Professional News

A&S Inducts New Members into Hall of Fame Today

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 11, 2013) — The UK College of Arts and Sciences will induct new members into its Hall of Fame today, to join the ranks of the current 32 alumni and eight emeriti faculty A&S Hall of Fame members.

The ceremony will take place at 3:30 p.m. in the Singletary Center for the Arts. It will follow an academic theme; the inductees will wear formal academic regalia and receive medallions with the UK A&S seal. All members of the campus community are welcome to attend.

"This is an exciting opportunity and an honor for us to celebrate the success of our accomplished faculty and alumni," said Mark Kornbluh, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "Their academic and professional success serves as a reminder of the meaningful, important work being done every day by our students, faculty and alumni."

Alumni inductees:  

Hon. Albert B. Chandler III (Ben Chandler) received his bachelor of the arts degree in history in 1983 and his juris doctor in 1986. He was elected Kentucky Attorney General in 1995 and served as the United States Representative for Kentucky's 6th congressional district from 2004 to 2013. A long-time supporter of arts and humanities at the state and national level, he is now executive director the Kentucky Humanities Council.

Robert E. Rich received his bachelor of the arts degree in English from the University of Kentucky in 1966 and his juris doctor from Harvard University. A partner at Taft, Stettinius, and Hollister, Rich specializes in tax and health care law and estate planning. In 2007, the Cincinnati Bar Foundation named Rich the co-recipient of the John W. Warrington Community Service Award for his decades of volunteer and community service. He was also a founding member and past chair of the A&S alumni advisory board and is former president of the Kentucky Historical Society executive committee board.

Emeriti faculty inductees:

Marcus T. McEllistrem, in the Department of Physics and Astronomy, taught at UK from 1957-1994, before becoming an Arts and Sciences Distinguished Professor Emeritus from 2008-present. He earned his master of science degree and doctorate, both in nuclear physics, from University of Wisconsin, Madison. He has been an invited guest scientist at many prestigious institutions and laboratories, such as Brookhaven National Laboratory, Notre Dame University and Bruyères le Châtel, CEA, France.

Paul G. Sears, in the Department of Chemistry, earned his bachelor of science degree in Industrial Chemistry in 1950 and his doctorate in 1953, both from UK. He served as a professor of Chemistry for 28 years, where he influenced the lives of more than 7,200 undergraduates before retiring in 1990. He also served on the UK Board of Trustees for 12 years, including terms as assistant secretary and as secretary, as well as on President Otis Singletary's council as faculty assistant to the president.

Jane Vance, in the Department of English, served as Kentucky's Poet Laureate from 2007 to 2008. While teaching at the University of Kentucky, she taught in the UK Honors program and won the UK Alumni Association’s Great Teacher Award. She has published two full-length collections of poetry, "Portrait of the Artist as a White Pig" and "A Garden in Kentucky." Her poems have appeared widely in journals as well. She has been awarded two Al Smith Fellowships from the Kentucky Arts Council and has held fellowships at Yaddo in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., and at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts.

MEDIA CONTACT: Sarah Geegan, 859-257-5365; sarah.geegan@uky.edu