blocks the loss of these cells.  The results of the study have been published in Experimental Neurology, a leading neurosciences journal.

11.        Lexington Community College’s Poll Hits Mark on Election

Political science students at Lexington Community College accurately predicted the results of the Nov. 4 mayoral election, as well as the U.S. Senate race.  Conducted for 15 years, the poll has a history of accurately predicting local elections.  The students’ poll of 1,662 registered voters in Fayette and surrounding counties showed Lexington Mayor-elect Teresa Isaac winning her race with 51 percent of the vote.  The students also found incumbent U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell easily winning re-election.

12.        College of Human Environmental Sciences Inducts Four Into Hall of Fame

The UK College of Human Environmental Sciences inducted four people into its Hall of Fame in late October. This year's inductees were Marjorie Smock Stewart, dean of the UK College of Home Economics from 1972 to 1982; Sue Cravens Stivers, a retired agent with the Adair County Cooperative Extension Service and first recipient of the Adair County Woman of the Year award; Audrey Carr, the committee staff administrator for the Interim Joint Committee on Education in Kentucky; and Helen Horlacher Evans, director of the Vest-Lindsey House and former director of the Kentucky Lieutenant Governor's residence in Frankfort.

13.        Kernel, Yearbook Win Accolades at National Collegiate Journalism Convention

UK’s independent student newspaper, the Kernel, and its yearbook, the Kentuckian, won Best of Show awards at the Associated Collegiate Press convention in Orlando, Fla., in early November.  The publications ranked in the top five nationally.

14.        UK Launches Innovative Online Employment Application System

An innovative Web-based online employment system will save tons of paperwork and thousands of employee hours processing job applications at UK’s Human Resources Department.  The new system will affect regular, full-time staff positions, part-time/temporary and student employment.  It is not applicable to faculty positions at this time.  The online system  one of very few such systems used at universities in the nation  is readily available to anyone with access to a computer with Internet access.  The university also has taken extraordinary steps to assure that access to a computer for job applicants will not be a problem.  Arrangements have been made for computer access at county Extension offices, local libraries and local chambers of commerce.

15.        Journalism Alums Return to Discuss Issues Facing Their Profession

Several of UK’s most successful alumni, all practicing journalists, returned to campus in late November for the first in a series of forums to focus on major issues in the American media.  Participants in the first symposium were E. J. Mitchell, managing editor of The Detroit News; David Hawpe, editorial director of The Courier-Journal; John Voskuhl, assistant managing editor, Lexington Herald-Leader; Warren Wheat, editor of The Elizabethtown News; and Kakie Urch, editor of the Kentucky Enquirer.  Each symposium will deal with a current topic related to the sequence sponsoring it.  The next symposium will be held in spring semester.

16        UK Comprehensive Campaign Crosses 90 Percent of Fundraising Goal

The Campaign for the University of Kentucky has raised $550 million of its $600 million goal.  That is 92 percent of the goal of the campaign, which got under way in September 2000.

17.        President Todd Shares Entrepreneurial Experiences With New Venture Club

President Todd was the inaugural speaker at the first meeting of the Lexington Venture Club, a group designed to bring entrepreneurs together with potential investors.  The club was organized by the state Office for the New Economy, the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics, the UK Von Allmen Center for Entrepreneurship and Lexington United.

18.        Chinese Scholars Come to LCC to Learn About American Colleges

Lexington Community College continues to emphasize international education, recently welcoming Chinese scholars Yu Jing, Liu Baiyi, and Wang Chaohai to campus.  The Chinese scholars are the third group to come to LCC from Changsha University in the Hunan Province of China. Yu Jing and Liu Baiyi teach English at Changsha University, Changsha, Hunan Province, and Wang Chaohai teaches law.  All three visitors share two common goals: to improve their conversational English and to learn more about American colleges and universities.

19.        LCC Nursing, Dental Lab Technology Grads Ace Their Board Exams

Lexington Community College Dental Laboratory Technology program graduates had a 100 percent pass rate on the National Board for Certification Recognized Graduate exam. The exam is the first of three tests to become a certified dental technician.  LCC Nursing Program graduates achieved a 98 percent pass rate on their board exams.

20.        Interior Design School Wins Six-year Accreditation

The UK School of Interior Design learned recently that it has received a six-year accreditation from the foundation for Interior Design Education Research (FIDER), an international non-profit organization that accredits postsecondary interior design education programs in the United States and Canada.  The primary purpose of FIDER is to ensure a high level of quality in interior design education to meet the needs of students, the interior design profession and society.

21.        UK Children’s Hospital Patients Design 2002 Holiday Cards

Four University of Kentucky Children’s Hospital patients created artwork for the 2002 limited edition holiday cards being sold to benefit UK Children’s Hospital.  Drawings by Kaylee Maze, 6, daughter of Sandra and Marty Maze of Fleming County; Madison Hines, 5, daughter of Jennifer Palmer and Mitchell Hines of Lexington; Derek McClellan, 9, son of Teresa and Dana McClellan of Barbourville; and MacKenzie Burus, 8, daughter of Royce Burus and Paul Holland of Lexington, were chosen. Cards will be available throughout the holiday season at all Kroger stores in Lexington, Nicholasville, Georgetown, Winchester, Richmond and other Central Kentucky locations.  The cards also are available for purchase through the UK Children’s Hospital Fund Development office by calling (859) 257-1121.

22.        UK Employees Brighten Holidays Through ‘Circle of Love’

UK employees are making the holiday season a happier one for underprivileged children in Fayette, Bourbon, Scott, Woodford, Madison, Jessamine, Nicholas and Clark counties.  The annual Circle of Love provides presents such as clothing, toys and bicycles to children nominated by teachers and counselors from Central Kentucky schools.  UK employees and departments participate in the program by buying gifts from a wish list made by the children.

23.        Sunbeam Corporation’s Former Chairman Speaks on Corporate Ethics Issues

Roger W. Schipke, former chairman and CEO of both The Ryland Group and the Sunbeam Corporation, spoke on business ethics to a standing-room-only crowd of mostly UK students at the second annual Chellgren Lecture Series at the UK Gatton College of Business and Economics.

24.        Two UK Studies Examine Human Risk from Chronic Wasting Disease

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has commissioned two studies by the UK College of Medicine’s Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Molecular Genetics into the human health risk of chronic wasting disease (CWD).  The UK studies, to be conducted by Glenn Telling, are part of a comprehensive initiative to fight the spread of the disease in deer and elk herds across the U.S.  The research could lead to future diagnostic and treatment techniques and also should help researchers understand disease transmission and the circumstances in which CWD may be transmitted to other species.  A possible vaccine will also be investigated.  CWD is one form of a group of fatal brain diseases that include “mad cow” disease in cattle, scrapie in sheep and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

25.        E-mentoring Program Aims to Encourage Girls to Consider Science

Caroline Reid, coordinator of the UK Young Women in Science Program in the Center for Drug and Alcohol Research, is heading up another educational initiative for young girls, Girls E-mentoring in Science, Engineering, and Technology (GEM-SET), sponsored by the UK Young Women in Science Program and the U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau.  GEM-SET is designed to mentor high school girls via a listserv and encourage them to explore educational and career opportunities in science, engineering and technology.  Girls in the program receive a daily digest by e-mail, comprised of current questions from girls and answers from mentors.  Girls are expected to read GEM-SET's daily digests at least once per week and to e-mail questions at least once per month.

26.        IHDI Wins $3.5 Million Grant for National Early Childhood Research Center

The UK Interdisciplinary Human Development Institute received a $3.5 million, five-year grant from the U.S. Department of Education for the National Early Childhood Transition Research Center.  The center will enhance current research related to successful practices in early childhood transition, birth through age 5, for children with disabilities and their families, and will disseminate information about quality practices to the field.  Harold Kleinert is the center’s director.

27.        College of Education Honors 63 ‘Teachers Who Made a Difference’

The UK College of Education honored 63 teachers from Kentucky at the fifth annual Teachers Who Made a Difference Program in late October.  Of the teachers recognized, 15 were UK professors.  In addition, native Kentuckians who taught in Georgia, South Carolina and Arizona were recognized.

28.        Markey Cancer Center Celebrates Opening of Whitney-Hendrickson Facility

Officials at the UK Markey Cancer Center celebrated the opening of the Marylou Whitney and John Hendrickson Cancer Facility for Women with an open house last week.  Funded in part by a $2.5 million gift from Whitney and Hendrickson, the 29,000-square-foot facility offers a collection of multi-discipline clinics, including a comprehensive breast center, a hematology oncology clinic, a new chemotherapy room, and an integrated medicine program.

29.        Ophthalmology Researchers Explore Lasers As Acne Treatment

The Department of Ophthalmology in the UK College of Medicine is the first in Kentucky to offer a promising new treatment for acne.  As part of its comprehensive face and eye care program, the department has begun treating patients with smooth-beam laser, which has just received federal approval for the treatment of acne.  The laser pulsates heat below the skin's surface, reducing the size of the sebaceous glands, which are largely responsible for acne. The treatment lasts just minutes and causes only slight discomfort.  During the initial study, 17 patients with stubborn back acne were treated and followed for six months. The results showed a 98 percent reduction in acne lesions.

30.        Student Awards and Achievements

Emily Hagedorn, Journalism and Telecommunications, placed second nationally in the 43rd annual Hearst Journalism Awards Program for a feature story about a UK woman's recovery after a rape.  Hagedorn received a $1,500 cash prize, and UK's School of Journalism and Telecommunications will receive a matching grant of $1,500.

31.        Faculty Awards and Achievements

Kurt Anschel, Agricultural Economics, posthumously received the 2002 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Southern Agricultural Economics Association.  Dave Debertin, Agricultural Economics, accepted the award in Orlando, Fla., on behalf of Anschel’s family.

Paul Bachner, Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, received the 2002 Pathologist of the Year Award at the American Society for Clinical Pathology and College of American Pathologists annual joint meeting.

Wesley Birge, Biology, won the Society for Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry Founder’s Award.  This award is the society’s highest honor, and recognizes lifetime contributions to the research field, including his groundbreaking work at the Paducah Gaseous Diffusion Plant in Paducah.

James Campbell, Music and director of Percussion Studies, conducted the University of Kentucky Percussion Ensemble at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention in mid-November in Columbus, Ohio. The UK ensemble was invited to perform during the Focus Day presentation of  “Retrospective of Percussion Ensemble Literature of the 20th Century.”  During the four-day convention, Campbell was also a featured performer on a showcase concert by the Swedish percussion group, Global Percussion Network.

Dennis Doherty, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, recently completed a two-week media tour with the National Lung Health Education Program to raise public awareness about chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.  He also delivered a congressional briefing in Washington, D.C.

James A. Drahovzal, Kentucky Geological Survey, received the A.I. Levorsen Memorial Award for the best paper presented at the 2001 meeting of the Eastern Section of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists. The award was for his paper on carbon sequestration titled “Mid-continent Interactive Digital Carbon Atlas and Relational Database.”

Kim Edwards, English, won the 2002 Whiting Writers Award.  The cash prize, one of only 10 awarded annually by the Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation in New York, is for emerging writers of exceptional talent and promise. 

Deborah Hill, Forestry, D.J. Scully and Susan White-Sayers, Cooperative Extension agents in Campbell County, earned the first-place Environmental Education Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences for an educational project on shiitake mushroom production.  The project involved a series of hands-on workshops for local people to learn about this enterprise.

John Kiefer and Zhenming Wang, Kentucky Geological Survey, were invited speakers at the National Conference of States on Building Codes and Standards annual meeting in Louisville in October.  Kiefer and Wang spoke on seismic or earthquake related issues in the new International Building Code and International Residential Code that are having a significant impact throughout the nation and particularly Western Kentucky.

Robert Lightfoot, Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology, was recently elected as a Master in the American College of Rheumatology.

Adrienne McMahan, Arts and Sciences assistant dean of Student Affairs, won an outstanding advising award in the academic advising administrator category from the National Academic Advising Association.

Debra Moser, Nursing, was elected as a Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing.

Barbara A. Phillips, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, has been appointed to the National Sleep Foundation Board of Directors.

Sonja Feist Price, Rehabilitation Counseling, and Eric Anderman, Educational and Counseling Psychology, received a $1.575 million grant from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism for their five-year study, “School Based Alcohol and HIV Prevention in South Africa.”

Alexander “Sasha” Rabchevsky, Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Center, was a keynote speaker for the first joint meeting of the National and International Neurotrauma Societies, recently held in Tampal.  In addition to addressing the direction of spinal cord injury research, Rabchevsky also demonstrated a neuromuscular stimulation device about the size of a pager that can help people with spinal cord injuries stand. Rabchevsky, who is paraplegic, is one of only 12 people nationwide that has the implanted device.

Sharon Rostosky, Education and Counseling Psychology, co-authored an article in the October issue of the Journal of Counseling Psychology titled “Out at Work: The Relation of Actor and Partner Workplace Policy and Internalized Homophobia to Disclosure Status.”

Scott Shearer, Biosystems and Agricultural Engineering, received a $685,620 U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to develop and assess integrated precision agriculture practices for Kentucky producers during a three-year period.

Will Snell, Agricultural Economics, testified in September to the U.S. House Specialty Crops Subcommittee regarding the proposed tobacco quota buyout.

J. Truman Stevens, Education, received a $500,000 four-year grant from the National Science Foundation as additional support for the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative.

Marcella Szymanski, Forestry, Gwenda Adkins, Cooperative Extension agent in Elliott County, and William Thomas, former Cooperative Extension agent in Elliott County, are members of a team that received the first-place Florence Hall Award from the National Extension Association of Family and Consumer Sciences for the project titled “What Is Forestry?”  The project involved students and teachers in three Kentucky communities producing a publication on forest resources.

Doris Wilkinson, Sociology, had an article featured in the 40th anniversary edition of Society.  This marks the third time the magazine’s publishers have run the article “Americans of African Identity,” first published in 1990 and reprinted in 2000.

Stephen Wyatt, Markey Cancer Center, received the 2002 Distinguished Service Award from the American Cancer Society.