Gaines Center Accepting Proposals for Bingham Seminar, Clark Lectureship

LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 1, 2015) — The University of Kentucky Gaines Center for the Humanities is now taking faculty proposals for the Spring 2016 Mary C. Bingham Seminar and Thomas D. Clark Lectureship in the Humanities.

Every other year, the Gaines Center holds an open competition among UK faculty who wish to offer a special humanities-oriented seminar that includes a travel experience. Ten students are then selected by way of competitive application for participation in this seminar.

The Bingham Seminar provides faculty and students a chance to explore a subject not in the university's regular course offerings and to do so on-site, since the seminar provides funding to offset the cost of course development and two to four weeks of study either in the U.S. or abroad. The winning educator is responsible for documenting the Bingham Seminar experience.

The associated Clark Lectureship provides funding to host a visiting lecturer. The lectureship allows the seminar instructor to invite a distinguished person in the field of study to offer two lectures, one for the public and the other for the seminar in the spring of 2016. The Clark Lectureship provides an honorarium and also covers transportation and hospitality expenses of the speaker.

Faculty should submit their proposals for the Bingham Seminar and the Clark Lectureship no later than Monday, Sept. 14, 2015. More information about the seminar can be found here: www.uky.edu/academy/bingham-seminar. The application can be found here: www.uky.edu/academy/bingham-faculty-application#.

Proposals may be submitted by email to Phil Harling, director of the Gaines Center, at harling@uky.edu. Faculty may also submit a hard copy of the proposal to: The Gaines Center, 232 E. Maxwell Street, Lexington, KY 40506-0344.

Founded in 1984 by a generous gift from John and Joan Gaines, the Gaines Center for the Humanities functions as a laboratory for imaginative and innovative education on UK's campus. Part of the Academy of Undergraduate Excellence within the Division of Undergraduate Education, the center is devoted to cultivating an appreciation of the humanities in its students and faculty. The center embraces varied paths of knowledge and particularly strives to integrate creative work with traditional academic learning.

MEDIA CONTACT: Whitney Hale, 859-257-8716; whitney.hale@uky.edu