Chellgren Center Celebrates 28 Fellows and Announces 5 Endowed Professorships

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 22, 2019) — The University of Kentucky Chellgren Center for Undergraduate Excellence honored the 2018 class of Chellgren Fellows and announced five Chellgren Endowed Professorships at an event that took place Saturday, April 20. 

The Chellgren Center works to advance UK's commitment to student, teaching and program excellence. Created in 2005 with a gift from Paul Chellgren, a UK graduate, and his family, the Chellgren Center creates unique educational opportunities for outstanding undergraduate students and professors at the university. Chellgren's commitment to undergraduate education at UK has created a countless number of opportunities for UK students, staff and faculty, impacting thousands.  

Contributing to the university's goal of receiving national recognition for undergraduate excellence, the Chellgren Student Fellows Program is intended to help undergraduate students gain experiences that go beyond the classroom, enabling them to compete successfully for prestigious awards and admittance into graduate and professional programs. 

The 2018-19 Chellgren Fellows include:

• Carly Boone, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; 
• Maria Blackstone, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Jessica Blake, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Cole Blanford, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;
• Sydney Blocker, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Alison Bomkamp, College of Engineering; 
• Elliot Bradshaw, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• James Campbell, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; 
• William Carlton, College of Public Health; 
• Cheyenne Chandler, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; 
• Alex Cochran, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; 
• Hunter David, Gatton College of Business and Economics;
• Michael Di Girolamo, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Thomas Dimeny, Gatton College of Business and Economics;
• Tristan Donovan, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;
• Nahaba Hamada, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Emily Huffman, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Angela Jones, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Samuel Langford, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Caylee Marshall, College of Engineering;
• Danielle Peterson, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Brittney Sawyer, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Kyra Seevers, College of Engineering; 
• Mikayla Spencer, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Hannah Thomas, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Anna Wagner, College of Arts and Sciences; 
• Savina Williams, Gatton College of Business and Economics; and
• Anastasia Zevan, College of Arts and Sciences; 

Five Chellgren Endowed Professorships were also named during Saturday's event. Chellgren Professors are expected to maintain an active research program in their discipline; teach courses in one of the university's programs of excellence or within their college or department; and direct a specific project intended to advance progressive reform of undergraduate education at UK.

Endowed professors include:

• Robin Cooper, Department of Biology and Neuroscience Program, College of Arts and Sciences;
• Ryan Hargrove, Department of Landscape Architecture, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;
• Tammy Stephenson, Department of Dietetics and Human Nutrition, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment;  
• Luke Bradley, Department of Neuroscience and Department of Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, College of Medicine; Department of Agricultural Biotechnology, College of Agriculture, Food and Environment; and Neuroscience Program, College of Arts and Sciences; and
• Ellen Usher, Department of Educational, School, and Counseling Psychology, College of Education.

The Chellgren Center of Undergraduate Excellence is a unit within the Division of Student and Academic Life at UK.