Out of the Big Blue

Recently while on holiday in Italy, two former UK Grads had the opportunity to stay in Todi Italy. While there they discovered that UK had recently published a study on this Ideal City.

Mark Hunt of Altanta Georgia, ’85 grad from the College of Health Administration and Julie (Anderson) Edwards, ’86 Grad from the College of Business and Economics enjoyed the Umbrian magical town and said, “We can vouch that this is an ideal City!”

Pictured are Nathan Edwards, Mark Hunt and Julie Anderson Edwards.

Julie also sent us an excerpt from one of the official notes of Todi, which describes why it is known as an ideal city and mentions the research done by UK:

“Founded by the Umbrians (some cite the date 2700 BC). Situated in ancient times on the border between the Etruscan and Umbrian territories, not far from Rome and Florence, Todi has been defined as the most livable town on earth, the “ideal town”, by research of the University of Kentucky for its size, its climate, its hilltop location and for its harmonious relationship to its surroundings.

A striking artistic center in a magnificent position dominating the Tiber valley, celebrated for its Roman and Etruscan remains, for its palaces, its churches and its suggestive medieval environment. Picturesque winding streets, stone buildings, medieval wells, arches, sudden ascents and descents that create various prospective and sudden views of faraway valleys, hills and mountains all contribute to Todi’s unique fascination.”

Special thanks to  Whitney Hale, UK Public Relations

This summer 25 recent graduates of the University of Kentucky will embark on a new challenge as they train to teach in America’s inner cities and rural communities this coming fall. The UK group, the largest in school history, is among 5,200 new corps members selected for Teach For America, a national program in which outstanding college graduates commit to teach for two years in disadvantaged urban and rural public schools.

Teach For America places its recruits in the nation’s highest-need elementary and secondary schools in many of the country’s lowest income communities, both rural and urban, in an effort to close the achievement gap between economically advantaged and disadvantaged children.

This year’s corps is the largest in Teach For America’s history. In the upcoming school year, 9,300 first- and second-year corps members will reach 600,000 students in 43 regions across 34 states and the District of Columbia. The 43 regions include new sites in the Appalachian region of Kentucky under the direction of UK alumnus and 2006 corps member Will Nash, founding executive director of Teach For America-Appalachia. Two UK students are among the corps members assigned sites in eastern Kentucky.

The 25 recent UK graduates selected to serve Teach For America are:

• Laura Buncher, of Nicholasville, Ky., a social work graduate who will serve in Houston, Texas;
• James Coleman, of Lexington, a psychology graduate who will serve in south Louisiana;
• Lauren Collins, of Lexington, a music education graduate who will serve in Phoenix, Ariz.;
• Michael Delfino, of Louisville, Ky., a computer science graduate who will serve in Appalachia;
• Colin Dempsey, of Louisville, a management graduate who will serve in Houston;
• Matthew Dempsey, of Louisville, a management graduate who will serve in Alabama;
• Brooke Edwards, of Ellwood City, Pa., a 2010 international studies graduate who will serve in New York City, N.Y.;
• Kellie Farthing, of Martin, Ky., a biology graduate who will serve in Appalachia;
• Hallie Feenick, of Lexington, a marketing graduate who will serve in Denver, Colo.;
• Allison Flannery, of Louisville, an English and psychology graduate who will serve in Houston;
• Katherine Flynn, of Paducah, Ky., an integrated strategic communication graduate who will serve in Alabama;
• Kevin  Fox, of Lexington, a recipient of a bachelor’s degree in secondary social studies education in 2010 and a master’s degree in secondary education in 2011 who will serve in Denver;
• Melody Hall, of Richmond, Ky., an English and political science graduate who will serve in Nashville, Tenn.;
• Kelsey Hayes, of Owensboro, Ky., a political science graduate who will serve in Houston;
• Ashley Jackson, of Louisville, a journalism graduate who will serve in Charlotte, N.C.;
• Chandler Jobson, of Louisville, a political science graduate who will serve in Nashville;
• Jennifer Markwell, of Louisville, an English and psychology graduate who will serve in Memphis, Tenn.;
• Kristan McCullum, of Jenkins, Ky., an integrated strategic communication graduate who will serve in the Delta;
• Margaret “Meg” McKinney, of Berea, Ky., a finance graduate who will serve in Charlotte;
• Timothy Pearce, of Versailles, Ky., an economics and management graduate who will serve in New York City;
• Andrew Pillow, of Louisville, a political science graduate who will serve in Indianapolis, Ind.;
• Katherine Reynolds, of Bowling Green, Ky., a history graduate who will serve in Charlotte;
• Joseph Tarantino, of Paducah, a chemical engineering graduate who will serve in Denver;
• Molly Trenkamp, of Champaign, Ill., an elementary education graduate who will serve in Nashville; and
• Kelsie Willett, of Ormond Beach, Fla., a management graduate who will serve in Atlanta, Ga.

The 2011 class of Teach For America recruits is up three corps members from previous groups selected to serve from UK.

Get your iPhones ready: The UK Alumni Association is pleased to announce we are officially part of UKMobile, the University of Kentucky’s iApp—Apple’s iPhone mobile phone application!

Now you can access information about UK Alumni Association events, member discounts, clubs, contact information and more right from your mobile phone!

To download the FREE application, please visit http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/ukmobile/id391888220

Last fall, UK launched a free mobile phone application which allows individuals to browse campus news, access campus maps, check sports scores, view UK videos from YouTube and more. Now the UK Alumni Association has been added to the list of features on the UK application!

Other current features of UKMobile include:

–View UK campus maps with labeled buildings and zoom and pan across the map using the device’s touch interface;

–Search the library catalog for book and document availability by title, author, or keywords;

–View the most popular content from UK’s YouTube Channel;

–Follow UK sports with news, schedules, and updated scores from UKAthlethics.com;

–Read top news stories from UKNow by browsing categories such as campus news, student life, research, employee news, UK HealthCare, and President’s Blog or browse by most recent articles;

–Search and view interesting UK photographs from 1885-present;

–Search for members of the University Community through the Directory;

–Easy access to numbers for UKPD or to find a safe ride home;

–iTunesU content in the palm of your hand;

–Search the UK Course Catalog

We are excited to announce that the UK Alumni Association is in the beginning stages of creating a new campus landmark! The focal point of this landmark will be a bronze sculpture of a Wildcat, the University of Kentucky’s mascot.

Wildcat Alumni Plaza and the Wildcat sculpture will be a symbol of tradition embraced by the entire university family. It will be a place where many memorable photographs can be taken connecting students, alumni, and families to the university. This new campus landmark will stand as a rallying point for students to show their pride in the university and to remind alumni of memories of their time on campus.

Wildcat Alumni Plaza and the bronze Wildcat sculpture will be constructed across the street from Memorial Coliseum near Stoll Field with an expected completion date of Spring, 2012.

Matthew Palmer, an artist from San Juan Island, Washington, holds up a prototype of the bronze Wildcat sculpture he will create as the focal point of the new Wildcat Alumni Plaza.

A closer look at the prototype of the sculpture. The completed sculpture will be approximately 7 feet tall (including the base) and 9 feet long.

by Kelli Elam

UK alum and head football coach Joker Phillips was among a seven-member party that traveled to Ethiopia for a week-long service trip. Joined by his wife Leslie, UK Athletics Director Mitch Barnhart and his wife Connie, Associate AD Jason Schlafer, and current Wildcats Stuart Hines and Danny Trevathan, Phillips called the trip “life-changing.”

The group visited orphanages, completed projects, including planting trees and painting, etc., and distributed food and athletic equipment. “It was overall an unbelievable experience,” Phillips said at a news conference discussing the trip. “You can’t go over there and if you have any heart or anything in your soul and not change your life. It was definitely a life-changing experience for me.”

Barnhart said, “People say, ‘Was it good?’ And I would say, ‘It was not good. I would say it was successful and impactful but I wouldn’t call it good.’ Because what you see is not good.”

For a transcript and video of the press conference about the trip, visit http://www.ukathletics.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/061011aaa.html

Photo courtesy of UK Athletics

Photo courtesy of UK Athletics

Photo courtesy of UK Athletics

by Linda Perry

A simple, flat silk thread is the foundation for exquisite Japanese embroidery at an exclusive exhibit at the UK Art Museum. Lexington is the only U.S. venue to host this global exhibition — only offered every four years — that showcases the work created by the Japanese Embroidery Center in Atlanta, Ga., and Kurenai-kai, LTD in Japan. “Splendid Silk: Japanese Embroidery” features works by contemporary artists who have re-created traditional designs on scrolls, sashes, and gift covers.

I was lucky enough to catch the exhibit of this ancient art form before it closes on July 3. While strolling through the gallery, I could readily see that the flat silk thread truly is the key difference between traditional Japanese embroidery and other stitching. Light seems to bounce off the thread producing a level of glitz in these contemporary pieces that we don’t normally associate with embroidery. So I have to think that this culture liked a bit of “bling” even 300 years ago.

Maybe it’s just because I’m a gal, but I was particularly drawn to a contemporary purse that was on display. “White Blossoms Handbag,” from the Japanese Embroidery Center, had what looked like silver-colored threads creating the floral design, which was accented by the delicate use of gold-colored thread. Another item I was drawn to was “Suehiro,” a colorful fan that clearly showed examples of couching work and braided cords.

The exhibit was brought to campus by the UK Art Museum, in partnership with the UK College of Fine Arts and the UK Asia Center. In tandem with the exhibit, there will be a Japanese tea ceremony at the museum Sunday, June 12, at 2 p.m., which sounds interesting — and it’s free! For more information about the tea ceremony, contact the museum at 859-257-5716. For information about the exhibit, visit the UK Art Museum website.