Behind the Blue

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 17, 2024) – For Savannah Robin and Ilka Balk, what began as a "happy accident" turned into a major opportunity for students and employers alike. Robin, a lecturer in career and professional development for the University of Kentucky's Ag Equine Programs, received an email from Balk, associate director of the university's James B. Beam Institute for Kentucky Spirits, noting that both had scheduled career fairs at the Gatton Student Center on the same date and time.

Instead of seeing it as a conflict, they recognized it as an opportunity to showcase two of Kentucky's signature industries—equine and spirits—in a single, unified career fair. The Kentucky Signature Industries Career Fair will bring together members from the equine and spirits industries to educate students on post-graduation career options on September 26, 2024.

The collaboration also supported ongoing cross-disciplinary efforts between the Equine Programs and the Beam Institute, as students from the Gatton College of Business and Economics, the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, the College of Arts and Sciences, and the College of Communication and Information were already engaging with the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

"We're starting to see the trend that people will understand that farms don't just need farm managers; they need accountants, they need photographers," Robin said. "We cross lots of different spaces, but we have places for all of the UK students and really career interested folks in any of these areas." She added that they hope to build on the momentum from last year's fair to continue serving a broad range of Kentuckians – from students to alumni, employers and stakeholders – while highlighting how agricultural industries can benefit from diverse expertise.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Robin and Balk discuss the university's symbiotic relationship with Kentucky's signature industries, the crucial role of alumni in connecting employers with UK, and the potential for students to discover career opportunities in fields they may never have previously considered.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 13, 2024) – For those who live and work in urban areas, transportation is often among the top challenges in their daily routines.

For Lance Broeking, Director of Transportation Services at the University of Kentucky, addressing these challenges is a constant focus. He leads a department responsible for managing campus parking, transit, and alternative transportation options, working to navigate the complexities of a growing and evolving university environment.

In this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Broeking delves into the impact of campus growth and ongoing construction, the importance of collaborating with the city of Lexington, and the vital role communication and education play in addressing parking regulations, fees, and citations. He also explores the integration of new technologies within transportation services and the university's ongoing commitment to sustainability.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2024) – Every year, on Sept. 10, World Suicide Prevention Day renews our commitment to addressing the growing mental health crisis affecting millions around the globe.

Established in 2003 by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP) and the World Health Organization (WHO), World Suicide Prevention Day aims to raise awareness about the prevalence of suicide, promote effective prevention strategies and reduce the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

The day has grown significantly in scope and impact over the years — reflecting a broader recognition of suicide as a critical public health issue that requires universal attention and efforts.

According to WHO, an estimated 703,000 people die by suicide each year. And for every person who dies by suicide, there are many more who attempt it or experience suicidal thoughts.

This year's theme, "Building Hope Through Action," emphasizes the importance of collective efforts in creating a supportive environment for those struggling with suicidal thoughts.

The University of Kentucky is committed to championing the conversation surrounding mental health and well-being. In doing so, the latest episode of "Behind the Blue" features conversations with key mental health advocates at UK.

Together, along with various UK community members, they play pivotal roles in spreading awareness and providing lifesaving well-being resources across the Commonwealth.

Julie Cerel, Ph.D., a professor in the College of Social Work and expert in suicidology, conducts research centered on suicide prevention and its impacts. "There's still a lot of stigma," she said. "So, being able to have these conversations allows others to know — they are not alone."

In the podcast above, Cerel and Avery Powers, a criminal justice, psychology and social work student, discuss their work with the Suicide Prevention and Exposure Lab (SPEL). Their efforts focus on suicide prevention and help raise awareness and support for those impacted.

"In Kentucky, we lose almost 800 people a year to suicide. So, throughout my career, I've been focused on suicide prevention, but also in this idea that every suicide leaves not a broad range of people," Cerel explained. "For everyone that dies by suicide, about 135 people are left behind. The lab looks closer at suicide post-function, which is helping people after someone has died."

The second portion of this episode of "Behind the Blue" includes a conversation with Jenni Jenright, director of the Healthy Initiative Program with UK HealthCare, who highlights the significance of community-based wellness and prevention efforts.

"Where you live, learn, work, play, impact your ability to live your healthiest life," she said. "Our team works outside of direct patient care in the community to increase wellness and prevention. We do a lot of health promotion and awareness, help create resources and increase access to tools and programing in support of whole person health."

Through a collaboration with the College of Social Work and the College of Communication and Information, they are working to raise awareness about the online QPR (Question, Persuade, Refer) suicide prevention training, which is free to those living in Kentucky

QPR training is a widely recognized approach to suicide prevention — designed to equip individuals with the skills to recognize and respond to signs of suicidal behavior.

The training focuses on teaching participants how to ask someone directly about suicidal thoughts (Question), persuade them to seek help or stay safe (Persuade) and refer them to appropriate resources or professionals (Refer).

By emphasizing these critical steps, QPR training aims to increase awareness and preparedness among community members — enabling them to provide timely and effective support to those in crisis. This proactive approach helps bridge the gap between those in need and the professional help required to prevent suicide.

"Think of QPR as CPR for suicidal ideation. It really addresses those misconceptions about suicide, including, you do not need to be a medical or mental health professional to help during a mental health crisis," Jenright said. "One thing I really like about the training is, it empowers everyone to really pay attention to the people around them and to recognize and respond to those in need."

The QPR training, which takes less than an hour and is entirely free, can be accessed here.

Additionally, if you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, there is help available. You can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, previously known as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, at 988.

If you are a UK student, the TRACS (Triage, Referral, Assistance and Crisis Support) hub is a physical and virtual one-stop shop where students can come for a quick referral to support services or receive direct clinical support for a range of mental health needs, basic needs and crises. You can show up in-person (third floor, east wing of the Gatton Student Center), call 859-21TRACS (859-218-7227) or fill out this form for assistance.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 4, 2024) – For Eric Monday, the start of a new fall semester is marked by the dynamic energy of returning students, along with the opportunity — and challenge — of creating a lasting first impression as an educator.

Beyond his role as UK's executive vice president for finance and administration, Monday also continues to teach an undergraduate course on personal investing and financial planning. Through this teaching role, he directly witnesses the importance of infrastructure investment in fostering student success and supporting the university's growth.

Monday describes the university's record-setting budget for the fiscal year as a reflection of its values and its mission to advance the Commonwealth. These investments touch every facet of the institution, from academics to health care, underscored by a strategic refresh of the UK HealthCare system. In this initiative, Monday serves as co-executive vice president for health administration alongside Provost Robert DiPaola.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue,' Monday discusses how the university is working to best support its student population, the vital need to invest in faculty and staff, and UK HealthCare's goals for delivering advanced specialty care while developing a true academic health system.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 26, 2024) – The Office of the Provost serves as the primary resource at the University of Kentucky for faculty, colleges and their leadership to support the core missions of excellence in teaching, research, service and care. Housed within the Office of the Provost are departments and individuals dedicated to supporting faculty as they continue inspiring students in the classroom, pushing the boundaries of knowledge with their research and building up our communities in new and innovative ways. These departments and offices, such as the Office for Faculty Advancement, provide the university's faculty with the resources necessary to continue advancing Kentucky

UK Provost Robert DiPaola, M.D. leads these initiatives to support faculty with a focus on transdisciplinary efforts, where experts from across disciplines come together early on to not only solve problems and issues, but also identify potential ones. In addition, DiPaola also serves as Co-Executive Vice President for Health Affairs for UK HealthCare.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue,' DiPaola talks about UK's mission, as the flagship university for Kentucky, to leverage the collective strengths of the faculty to solve society's problems of tomorrow, as well as efforts to continue UK HealthCare's essential work for all of Kentucky.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 26, 2024) – This year marks the 14th fall semester on campus for UK President Eli Capilouto, serving in a position he says he's never considered as a job, but instead a life of meaning and purpose.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Capilouto takes time at the beginning of the new academic year to discuss the momentum of the entire campus to advance Kentucky through teaching, service, research, and care. He shares why this is one of his favorite times of the year and talks about both the aspirations and challenges ahead for UK in 2024-25.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 22, 2024) – From college and professional football to thoroughbred racing and basketball to summer and winter Olympics, legendary sports broadcaster Tom Hammond's voice has painted the picture of some of the most historic and iconic moments of the past 40 years of sports.

Now retired, the University of Kentucky alumnus remains involved with projects with personal meaning. He recently served as a member of the Kentucky Can: The 21st Century Campaign committee, which oversaw efforts to raise $2.1 billion dollars to support all parts of the institution's mission: education, research, service and care.

On August 20th, Hammond released his new book – "Races, Games, and Olympic Dreams: A Sportscaster's Life" – a look at his early life and storied career, co-written by Lexington Herald-Leader sportswriter Mark Story.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Hammond talks about his lengthy career, the new book, and how the University of Kentucky remains an important part of his personal and professional life.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 15, 2024) – The summer break is nearing its end, and soon the University of Kentucky campus will once again be bustling with activity with the start of the Fall 2024 semester. For many UK students, however, their ambition and drive didn't stop because it was summer break. Across the nation and world, undergraduate and graduate students alike have been working on expanding their experiences and education.

Regardless of whether they've been traveling or staying close to home, students have been enhancing what they have already learned at UK, and making plans to bring back their experiences to better their campus and communities. Summer is an ideal time of opportunity for students to take a leap into an experience within their college careers that will propel them into their chosen career field. These experiences can be catalysts in their personal lives, exposing them to new people, environments, and ideas they wouldn't have been able to explore during the school year.

On this episode of 'Behind the Blue', Vendela Norris, a recent graduate from UK's College of Communication and Information spoke with two such students about their summer experiences.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 8, 2024) – On July 30, UK HealthCare opened a new emergency unit dedicated to the treatment of patients experiencing a mental health crisis. The unit, known as EmPATH (Emergency Psychiatric Assessment, Treatment and Healing), is the first EmPATH unit in Kentucky.

Pioneered by internationally known emergency psychiatry expert Scott Zeller, M.D., only about 30 EmPATH units currently exist in the U.S. Rather than going to a traditional emergency room, where patients seeking care for a behavioral health issue may be waiting for hours in a stressful environment before being evaluated, EmPATH units were created to provide immediate support for patients in a carefully designed, calming environment.

UK HealthCare and New Vista have collaborated with leadership from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services to bring this new, evidence-based model of emergency behavioral health care to Kentucky. In this episode of "Behind the Blue," Eastern State Hospital Chief Administrative Officer Lindsey Jasinski and Chief Nursing Officer Marc Woods explain why the EmPATH model is so effective, how psychiatric treatment has evolved over the years, and how Eastern State Hospital has been a leader in psychiatric care for more than two centuries.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 1, 2024) – Katherine Hartmann, M.D., Ph.D., is the new director of the University of Kentucky's Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS).

Hartmann is an obstetrician-gynecologist (OB-GYN), epidemiologist and health services researcher, in addition to leading the UK CCTS.

She graduated from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's epidemiology Ph.D. program and Johns Hopkins University's M.D. program. Hartmann comes to UK from Vanderbilt University where she recently served as associate dean for clinical translational scientist development.

As a physician scientist, Hartmann has years of expertise with research involving large community-recruited cohorts, behavioral interventions and clinical trials. Her work includes groundbreaking results that have answered key questions for women's health during pregnancy.

Asking questions and finding answers is what initially sparked her interested in health research. Her goal is to improve the quality of health care for all people — a goal that aligns with the UK CCTS.

The mission of the UK CCTS is to accelerate discoveries to improve health through a multi-faceted approach to support research from bench to bedside to community.

Hartmann said the reach of the University of Kentucky and the teamwork between disciplines to find answers to pressing health questions is why she was drawn to Lexington.

Learn more about her research and her goals while leading the UK CCTS on this episode of "Behind the Blue."

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of "Behind the Blue" each week. UK's latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email [email protected] or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue. Transcripts for this or other episodes of Behind the Blue can be downloaded from the show's blog page.

To discover what's wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.