Behind the Blue

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2022) – University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto is finishing his 11th year at the helm of the state’s flagship, land-grant institution of higher learning.

This academic year, the university finalized and has begun to implement its next Strategic Plan: The UK Purpose. One of the key principles of that plan is about how the institution works to “take care of its people.”

In this episode of Behind the Blue, Capilouto discusses in more detail how UK is working to act on that principle with a proposed budget that reflects University priorities, the hopefulness and enthusiasm that comes from spring graduates entering the Kentucky workforce, as well as how a second year has gone in grappling with a global pandemic.

"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. (April 21, 2022) – Primary elections in Kentucky and across the country are only weeks away and this fall promises hotly contested mid-term contests, with control of the Congress in play for Democrats and Republicans. At the same time, states across the country – including Kentucky – are engaged in redistricting of federal and state legislative districts as required every 10 years following the national census.

UK Political Science Professor Stephen Voss has a distinct and deep perspective on all of these issues. Recently, he provided expert testimony as part of litigation over Kentucky’s legislative redistricting. He also has provided his insights on the effectiveness of messaging and ads appearing already in the race for mayor in Louisville.

In this episode of Behind the Blue, Voss discusses all of these issues as well as the national and state political landscape during a tumultuous period in Kentucky and across America.

"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. (April 14, 2022) – Walking across campus is one of John Thelin’s favorite aspects of working at the University of Kentucky for one reason. He loves running into his colleagues and former students.

It’s that community that he says he will miss the most as his time at UK draws to a close.

Thelin, a university research professor in the College of Education's Educational Policy Studies and Evaluation department, is set to retire after 43 years in higher education - 26 of those spent at UK.

A regarded authority on the history of higher education and public policy, Thelin’s recent book “Essential Documents in the History of Higher Education,” 2nd edition, made Forbes’ list of Best Higher Education Books of 2021.

In this episode of Behind the Blue, Thelin sits down with two of his former students, Amy Jones-Timoney and Jay Blanton, to recount his time at UK and discuss the future of higher education – both on this campus – and at colleges and universities across the country.

"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. (April 7, 2022) – Few moments change the course of history.

The Scopes Trial – where teaching evolution in schools became a national debate – is one of those moments. And it has a very distinct and profound connection to the University of Kentucky.

John Scopes, the young school teacher in Dayton, Tenn. who was being prosecuted for teaching evolution in the schools, was a graduate of the University of Kentucky. He had been deeply influenced by teachers at UK and the university’s third president, from 1917 to 1940, Franklin LeRond McVey.

Prior to the Scopes Trial, McVey was one of the leaders of an effort in Kentucky to block legislation that proposed to prohibit the teaching of evolution in the schools. McVey’s powerful rhetoric and political skills prevailed as the legislation was narrowly defeated. The movement then moved to Tennessee, setting the stage for one of the most important trials and debates of 20th Century America.

Erik Reece is a professor of English at the University of Kentucky and the author of several books of non-fiction, along with poetry and magazine articles in leading national publications.

He is working on a book-length treatment and examination of the Scopes Trial, its Kentucky connections and its meaning for us today.

On this episode of Behind the Blue, Reece discusses this project, the writing process, his influences, the importance of Kentucky in American letters and writing and how teaching informs his work."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. (March 31, 2022) – In his first job with the Department of History at Florida Atlantic University, Derrick E. White says he wanted to “lean into the local” with his approach to teaching. It was a learning experience for both himself and his students, and an approach he continued with his second school, Dartmouth, which he says posed a different challenge because fewer students are local to the area.

White is now a full professor of history and African American and Africana Studies at the University of Kentucky. A native of Lexington, he has a wealth of local history with a personal connection, as he focuses on modern Black history, sports history and intellectual history.

Most recently, he is the author of Blood, Sweat, & Tears: Jack Gaither, Florida A&M, and the history of Black College Football. Professor White also is the co-host of The Black Athlete podcast, which discusses the history of the Black athlete in a contemporary conversation and context.

In this edition of Behind the Blue, Professor White talks about his scholarship, how it informs his teaching and his upcoming projects that focus on the intersection of race and sports against the backdrop of a famous Kentucky basketball team, not called the University of Kentucky.

"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. (March 24, 2022) – Throughout March for Women’s History Month, the University of Kentucky is spotlighting Women Making History. These women are leading their fields of research, crossing traditional academic boundaries, and impacting Kentucky’s most pressing challenges including opioid use disorder treatment, aging and Alzheimer’s, water and air filtration, environmental impacts on health and suicide prevention.

They are mentoring the next generation of women scientists and scholars, curating stories and creating artworks illuminating who we are. Their work and voices shape the University of Kentucky.

The “Women Making History” series continues with this episode of Behind the Blue featuring Deirdre Scaggs, associate dean of UK’s Special Collections Research Center and director of the Wendell H. Ford Public Policy Research Center.

Scaggs takes us back in time to describe what life was like for women throughout the history of the University of Kentucky – from its infancy until today. You’ll be introduced to the many female leaders who pushed boundaries in their work as students, faculty members and administrators.

Scaggs recently collaborated with UK Libraries senior oral historian Terry Birdwhistell on the book “Our Rightful Place: A History of Women at the University of Kentucky, 1880-1945.”

“Our Rightful Place” was published by the University Press of Kentucky in July 2020.. Through yearbooks, photographs and other materials housed in Special Collections, the work explores the struggle for gender equity in higher education by examining UK’s first women undergraduates, faculty and administrators.

"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. (March 10, 2022) – Websites, videos, photographs, and brochures give future Wildcats a good sense of what life is like at the University of Kentucky.

But there’s just something about being ‘on’ campus that helps prospective students decide that UK is the right fit for them.

That’s why the campus visit is so important to Grace Johnson, director of the UK Visitor Center.

On this episode of Behind the Blue, Johnson talks about how the campus visit process works, the talented students who serve as tour guides and the work that goes into making sure campus is a welcoming place for every visitor to our campus.

"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. (March 1, 2022) – Some of the toughest environmental challenges we face are matters of filtration. Whether it’s capturing pollutants to purify drinking water or removing contaminants and viruses to filter air, at the University of Kentucky, chemical engineers are finding solutions to these problems.

On this episode of Behind the Blue, Dr. Isabel Escobar, professor of Chemical Engineering in the UK College of Engineering and National Governing Board Chair of the Association for Women In Science, leads a discussion with her female chemical engineering team. Escobar and two of her students will share what it’s really like to be a woman in STEM research, the reality of balancing work and family, and advice for choosing the right mentor.

"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. (February 24, 2022) – DanceBlue is a University of Kentucky student-run organization that fundraises year-round and culminates in a 24-hour no sitting, no sleeping dance marathon.

The money raised through DanceBlue is donated to the Golden Matrix Fund, established to support the kids of the DanceBlue Kentucky Children’s Hospital Hematology/Oncology Clinic both today and well into the future through an endowment. The Golden Matrix Fund was created to benefit the clinic’s patients and families, by providing care and support for the kids through giving them and their families comfort.

DanceBlue funds also support the year-long fundraising engine and operations that underpin the mission, as well as providing funds to support research at the UK Markey Cancer Center. Through more than 15 years of DanceBlue, more than $18 million has been raised to support this cause.

On this episode of Behind the Blue, DanceBlue Overall Chair Nick Joseph and Marketing Chair Jennifer Derk talk about their personal experiences with DanceBlue, the impact they see the event has on the UK community, and more.

"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. (February 17, 2022) – In 2009, Dr. Mark Evers came to Kentucky to serve as the director of the University of Kentucky Markey Cancer Center with one overarching goal in mind: to reduce the significant burden of cancer in our state.

Thirteen years into his tenure, the UK Markey Cancer Center has grown into a robust cancer program that U.S. News and World Report consistently ranks as one of the top 50 in the country. Since becoming a National Cancer Institute-designated center in 2013, Markey’s research funding and patient volumes have increased substantially – so much, in fact, that the cancer center has outgrown the buildings it has called home for the past four decades.

In this episode of Behind the Blue, Dr. Evers takes us through some of the most important milestones and accomplishments of the Markey team during his time at UK, and discusses plans for Markey’s future – including a new outpatient facility that will enhance the patient care experience.ko

"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.