Three Grad Students Receive UKAEF Fellowships

LEXINGTON, Ky. (April 29, 2016) — The University of Kentucky Association of Emeriti Faculty (UKAEF) Fellowship Committee has selected three UK graduate students as recipients of UKAEF Fellowships. The awards, valued at $2,500 each, will be presented to recipients Tammy Clemons, Wesley Hough and Kaitlyne Motl.

                          

Clemons is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Anthropology. Her doctoral coursework is focused on development, political economy, popular education and media literacy in Appalachian and Latin American contexts. A native Kentuckian, she is a first-generation college graduate committed to remaining in her home region. She is also a non-traditional student who has had extensive teaching and lecturing experience. After obtaining her doctorate, she plans to teach at the collegiate level.

Hough is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Mathematics. His doctoral research deals with measuring specific properties of certain mathematical structures under continuous deformation. He has received outstanding teaching evaluations and has been the sole instructor for a number of courses reserved for teaching assistants (TAs) having the greatest potential as teachers. He is a first-generation student who has definite aspirations to teach at the college level. Instead of teaching math as a dull subject taken only so that students can move on to other classes, he wants to introduce students to the beauty of mathematics as he sees it.

Kaitlyne Motl is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology. Her dissertation research explores the intersections of gender, sexuality and social class. She has been highly praised for her teaching ability as a TA and as a primary instructor in numerous courses at UK dating back to 2011. By using reflective journal writing in the courses she teaches she makes students accountable to the course concepts.

The UK Association of Emeriti Faculty was established in 1988 to encourage faculty and spouses to maintain their association with the university, to serve UK and its educational goals, to promote common interests and to guard retiree rights and privileges. Members serve the university in a variety of ways from teaching, mentoring and tutoring, review of UK student applicants for departments and the College of Medicine, and serving on committees that encourage community outreach.

With approximately 200 active members, UKAEF has an endowed fund in the Office of Philanthropy initiated by generous gifts from members and matched by Commonwealth of Kentucky's Research Challenge Trust Fund. Members continue to donate annually and from the account and member gifts, three $2,500 fellowships are awarded each year. Since 1996 when UKAEF initiated the fellowship program, UKAEF has awarded 62 fellowships worth a total of more than $92,000 to prospective university educators.

 

 

UK is the University for Kentucky. At UK, we are educating more students, treating more patients with complex illnesses and conducting more research and service than at any time in our 150-year history. To read more about the UK story and how you can support continued investment in your university and the Commonwealth, go to: uky.edu/uk4ky. #uk4ky #seeblue

 

 

MEDIA CONTACTS: Terrance Wade, 859-257-8716, terrance.wade@uky.edu;

Carl Nathe, 859-257-3200, carl.nathe@uky.edu.