By Ryan Girves 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Feb. 10, 2026) — For Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D., language has been more than a subject of study; it is a lens through which people understand identity, community and belonging. As a professor of linguistics in the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences, Cramer has spent her career helping students see language not as a set of rules, but as a living, social practice shaped by culture and place.

That philosophy guided her work as a Chellgren Endowed Professor, an experience she describes as both affirming and transformative.

“Being named a Chellgren Endowed Professor was quite the honor,” Cramer said. “I had seen

By Jennifer Sciantarelli 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2025) — The University of Kentucky will welcome Academy Award-winning alumnus Paul Wagner on Thursday, April 24, for a screening of his film “Georgia O’Keeffe: the Brightness of Light,” a documentary about American art icon Georgia O’Keeffe. The film stars Claire Danes as the voice of O’Keeffe with narration by Hugh Dancy and features interviews with leading experts on the artist.

“The Brightness of Light” will be screened at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 24, in the Singletary Center for the Arts Recital Hall. Admission is free and open to the public. A talkback with the director and producer will follow.

Wagner earned a Bachelor of Arts in English and linguistics and a Master of

By Lindsey Piercy

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 9, 2025) — Last fall, the University of Kentucky Office of the Provost announced the second cohort of the Institutional Multidisciplinary Paradigm to Accelerate Collaboration and Transformation Awards winners. 

The IMPACT Awards initiative, an internal funding program from the Office of the Provost, launched in 2023 to support innovation and transformation within UK’s colleges. The awards recognize the groundbreaking work conducted by faculty and staff across campus, and they create opportunities for transdisciplinary collaboration to occur between UK community members to help the

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D., is starting a term as board chair of Kentucky Humanities. Cramer is professor of linguistics at the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences and Chellgren Endowed Professor with UK’s Chellgren Center. Her term runs through Dec. 31.  

Kentucky Humanities is an independent, nonprofit affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities in Washington, D.C. Kentucky Humanities is supported by the endowment and by private contributions. Cramer began serving on the board in 2020. Among its programs is Kentucky Reads, wherein the group selects a book each year for groups to share.  

“During her term on the 23-person volunteer board, Cramer has help set policies, award project grants to community organizations and participated in fundraising

By Jesi Jones-Bowman 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (June 21, 2024) — Undergraduate students at the University of Kentucky who participate in research under the guidance of faculty mentors have the opportunity to publish the outcomes of their work and collaborative experiences. The first edition of Aperture Journal of Undergraduate Research launched June 1, highlighting seven student-professor partnerships.

Published by the Office of Undergraduate Research, the open-access, peer- and expert-reviewed journal, which will be published annually, aims to showcase

By Richard LeComte 

LEXINGTON, Ky. – Jennifer Cramer, professor of linguistics in the University of Kentucky’s College of Arts and Sciences, is participating in the nationwide 2023-24 Weekend HERS (Higher Education Resource Services) Leadership Institute for emerging leaders in higher education. She is among 63 higher education leaders chosen for the program. 

The HERS Leadership Institute is designed for faculty and staff who generally hold mid- to senior-level positions in higher education.  

Participants represent a range of racial and ethnic groups, gender identities, nationalities, veteran and disability statuses, religious affiliations, ages and years of experience in higher education, thereby broadening the range of perspectives and insights brought to each session. 

 "The goal of the

By C. Lynn Hiler 

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 25, 2023) — The Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence recently named 34 new fellows, five endowed professorships and three faculty fellows.

The Chellgren Student Fellows Program is open to all majors and takes place during the student’s second year at UK. During this time, students receive help understanding the process of research within their discipline, a research mentor to oversee a spring research project and assistance in preparing for the next phase of their career. Student Fellows also benefit from a variety of extracurricular events designed to broaden cultural and intellectual horizons. Among them are: 

By Richard LeComte 

A recent initiative in the University of Kentucky Department of Linguistics delves into the many ways language is spoken and heard on a diverse college campus — “This is What a Wildcat Sounds Like.” The video creates a mosaic of what UK community members sound like when communicating and how that enriches the experience for all stakeholders on campus.  

"The project began as an attempt to raise awareness of dialect diversity on this campus," said Allison Burkette, chair of the Linguistics Department in the UK College of Arts and Sciences. “I have seen a couple of other videos from other schools, and I thought it was important because there's been at least one dissertation and several articles written about it.” 

Read the article "Demons in Bible use they/them pronouns because of English grammar, not gender | Fact check" here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/factcheck/2023/05/22/claim-of-they-…

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 5, 2023) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that four students have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships to travel abroad to teach, study or pursue research for the 2023-24 academic year.

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140 countries.

This year’s UK Fulbright recipients are:

Read the article here: https://www.inquirer.com/news/philadelphia/inq2/philadelphia-accent-wat…

Excerpt from the LSA website: "The Zwicky Award recognizes LGBTQ+ linguists who have made significant contributions to the discipline, the Society, or the wider LGBTQ+ community through scholarship, outreach, service, and/or teaching. Eligible applicants will be current members of the LSA and identify within the LGBTQ+ community. Eligibility is open to applicants at any career stage."

Read more: https://www.linguisticsociety.org/about/who-we-are/lsa-awards

The 2023 Linguistic Institute will be at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. The Linguistic Institute is a biennial, month-long session of courses that span a variety of linguistics related topics. Named professors at the institute teach a month-long course. 

https://blogs.umass.edu/lingstitute2023/

Read the article here: https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/12/us/maam-sir-polarizing-words-cec/index.h…

Read the article "Hold up, y'all: Slow-speaking states survey sells US language patterns short, linguists say" here: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/01/21/american-slow-tal…

By Whitney Hale

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 23, 2022) — University of Kentucky College of Arts & Sciences students have received Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarships to support their education abroad goals.

The Gilman Scholarship supports students who have been traditionally under-represented in study abroad, including but not limited to  students with high financial need, community college students, students in under-represented fields such as the sciences and engineering, students with diverse ethnic backgrounds and students with disabilities. Award recipients are chosen by a competitive selection process and must use the award, ranging from $100 to $5,000, to defray the cost of tuition, room and board, books

By Jenny Wells-Hosley and Meg Mills

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 28, 2022) — The University of Kentucky Office of Nationally Competitive Awards has announced that three students and one recent graduate have been offered Fulbright U.S. Student Program scholarships to travel abroad to teach, study or pursue research for the 2022-23 academic year. Among them are two College of Arts & Sciences students. 

Recipients of Fulbright grants are selected based on academic or professional achievement, as well as demonstrated leadership potential in their fields. The program operates in more than 140

Listen to the full podcast episode here: https://subtitlepod.com/the-speechways-of-the-folk/