UK Honors Outstanding Students
LEXINGTON, Ky. (May 13, 2011) - Each year the University of Kentucky pauses to recognize the achievements of its students at the annual University Honors and Recognition Awards Program. Hosted by the Office of Student Involvement, students were recognized with universitywide awards at a ceremony on Tuesday, April 19.
"The true measure of a great university is the great accomplishments of its students," Provost Kumble Subbaswamy said. "This evening was our chance to celebrate the Top 20-caliber student leaders that we have on this campus. I know these students will continue UK's legacy and make a difference in the world and their communities."
The evening culminated with the awarding of the Otis A. Singletary Outstanding Senior Award. Given to a senior man and woman, this award, named after the former UK president, was established in 1978 and was the first award recognizing overall student leadership at UK. Students nominated for this award have shown outstanding leadership while attending the University of Kentucky, made significant contributions to academics and are dedicated to service through campus and community involvement.
James Chapman, a senior political science and international studies major from Hopkinsville, Ky., was named the finalist for the Outstanding Senior Male Award. Chapman is a Gaines Fellow, former president of Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity and active in DanceBlue. He also studied abroad in Cairo, Egypt, and was named Commencement student speaker. He is completing his master’s degree at George Washington University before returning to attend UK’s College of Law.
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Joseph Quinn, an accounting and economics major from Lexington, was named the 2011 Singletary Outstanding Senior Male. Quinn has served UK as a Wildcat Assistant, as a member of the K Crew and held multiple roles in Student Government. He is a member of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, an Otis A. Singletary Scholar and active in DanceBlue. He begins law school this fall at Vanderbilt University.
Kelsey Hayes, a senior political science major from Owensboro, Ky., was named as finalist for the Outstanding Senior Female Award. Hayes has served the student body as a two-term Student Government vice president. She has also served as president of Chi Omega Sorority and was the 2010 UK Homecoming queen.
The 2011 Outstanding Senior Female Award was given to Aleidra Allen, a community leadership and development major from Louisville. Allen served as the executive director of the UK Center for Community Outreach (CCO) and is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. She has been highly involved with service on campus, including DanceBlue, FUSION and other CCO initiatives, and was selected to participate in the University Leadership Summit.
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This year, a group of students was recognized at a national conference for work on inclusion and unification on campus. The UK Homecoming Coalition received the National Association for Campus Activities (NACA) Outstanding Diversity Achievement Award at the 2011 NACA National Conference in St. Louis in late February. The group made up of representatives from the Black Student Union, the Inter Greek Programming Assembly, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Student Activities Board and the CCO were honored during the ceremony and continue to build on the success of the 2010 UK Homecoming for the upcoming year.
Three major fellowships were also awarded at the recognition ceremony. Given by the Graduate School and UK Athletics, UK awards the Otis A. Singletary Fellowship, the W.L Matthews Jr. Fellowships, and the Charles Wethington Fellowship. The Board of Directors of the University of Kentucky Athletic Association established quasi-endowment funds in memory of Otis A. Singletary and W. L. Matthews Jr. The funds provide fellowships of $12,000 to be awarded annually to UK graduating seniors who plan to continue their education in one of the University’s graduate or professional programs. The fellowships are awarded for a first year of graduate or professional study at UK and are not renewable for subsequent years. The Otis A. Singletary Fellowship recipients this year were Eric Coy, Samuel Keathley, Alex Palumbo and Philip Smith. The W.L. Matthews Jr. Fellowship was awarded to Jeremy I. Maynard.
The Charles T. Wethington Jr. Fellowship is awarded for graduate or professional study and was presented to Margaret G. Cassidy. In honor of Charles T. Wethington Jr., president of the University of Kentucky from 1989 to 2001, the university and the Athletic Association annually provides funding for fellowships of $20,000 to be awarded to UK graduating seniors who plan to continue their education in one of UK's graduate or professional programs. The fellowships are awarded for a first year of graduate or professional study at UK and are not renewable for subsequent years. Preference is given to Kentucky residents who are first-generation college students.
Three students were awarded the Shane Carlin and Annie Sit Inclusion Award. The Shane Carlin and Annie Sit Inclusion Award recognizes the achievements of students who have made strides in assisting to move our campus forward. Carlin is a 1995 graduate of the University of Kentucky and has been a Student Affairs professional since that time. While at UK, Shane was involved in many student organizations. He and his wife want to celebrate and appreciate students who strive to make the University of Kentucky more inclusive. The award was created to recognize students who work in social justice, diversity and inclusion in the most impacting and discerning manner, which transcends race. This year’s awardees were Christopher Garnett, Maria Lopez and Zachary Threlkeld.
UK's Student Development Council annually awards scholarships to deserving students. Joseph P. Kennedy, owner of Kennedy’s Book Store, helped create the fund that SDC uses to make these scholarship awards. The group paid tribute to Joseph P. Kennedy for his continuing support by renaming the Student Development Council Scholarship Fund the Joseph P. Kennedy Student Development Council Scholarship Fund in the summer of 2002. The 10 recipients of this award were Amory Cox, Whitney Veith, Lauren Robinson, Stephanie Anderson, Scott Ashcraft, Jessalyn Ubellacker, Elijah Edwards, S. Martha Perry, Whitney Epperson and Chelsea Powell.
The Spirit of King Award presented by the Martin Luther King Jr. Cultural Center honors undergraduate students at UK who demonstrate fellowship, scholarship and service. The four recipients this year were Valerie Clay, Jeremy Taylor, Eseosa Ighodaro and Mehmet Saracoglu.
UK's Student Government Association recognized five students and a staff member. Sarah J. Ausmus received the Constitutional Scholarship. Elizabeth A. McClean and Brian C. Grabbatin received Academic Excellence Scholarships. Kenyatta M. Chandler was awarded the Lyman T. Johnson Odyssey Award. This award is bestowed each academic year on a student who has, by their actions, exemplified a high degree of personal integrity and a commitment to the betterment of the community or campus. Chandler received a $1,500 academic stipend in both the fall and spring semesters of the following academic year. The award is in honor of Lyman T. Johnson, the first African-American student to be admitted to the University of Kentucky. David E. Lowe and Keith Ellis, assistant dean of fraternity affairs, were each awarded a Robert G. Zumwinkle Student Rights Award. The Zumwinkle Student Rights Award is bestowed on students, faculty and staff members that have done the most to promote and protect student rights on campus during each academic year. A $300 gift accompanies this award. The award is in honor of Robert Zumwinkle, former vice chancellor of Student Affairs.
The Honors Program bestowed four awards. Sarah Ebelhar received the Raymond Betts Crystal Award for Service. This was first awarded in 1986 and is for outstanding service to the Honors Program and the university community at large. Amie Chan received the Diachun Award. The Stephen Diachun Award, named after the first director of the Honors Program, has been presented since 1982 to a graduating senior who has “demonstrated outstanding research talent in the form of his/her Independent Project and who holds high promise for further professional development in graduate school.” The Diachun Award comes in the form of a check for $1,000 to be used for expenses in graduate or professional school.
The Maurice Clay award is sponsored by the UK Chapter of Omicron Delta Kappa and is presented to graduating seniors based on leadership. The four awardees this year were Sarah Cole, Elias Gross, Colleen McCoy and AnnaMary Richmond.
The Viji Jeganathan Award for Cross-Cultural Understanding presented by the Office of International Affairs was presented to Mahmoud Abdalla and Waqar Khan.
UK's Greek community honored their highest achieving chapters and leaders. The highest academic achievement awards were handed out for fraternities, sororities and UK's historically African-American fraternities and sororities. Sigma Chi, Alpha Delta Pi and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., each had chapter GPAs higher than the overall university average. Andrew Pillow, a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., was named the Outstanding Greek Man and Nikki Hurt, a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, was named Outstanding Greek Woman.
The Division of Student Affairs and Office of Student Involvement honored students and staff. Greg Casey, adviser to the Student Development Council, was named Student Organization Adviser of the Year. One staff member and one student received the Unsung Hero Award presented by Student Affairs. The awardees were student Emily Y. Rentschler and Josh Lucas, adviser to the Student Activities Board. The award honors quiet leaders without whose contributions UK would not be the institution that it is today.
2011 marks the 20th year the University of Kentucky recognizes the outstanding volunteer service achievements of Darrell A. VanMeter, through the presentation of an undergraduate award named in his honor. VanMeter, a sophomore at the time of his death in 1991, was recognized by the university community and his home community for his positive contributions and his dedication to serving others. The impact of his "good samaritan" approach to helping others was apparent to faculty, staff and students alike. VanMeter touched the campus community with his selfless heart and his continual acts of service. This year’s winner is Ashleigh E. Gustafson, a junior special education major.
The Office of Residence Life honored several of their student staff. The Robert A. Clay Scholarship was awarded to Mahmoud A. Abdalla. The Robert A. Clay Scholarship is named for a former director of Residence Life and recognizes resident advisers who have outstanding job performance and have shown evidence of financial need with a $1,000 scholarship.
Brandon Manning and Kelsey Blomquist were named recipients of the Rosemary Pond Leadership Award. The award is named for Rosemary Pond who served as the ean of students at UK for over 20 years. Her leadership continues to have an impact on life in the residence halls even today. In her honor, the Rosemary Pond Leadership Award recognizes residence hall staff and hall government members who have consistently demonstrated exceptional leadership and have made significant contributions to the Office of Residence Life, particularly in the areas of programming, advising, student development or departmental operations.
Veronica I. Umeasiegbu was awarded the Carol S. Adelstein Outstanding Student Award. The award, given by the Disability Resource Center, was first presented in 1984 and is annually presented to the student with a disability who best serves as an inspiration to the UK community through excellence in any or all of the following: academics, leadership, extracurricular activities and social and personal qualities. The award is named for Carol Adelstein who was a successful person with a disability and wife of a UK professor.
The University of Kentucky is proud of the accomplishments of all their outstanding students.
MEDIA CONTACT: Katy Bennett, katy.bennett@uky.edu, (859) 257-1754, ext. 255