Fall 2025 Kentucky Alumni Magazine

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Kentucky.

MOCKUP FRONT

by Breven Walker

During the isolation of COVID-19, alumnus Eugene Poole Jr. began a quilting project. Today, he has designed more than 100 quilts, including 31 of Black jockeys who won the Kentucky Derby.

THE PROBLEM SOLVER

By Dan Knapp

From a UK pinball side-hustle to international software success, Stephen Wiehe shows the power of Wildcat drive.

GOOD WORKS RECOGNIZED

Each summer, the University of Kentucky Alumni Association recognizes great individuals and clubs that are exceeding expectations.

MEET OUR NEW OFFICERS

The Board of Directors at the University of Kentucky Alumni Association has new officers. Let us introduce them to you.

A SLICE OF LIFE

By Dan Knapp

From a decades-old dream to Northern Kentucky’s most talked-about pizzeria, Amy and Eric Redfield serve purpose, community and crust in perfect harmony.

CONSTRUCTION ZONE

Tower cranes have dotted the University of Kentucky main campus this summer as new construction and renovations take place across campus.

REFLECTIONS N BLACK

By Laurel Swanz

Trained as an architect in the College of Design, alumnus Eugene Poole Jr. has used his artistic eye on a new project with significance to Kentucky.

HALL OF FAMER

By Laurel Swanz

Daily journalism doesn’t look the way it did when award-winning alumna Jamie Lucke learned it at the University of Kentucky in the 1970s. But the principles behind it are the same as is her passion for it.

Photos by Breven Walker

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CREDITS

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Jill Holloway Smith ‘05 BE, ‘11 AFE: Associate Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Executive Director of the UK Alumni Association

EDITORS

Meredith Weber: Director of Marketing and Communications

Sally Scherer: Managing Editor

DESIGNERS

Whitney Stamper: Graphic Designer, Alumni

Kaylynn Cromer: Graphic Designer, Philanthropy

CONTACT US

King Alumni House

400 Rose St. Lexington, KY 40506

859-257-8905

800-269-ALUM

Fax: 859-323-1063

Email: ukalumni@uky.edu Web: www.ukalumni.net

ukalumni

@kentuckyalumni

@kentucky_alumni

ukalumni.net/linkedin

@kentuckyalumni

Kentucky Alumni (ISSN 732-6297) is published quarterly by the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, Lexington, Kentucky, for its members.

© 2025 University of Kentucky Alumni Association, except where noted. Views and opinions expressed in Kentucky Alumni do not necessarily represent the opinions of its editors, the UK Alumni Association nor the University of Kentucky.

Wondering why you received Kentucky Alumni magazine?

All current Life and Active Members of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association automatically receive the Kentucky Alumni magazine quarterly. All who give $75 or more ($25 for recent graduates) to any UK fund, including UK Athletics/K Fund and DanceBlue, are recognized as Active Members regardless of alumni status.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND LEADERSHIP ADVISORY COUNCIL

Officers

Thomas K. Mathews ‘93 AS: President

Kelly Sullivan Holland ’93 AS, ’98 ED: Presidentelect

Quentin R. Tyler ’02 ’05 AFE, ’11 AS: Treasurer

Jill Holloway Smith ’05 BE, ’11 AFE: Secretary

In-State Representatives

Michelle Bishop Allen ’06 ’10 BE

Christopher J. Crumrine ‘08 CI, ‘10 GS, ‘23 AS

Donna G. Dutton ‘87 BE

Emmanuel Dhemby Moussabou ‘24 HS

James F. Gilles, III ’10 AFE

Lee Jackson ’73 AS

Frank Kendrick ’90 ’92 DE

Scott Mason ‘94 AS, ’03 LAW

Maegan McDowell Mansfield ‘11 ‘13 EN

Michelle McDonald ‘84 AFE, ‘92 ED

Jennifer A. Parks ‘81 AS

Michaela R. Sheppard ‘19 HS, ‘23 LAW, ‘23 PH

Robin Simpson Smith ‘79 BE, ‘82 LAW

Sarah W. Smith ’05 CI

Anthony Thornton ’05 BE

Rachel Watts Webb ‘05 CI

Blake Broadbent Willoughby ‘11 ‘12 ‘12 BE

Out-of-State Representatives

Shane T. Carlin ‘95 AFE

Shiela D. Corley ‘94 AS, ‘95 AFE

Michael L. Hawks ’80 AS, ’85 DE

Anthony G. Hester ‘86 EN

Vincent M. Holloway ‘83 EN

Mark A. Ison ’99 FA

Susan L. Liszeski ‘84 AFE

Beatty London ’00 BE

Carlos Phillips ‘90 CI

Chad D. Polk ‘94 DES

Ronald Sampson ‘83 EN

Nicole M. Segneri ’91 CI

Tanner W. Thompson ‘23 BE

Winn F. Williams ‘71 AS

Dominique Renee Wright ‘08 EN

Stephanie D. Wurth ‘05 CI

Alumni Trustees

Brenda B. Gosney ‘70 HS, ‘75 ED

Hannah M. Myers ‘93 ED

Paula L. Pope ‘73 ‘75 ED

Living Past Presidents

Richard A. Bean ’69 BE

Michael A. Burleson ’74 PHA

Bruce K. Davis ‘71 LAW

Scott E. Davis ‘73 BE

Robert “Rob” L. Crady III ’94 BE Marianne Smith Edge ’77 AFE

Franklin H. Farris Jr. ’72 BE

William G. Francis ’68 AS, ’73 LAW

Dan Gipson ’69 EN

Brenda B. Gosney ’70 HS, ’75 ED

Cammie DeShields Grant ’77 LCC, ’79 ED

John R. Guthrie ’63 CI

Antoine Huffman ’05 CI

Diane M. Massie ’79 CI

Janie McKenzie-Wells ’83 AS, ’86 LAW

Robert E. Miller

Susan V. Mustian ’84 BE

Hannah Miner Myers ’93 ED

John C. Nichols II ’53 BE

Dr. George A. Ochs IV ’74 DE

Sandra Bugie Patterson ’68 AS

Taunya Phillips ’87 EN, ’04 BE

Robert F. Pickard ’57 ’61 EN

Paula L. Pope ’73 ’75 ED

David B. Ratterman ’68 EN

G. David Ravencraft ’59 BE

William Schuetze ’72 LAW

Mary K. Shelman ’81 EN

David L. Shelton ’66 BE

J. Fritz Skeen ’72 ’73 BE

J. Tim Skinner ’80 DES

Hank B. Thompson Jr. ’71 CI

Elaine A. Wilson ‘68 ‘23 SW

Leadership Advisory Council

In-State Representatives

Jacob Broderick ’05 BE

John S. Cain ‘86 BE

Kevin L. Collins ’84 EN

Emily C. Henderson ’01 PHA

Shelia Key ’91 PHA

Julia Little ‘19 ED

Jason Marcus ‘ 24 AS

Kent Mills ’83 BE

Tonya B. Parsons ’91 AS

Jonell Tobin ‘69 ‘70 ‘95 ED

Kendra Wadsworth ’06 ED

Lori E. Wells ’96 BE

Allen O. Wilson ’03 AFE, ’06 LAW

Out-of-State Representatives

Nicole Blackwelder ’86 AS, ‘87 PHA

R. Michael Gray ‘80 ‘81 BE

James F. Hardymon Jr. ‘87 BE

Erin Carr Logan ’06 BE

Michael McNeely ’98 AS, ’03 PH

Michaela Mineer Steverson ’98 AS, ’03 PH

Peter T. Shattuck ‘86 ED

College Representatives

Will Nash ‘06 AS: College of Arts & Sciences

Jeffrey L. Ashley ’89 CI: College of Communication and Information

Dr. J. Clifford Lowdenback ’99 AS, ’03 DE: College of Dentistry

Regina Summers ‘94 DES: College of Design

Cathy Crum Bell ’76 ED: College Education

Joel W. Lovan ’77 FA: College of Fine Arts

Deana Paradis ‘03 ‘03 BE: Gatton College of Business and Economics

Kathy Panther ‘76 HS: College of Health Sciences

La Tasha A. Buckner ‘97 AS, ‘00 LAW: Lewis Honors College

Michaela Mineer Steverson ‘18 CI, ‘18 AFE, ‘21 GS: Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Dr. Debra J. Sowell ’82 MED: College of Medicine

Tukea L. Talbert ‘89 ‘94 ‘06 NUR: College of Nursing

Dr. Joseph R. Mashni ‘91 ‘92 PHA: College of Pharmacy

Amna Al-Jumaily ‘19 EN: Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering

Emily Clear ‘06 ED, ‘09 ‘13 PH: College of Public Health

Shaye Page Johnson ‘02 AS, ‘05 LAW: J. David Rosenberg College of Law

Cheryl Talbert ‘95 ‘00 ‘23 SW: College of Social Work

Constituency Group Representatives

James R. Aaron ’04 CI: PrideCats

Lillian Bland ‘83 CC: Lyman T. Johnson Alumni Constituency Group

Bryce Dexter, ‘22 AS; DanceBlue

Brian Hunt ‘80 ‘05 FA: Alumni Band

Steve Stevens ‘83 BE: Alumni Band

Appointed

Jackson Baird: Student Government Association

Dr. Michael A. Christian ’76 AS, ’80 DE: Honorary

Jo Hern Curris ’63 AS, ’75 LAW: Honorary

Katie Eiserman ’01 ED: Athletics

Stan R. Key ’72 ED: Honorary

Jake Lemon: Office of Philanthropy

D. Michael Richey ’74 ’79 AFE: Honorary

Marian Moore Sims ’72 ’76 ED: Honorary

ADVANCING KENTUCKY TOGETHER

At the University of Kentucky, our mission has always been clear: to advance this Commonwealth we proudly call home.

That mission — upheld with deep fidelity for more than 160 years — now gains new momentum through the Advancing Kentucky Together Network (AKTN). Through this network, UK will work with and unite partners across the state as we confront our greatest challenges and build a Kentucky tomorrow that is healthier, wealthier and wiser than it is today.

The vision for AKTN is simple but powerful: when Kentucky’s institutions, businesses, nonprofits and communities work together, we can achieve more than any one of us could ever accomplish alone. By connecting expertise, resources and creativity across the Commonwealth, the network will focus on four areas:

• Improving health care access and innovation

• Expanding education and opportunity pipelines

• Strengthening workforce and economic development

• Advancing the land-grant promise of community engagement

At its core, AKTN is about partnership. The network is designed to walk alongside communities, listening first and building solutions together. It recognizes that Kentuckians know best what will make a difference where they live, work and play, and it seeks to amplify those ideas, connect them with resources and help scale what works.

As the network grows, so will the opportunities for our alumni and friends to stay connected and support Kentucky’s progress.

This is your university’s promise — and your community’s work — to create a stronger, more hopeful future for every Kentuckian. We look forward to sharing more with you as the Advancing Kentucky Together Network continues to build momentum.

Because when Kentucky comes together, Kentucky moves forward.

From the President

There’s something undeniably special about the start of a new academic year. And as alumni, I’m sure you can remember that precious feeling.

Students return — or arrive for the first time — full of anticipation. Faculty and staff continue their outstanding work of teaching, mentoring and discovery. And our campus, dotted with familiar landmarks and new beginnings, surges with excitement once more.

At the University of Kentucky, each fall marks a new chapter in our enduring story.

We welcome thousands of students from every corner of Kentucky and beyond to their new home. They bring with them big dreams, curious minds and bold questions. They come seeking knowledge, purpose and community.

And we are here — as we always have been for more than 160 years — to help them find all three.

This fall, we are once again reminded of the sacred promise this place and its people uphold: the power of education, of healing, of hope.

That’s why our mission is clear and growing: we were created to advance Kentucky in everything we do.

That commitment is building on our remarkable progress and taking new shape through efforts like the Advancing Kentucky Together Network — a growing coalition of partners focused on strengthening health, education and economic opportunity throughout our state.

This mission grows in our classrooms and clinics. It’s nurtured in our labs and libraries. It stretches across counties, communities throughout our Commonwealth. And it endures, powerfully and personally, through you, our alumni.

No matter where you live, work or serve, you embody what this place makes possible and what makes this community so special and recognizable around the world.

And your journey, the one that began at UK, continues to encourage our students today. Through you, they see legacy in action.

Thank you for your enduring support of and connection to this university. Thank you for ensuring we uphold our promise as the University of, for and with Kentucky.

Sincerely,

Eli Capilouto President

and Karen Pigman Hall, the president also took some time for photos.

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University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto joined students and their families during move-in this August. At Stanley

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Mark Cornelison, UK

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Pride in Blue

Iconsidered writing this via candlelight, in homage to our recent UK Alumni Association Summer Workshop. But seeing how I’m sitting comfortably in my climate-controlled Houston home, with the laptop humming and enjoying a very strong Wi-Fi signal, why make things more complicated?

Allow me to explain: in mid-June, the UK Alumni Association hosted a sizable group — about 120 people — including its Board of Directors and Leadership Advisory Council, as well as constituent groups and club representatives (along with our top-notch staff) to accomplish several important tasks. Among other things, we shared ideas about how to best execute our strategic plan. We examined budget considerations. We received updates about our ever-growing campus. And it must be said — we also did some celebrating. Naturally, that’s my favorite part, because it’s always a treat to learn about our Distinguished Service Award winners, our Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award honoree and our outstanding clubs. (Keep reading this issue for more details!)

What made the 2025 event a bit more challenging was a classic late-afternoon Kentucky thunderstorm, complete with horizontal rain and extremely high winds, resulting in a loss of power not only at our evening dinner venue but also at the hotel where many of us were staying. Not ideal. In fact, the only thing preventing a minor disaster was our leadership group’s unfailingly positive attitude and a willingness to adapt under unexpected circumstances.

Witnessing how my Big Blue friends and colleagues responded to this meteorological curveball was downright inspiring. Our people were genuinely looking out for one another, assisting with local transportation needs and, in some cases, alternate lodging. There were volunteers and staff members up into the wee hours of the night, ensuring that meeting space would be available for the following day and putting finishing touches on spreadsheets, documents and presentation materials — all from the relative “comfort” of vehicles in the hotel parking lot. Throughout this situation, I heard plenty of kind words, lots of encouragement and more than a few humorous observations — but essentially zero complaints. It was the very embodiment of our “Kentucky Proud” theme for the event. This was not about the size of the challenge, but the depth of our commitment.

You know what else makes me proud? Hearing about another stellar year of first-year students arriving in Lexington. As a former RA at the “original” Holmes Hall (speaking of no air conditioning!), I always get excited for these incoming students getting their chance to make lifelong friends and beginning their higher education journey at Kentucky’s flagship university. It’s even more thrilling to have a new tradition that continues to grow, as we opened the gates of Alumni Commons to give them an official Wildcat Welcome.

Who knows? Some of them might even be chemistry majors, like yours truly. So, if I may close with a brief lesson. Let’s talk about the Haber-Bosch process. Haber and Bosch (both eventual Nobel Prize winners) developed a crucial process back in the early 1900s for synthesizing ammonia from the building blocks of nitrogen and hydrogen. This was a real game changer for agriculture globally, since ammonia is the basis of most nitrogen-based fertilizers, which allowed for significantly increased crop yields in subsequent decades. But what’s so compelling to me about this process is that despite the relative abundance of these two basic elements, they simply will not react together and unlock this powerful chemistry without the presence of a catalyst.

Yes, it requires some pressure and elevated temperatures, but nothing will happen without introducing a catalyst to activate things. And the message here should be self-evident: we need more catalysts in this world. Our communities are in dire need of people willing to stand up, to serve and be positive agents of change — and I believe that as UK alumni, we are uniquely equipped and qualified to do just that. As we enter a new academic year, please join me in a renewed commitment to putting service ahead of status; be a catalyst.

For Kentucky UK Alumni Association President

Photo by Joe Bandy

Tom Mathews, president of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association board of directors, shared information about UK traditions with students at the Wildcat Welcome Festival during K Week at the beginning of the fall semester.

RESEARCH, EDUCATION CENTER CELEBRATES 100 YEARS

Through a century of serving Kentuckians, the University of Kentucky Research and Extension Center at Princeton has built a vital relationship with the community that is beneficial and meaningful for all involved.

“We can’t serve Kentucky without hearing from our agriculture agents and our farmers,” said UKREC director Carrie Knott ’03 ’07 AFE. “That special relationship that Princeton faculty have always had with farmers and with ag agents has made this a very special place.”

The culture of UKREC allows anyone to drop by, find the specialists they need and work toward solutions together. One of the biggest benefits, Knott said, is that 10 units are housed at the center, from beef cattle to tobacco.

“We’re able to walk down the hall and build a multidisciplinary team to look at a problem,” Knott said. “I think that’s what makes us so special and so effective in the state.”

Many of the farmers who work closely with UKREC become close friends with the personnel there; some, Knott said, even “become like family.”

Often, farmers today inherited a relationship with UKREC from their family — like Firmon Milton Cook IV ’98 AFE and his now deceased father Firmon Milton Cook III ’69 AFE.

“He loved the land,” Milton said of his father. “He was very passionate about that. He enjoyed people enjoying it with him.”

UKREC has continued to be a “very accessible” resource for the Cook family farm in Princeton, where he produces corn, wheat, soybeans and cattle, he said.

“Their research is indicative of what our row crop farmers are going to experience here,” Milton said. “That’s got a tremendous value.” ■

VIRTUAL ESCAPE ROOM CHANGES THE GAME IN NEUROLOGY EDUCATION

Imagine learning how to diagnose and treat a stroke not in a lecture hall, but by solving puzzles under pressure — clicking through clues, reviewing CT scans, decoding crossword-style clinical findings — all while the clock ticks down.

That’s exactly the experience Dr. Rani Priyanka Vasireddy, a movement disorders fellow and instructor in the University of Kentucky College of Medicine’s Department of Neurology, has brought to life with a first-of-its-kind virtual neurologythemed escape room.

Vasireddy along with Dr. Dhanya Gorty, a UK neurology resident, developed the program to make medical education more engaging, interactive and fun. This innovative tool is already making waves in academic medicine.

“We’re neurologists — we love solving puzzles,” said Vasireddy. “So, we asked ourselves, why can’t learning neurology feel like solving one? That’s how the escape room idea was born.”

The project was recently showcased at the American Academy of Neurology’s annual meeting, where participants got a sneak peek into the game’s inaugural case: a simulated stroke alert scenario, where learners must gather

information, assess symptoms and act quickly to “save the patient” — virtually, of course.

Vasireddy hopes the escape room model can be adapted for a variety of topics and specialties and even be used as a teaching tool by other institutions. ■

Photo by Matt Barton, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment

Photo by Carter Skaggs, UK

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ALUMNUS NAMED INTERIM DEAN ALUMNUS CARES FOR THOSE ON THE GREENS

James C. Duff ’75 AS has been named interim dean at the J. David Rosenberg College of Law at the University of Kentucky.

Duff currently serves as the executive director of the Supreme Court Historical Society, an organization dedicated to preserving the history of, and increasing public education about, the U.S. Supreme Court.

He brings to UK extensive managerial and practical experience in both public service and the private practice of law, as well as in legal education. He taught constitutional law at Georgetown University for 16 years as an adjunct faculty member in the Walter Giles Endowed Department Seminar in Constitutional Law and Civil Liberties and as the Peter Mullin Distinguished Visiting Professor in the Department of Government.

He is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate in the Honors Program of UK and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Georgetown University Law School. He is a member of the 2012 Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame and the 2021 class of the UK Alumni Association Hall of Distinguished Alumni. ■

When Jason Waddles ’15 ED, ’19 HS became a physical therapist, little did he know he would someday be working on the PGA Tour, helping professional golfers in one of their most important tournaments of the year. But this summer, he did just that.

Waddles, a 32-year-old Whitesburg, Kentucky native, said, “Being on-site at a major and working with players competing for a major were some moments that reminded me how far this path has taken me.”

After graduating from UK, Waddles completed a sports physical therapy residency at Orlando Health in Florida, where he worked with the Orlando City Major League Soccer team and the Orlando Pride National Women’s Soccer League team. Now, he is a sports physical therapist on the PGA, Korn Ferry, Epson and LPGA Tours.

It culminated in a most surreal moment, according to Waddles,

when he was able to work one of the PGA Tour’s most prestigious tournaments — the PGA Championship, from May 12-18.

“As an on-tour medical provider, I manage both acute and chronic musculoskeletal conditions,” he explained.

“I specialize in rapid assessment and diagnosis, determining the most effective intervention within the constraints of competition schedules. This involves designing and delivering individualized rehab and performance programs, with a strong emphasis on manual therapy, movement quality and long-term durability.” ■

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CERTIFICATE PROVIDES INSIGHT INTO POLICY PROCESS

A new interdisciplinary 12-hour graduate certificate — offered through the Department of Educational Leadership Studies within the UK College of Education — equips students with the skills to analyze, influence and lead child and family policy initiatives.

The Leadership for Early Childhood and Family Policy certificate program, available fully online, explores intersections of child and family services such as education, health and mental health, parental leave, child welfare, incarceration and family economic stability.

Students build leadership capacity

through experiential learning, including case studies in evidence-based policy making and interactions with policy stakeholders across disciplines.

For Kate van Horne ’24 ED, the program offered clarity about the challenges facing early care systems – and the importance of coordinated solutions.

“The program provided invaluable insight into the dynamic policy process, highlighting the critical nature of interdisciplinary, collaborative relationships to develop evidence-based policy solutions that promote equity,” she said. ■

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ALUMNI, FACULTY CHAMPION LEXINGTON FREEDOM TRAIN MONUMENT

When Georgia-based artist Basil Watson submitted his proposal for the Lexington Freedom Train monument, he said he saw an opportunity to highlight an important story.

The monument, “Towards Freedom,” honors the legacy of abolitionists Lewis and Harriet Hayden, who were formerly enslaved in Lexington. The monument, dedicated in Lexington in June, depicts the couple looking skyward with their clasped hands held high.

Three University of Kentucky faculty members are among the Lexington Freedom Train committee which selected the artist. They are Vanessa Holden, associate professor of history in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of History; Frank X Walker, ’96, ’01 GS and a professor in the College of Arts and Sciences Department of English and Garry Bibbs, ’85 FA and a professor of art studio, metal arts and sculpture in the College of Fine Arts School of Art and Visual Studies.

“Having experts from our faculty involved is exactly the kind of community impact that is so important to preserving Kentucky’s history,” said Holden, who is also director of African American and Africana Studies and the Central Kentucky Slavery Initiative. “I see my scholarship as an opportunity to connect with the community in Lexington, and I was excited to lend my expertise to the impressive community group that founded the Freedom Train.” ■

STUDENTS TRAVEL TO BREATHITT COUNTY FOR DESIGN BUILD

Students and faculty from the UK College of Design are partnering with the UK Cooperative Extension Service to address housing challenges in Eastern Kentucky’s flood-prone communities.

But instead of a traditional lecture hall, a group of architecture students took to the field in Breathitt County to learn how design can be a tool for building and bettering communities.

After witnessing yet another round of devastating floods in Eastern Kentucky earlier this year, Bruce Swetnam ’79 DE, the Kentuckiana Masonry Institute Endowed Professor in the UK School of Architecture, challenged his students to design and build a full-size, modular home prototype for emergency housing.

“This design build became a winwin,” Swetnam said. “We were able to identify a need in the state and in the

community, try and help with that need, while also learning about the building process. As a land-grant institution, this is exactly the kind of work we should be doing.”

After discovering the community’s needs and assessing the topography of the area, students created designs that could help the community in times of crisis. The students then built a full-

scale model outside of UK’s Gray Design Building.

The final design featured modular units that can be manipulated and combined to suit user needs. The units featured a core unit equipped with all the necessities needed for emergency housing and optional units for expansion if users decide to pursue this design as a more permanent housing option. ■

Photo by Mark Mahan

Photo by Mark Cornelison UK

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RECORD RESEARCH AWARDS INCREASE IN FISCAL YEAR 2025

University of Kentucky investigators received $496.9 million in extramural grants and contracts to support their research in fiscal year 2025, a 1.7% increase from fiscal year 2024.

UK researchers received 1,898 awards in fiscal year 25, setting new records with 865 principal investigators receiving support from 637 sponsors.

“Without question, research is vital in our mission to advance Kentucky. Research partnerships with industry help us to solve today’s problems and drive our ability to train the next generation to enter Kentucky’s workforce. Research impacts every Kentucky family — bringing new devices and new treatments that change the way we provide health care across the Commonwealth,” said UK President Eli Capilouto.

“In a year of unprecedented change in the federal funding landscape, UK’s research community was able to adapt and thrive. Our continued growth is a testament to the steadfast

resilience of our research community and its dedication to answering the challenges facing Kentucky,” said Acting Vice President for Research Ilhem Messaoudi.

Federal awards accounted for 51.4% of UK’s total research funding, supporting investigators across the

breadth of UK research from projects to reduce injuries in members of the military and first responders, to projects protecting Kentucky communities from flooding events to projects to recover and purify critical minerals for advanced electronics in the U.S. ■

ENGINEERING RESEARCHER LEADS INITIATIVE TO MODEL HEART FIBROSIS

A project involving researchers at the University of Kentucky and at Michigan State University is developing cutting-edge simulations of heart disease progression.

The project is led by principal investigator Jonathan Wenk, Jack and Linda Gill Professor in the UK Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering, and co PI Kenneth Campbell, professor of cardiovascular medicine and physiology in the UK College of Medicine, alongside Lik Chuan Lee, professor of mechanical engineering at MSU College of Engineering.

The National Science Foundation awarded a four-year $1.2 million grant for the project which will bring together expertise from multiple fields — engineering, computer science, applied mathematics and physiology — to build advanced computational models of the heart capable of simulating the development of fibrosis and the adverse changes to cardiac structure and function that result.

“The idea is to create a patient-specific model, which is truly tailored to their anatomy, tissue structure and genetics, to test different therapeutics

to see which one they will respond to better,” Wenk said.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S., and fibrosis — excessive buildup of extracellular matrix fibers in organ tissue — is a key contributor to heart failure. Current projections from the Heart Failure Society of America indicate approximately one in four people will develop heart failure in their lifetime. ■

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CONNECTIONS

FULL TILT FORWARD

From pocket change to corporate change, Stephen Wiehe ’86 BE reflects on a career started one quarter at a time.

By Dan Knapp

gentle summer rain falls on Little Lexington, the stately 14-acre horse farm on the north side of Raleigh, North Carolina, where Stephen Wiehe ’86 BE and his wife, Juliet Sadd Wiehe, have lived for the last dozen years. Stephen unlocks the door to the workshop built perpendicular to the main house. The far end of the building hums with his woodworking hobby: rows of clamps hanging from the walls, a table saw lined with a whisper of sawdust, precision machines — so many of them — await the next project in the artisan Xanadu. Stacks of lumber, including some impossible-to-find American elm, are tucked neatly along walls and under work benches — wood he’s been transforming into bedroom sets and other furniture for the couple’s Sanibel Island vacation retreat, which is being rebuilt from the ground up after it was swallowed by eight feet of water during Hurricane Ian.

Stephen, who retired in 2016 as CEO and president of SciQuest (a software company specializing in e-procurement, inventory management and accounts payable automation), discovered woodworking decades ago and has taught himself the craft, which provided a cathartic distraction from the pressures of leadership throughout the years.

FORWARD

“I started watching Norm Abrams and ‘The New Yankee Workshop’ when we were living in Massachusetts,” Stephen recalls. “I was like, ‘I think I can do that.’ I started making furniture, and I found I liked it because it’s very, very binary. It either fits, or it doesn’t. The table is square, or it isn’t. All four legs sit on the ground, or they don’t. Any CEO will tell you that things are seldom so black and white. You get all the hard, intractable problems. You often don’t know if your decision is the right one, and you spend a lot of time thinking through that. I could come home, and I could build furniture and decompress.”

Over the years, Stephen has built hundreds of pieces of various sizes. But woodworking isn’t the only passion tucked inside the workshop.

The other side of the building is equally as personal for Stephen. The ultimate mancave — complete with a quartet of attention-grabbing chandeliers that complement the rustic, bi-

colored wood-paneled walls — harks back to the earliest days of his business career. Inside, more than two dozen vintage pinball machines sit patiently for the flip of a switch, when bulbs will blaze, bumpers will ding and steel balls will rattle back to life.

If woodworking gave him calm and order, pinball offered chaos and the thrill of chance — a perfect complement to the skills that would define his career.

One by one, Stephen powers up each machine in his collection. He once had as many as 70 machines in the room but winnowed the number to just his favorites. Games by industry giants like Bally’s and Williams slowly begin to come alive as motors whir and solenoids click. They’ve sat undisturbed for the better part of the year, inaccessible due to the overflow of custom furniture built on the other side of the workshop. Now that movers have transported the completed furniture to their new house in Florida, Stephen has a chance to indulge in the hobby that sparked his enterprising spirit.

Photos by Colin Huth/Huth Photography

READY PLAYER ONE

It was the early ‘80s, the era of “Thriller,” legwarmers and Cabbage Patch Kids. Yuppies and Gen Xers were looking for new forms of entertainment and diversion. After years of being considered a form of gambling and outlawed in cities like New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, pinball machines were finally legal — and had become mainstream and wildly popular from coast to coast.

“I had a friend who was in the pinball business back when I was going to UK,” recalls Stephen, who was raised in Lexington and graduated from Tates Creek High School. “I worked in a model airplane shop, and he was a gentleman who came through the shop on a pretty regular basis, so I got to know him pretty well. I ended up joining a frat, and we were always struggling to pay the bills, and one of my friends said, ‘You ought to put pinball machines in. You’ll probably make a lot of money.’”

The budding businessman mulled the idea, and with pinball machines and video games all the rage, he saw a chance to turn a friend’s suggestion into a calculated gamble that just might pay off.

“I put one in, and by the time I was done, I had them in most all of the fraternity houses on campus!” Stephen chuckles.

Stephen notices that the “Wizard of Oz” machine hasn’t booted up correctly. He nonchalantly says he’ll need to work on it later. Since he started his collection in the early 2000s, he’s become adept at repairing and refurbishing his classic games despite any formal training or engineering background. He recounts a conversation with his father, UK Professor Emeritus of Social Work Vernon Wiehe, about how he acquired his skills.

“My dad’s 91 years old,” Stephen says, “and we moved him to Raleigh — he’s down in North Hills — and he asked me what’s on my to-do list this week. I told him I needed to replace the chlorine generator on my pool. He’s like, ‘How do you figure that out?’ I told him I just read the instructions and, of course, there’s YouTube. It’s the same thing for learning how to repair pinball machines. I look at it, and I usually figure out how to fix it.”

“I think, fundamentally, he was probably meant to be an engineer because he does all this stuff with his hands,” adds Juliet. “He’s very mechanical and spatial.”

NO RISK, NO REWARD

Stephen’s knack for spotting problems and engineering solutions became the cornerstone of his career. He went on to helm several companies, building them up and ultimately selling each for substantial profits. At SciQuest, for instance, he stepped in while the company was hemorrhaging $8 million a month and, as CEO, transformed it into a recognized leader in the industry.

“I have that kind of mind where I can sort of see how to fix things,” Stephen says with equal parts humility and candor. “That’s what’s made me successful. As I reflect on my career — why I’ve been successful — it’s because I’ve been willing to take risks.”

Stephen says that, reflecting on his career, almost every job he accepted involved a reasonable degree of risk. Even starting

his own business in college, installing pinball machines and video games, wasn’t a guaranteed success. Walking around the UK campus with a backpack full of change and pulling out rolls of quarters to pay for dinners on dates soon became less about scraping by and more about realizing he had a knack for spotting opportunity — and the nerve to act on it.

After working for GE in the aircraft engines division in Cincinnati and the plastics division in Massachusetts, he became president and CEO of Multinational Computer Models, which took him to the other side of the Atlantic.

“My first software company was the one we started in London, and that was treasury management software for large corporations — think Quicken for Fortune 500s,” Stephen explains. “It was all about cash management, foreign exchange and debt management. We built that up — I spent five years in London, and our son was born there.”

Stephen and his blossoming family moved to the Tar Heel State to take over the company’s U.S. operations before selling it to SunGard Data Systems in the late 1990s.

“To be clear, I’ve never started a software company,” Stephen grins. “I’m typically the adult that they bring in after somebody has an idea.”

As I reflect on my career — why I’ve been successful — it’s because I’ve been willing to take risks.

After the sale to SunGard was finalized, Stephen became president of DataFlux, which focused on ETL — extract, transform and load — technology that allows data to be easily moved from one database to another. Under Stephen’s leadership, SAS Institute acquired DataFlux in June 2000.

By the time the opportunity at SciQuest came along at the start of the millennium, Stephen, who considers himself “a pretty good problem solver,” had already been the CEO of two software ventures and looked to his wife to gauge whether taking over an underperforming company created out of the dot-com boom made sense for their family and his career. She didn’t pull any punches.

“I said, ‘If you take it and you fix it, you’re the hero…’” Juliet, a former vice president at GE, recalls, laughing. “‘…if it crashes and burns, well, it was already in the toilet anyway.’”

Stephen completely overhauled the crippled company by eliminating waste, building a leaner workforce and introducing a new business model. Juliet recalls that the dramatic shift in staffing raised security concerns, but ultimately the streamlined business was stabilized, sold to a private equity firm for more than half a billion dollars in May 2016 and rebranded as Jaggaer.

Stephen retired soon after.

STEPPING UP AND GIVING BACK

Although the couple is officially retired, they have a lot on their plates to stay busy. When Stephen is not building furnishings that rival anything you’d find at Restoration Hardware, he’s sitting on the board of directors for various organizations, not to mention achieving his childhood dream of a pilot’s license with IFR (instrument flight rules) and commercial certificate, and flying his own plane on ‘Angel Flights’ aiding people in getting to and from important medical appointments. His bride of nearly 40 years — an avid horsewoman — works part-time at a local saddlery, helping customers with advice on horse care, training and outfitting of their equine endeavors.

Retirement hasn’t slowed Stephen’s love of a good challenge. Some days, the problems are less corporate and more domestic: like who to root for when Kentucky faces off against Duke University, Juliet’s alma mater. With a Wildcat in the house and a Blue Devil across the table, even a simple matchup can turn into a lively exercise in strategy and compromise.

When asked who they root for when the two rivals play one another, Stephen deadpans, “It depends on where we’re seated.”

While it may be a house divided when it comes to sports — daughter Stephanie attended Duke, son Andrew studied at Wake Forest — the couple is always on the same team when it comes to giving back. They’ve established an aquatics scholarship at Duke for promising swimmers and, in 2019, created the Wiehe LEADS Scholarship, which has opened doors for deserving students to attend UK while easing the financial burden for others. Among the nearly two dozen Wildcats who have benefited is Jacob Miller, a native of picturesque Summer Shade, Kentucky, and a member of the inaugural cohort of recipients.

“Thanks to the LEADS scholarship, I was able to pay off my loans within a year of graduating, which helped me achieve life goals beyond my career,” says Miller, who graduated in 2023 from the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering with a computer science degree. “I’m now happily married and financially secure, and that is, in part, due to the Wiehes’ LEADS Scholarship.”

Stephen says that his family’s decision to give back to UK was an easy one.

“We’ve gotten to know (UK President) Dr. Capilouto well — he’s even done a fundraiser here at the house — and we were really impressed with him,” says Stephen. “The second thing was that we see the LEADS Scholarship program as a catalyst for breaking the cycle of poverty. You’re getting kids who are firsttime students, the first kids in their family to go to college. There are so many students who, even with all the loans, just can’t make it, and for me, for Juliet, it’s all about making other people’s lives easier and breaking that cycle.”

Stephen confides that he gets a little choked up when he hears stories about the young lives his generosity has benefited. He says that he spent hours reading up on the LEADS recipients on a flight back from Europe.

“The stories were all so heartfelt,” says Stephen, remembering UK’s impact on his own life and career. He especially recalls a

Deep inside his expansive refuge, Stephen Wiehe indulges in many of his passions, including woodworking. He recently crafted a houseful of furniture for his family’s Florida vacation retreat, much of it made out of rare, salvaged American elm.

management class taught by Professor Jack Blanton, calling it “probably the best class I had at UK.”

“It was practical. It was thoughtful. It was challenging,” he remembers.

Stephen says that years later, after he started his career at GE, moved to Massachusetts, then England, then North Carolina, he’d often return to campus to speak with Blanton when he was in Lexington visiting family.

Stephen passes along to students some of the advice he received that he found necessary in his own career. Specifically, Stephen says communication is key to any successful endeavor.

“When I came out of UK, I was under the impression that to be successful, you have to be really smart, and I would tell you today, I think to be successful, intelligence is important — it’s just not number one,” Stephen explains. “It’s probably number two, three, or four. Number one, especially as a leader, is having people skills, being able to get people to buy into what you’re trying to do, being able to communicate with them. The way I think of it is that everybody has an electrical socket and my job is to find a way to plug into them, to connect to them, and once I can connect to them, I’m able to communicate why this is important to them.”

Back in his workshop at Little Lexington, white fences stretch just beyond the windows and horses move across the now sun-filled fields, a pastoral calm set against the soft glow of pinball machines. He started the collection after returning from England, chasing the carefree fun he remembered from his college days. Now the machines — including “The Simpsons,” “Addams Family,” “Star Trek” and “Funhouse,” the oldest in his collection — line the walls, staring back like cheerful rivals, ready for another round. For Stephen, the appeal isn’t just in the blinking lights — it’s in the risk of each shot, the chance to tilt the table in his favor. It’s the same instinct that’s guided him in business and in life: take the risk, play it smart and enjoy the game — one quarter at a time. ■

Distinguished Service Award Winners 2025

It is the pleasure of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association to honor alumni who have provided exemplary service to the association and the university. Every year, the association presents the Distinguished Service Award and the Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award. These 2025 recipients were recognized at the association’s annual Summer Workshop in Lexington. Thanks for all you do.

Phillip D. Elder

Phillip D. Elder is from Webster, Kentucky, nestled in Breckinridge County, right by the Meade County line – the boundary between slow and fast time. A 1986 graduate of the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Phillip earned his bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics. With an impressive 36-year career in public service for the United States, Phillip began his journey with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Farmers Home Administration, followed by the Farm Service Agency, for 18 years, and another 18 years with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Since 2001, Phillip has been an active UK alumni club officer or board member, serving as president of the Nation’s Capital UK Alumni Club from 2005 to 2010, on the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors from 2012 to 2020, and leading the Dallas-Fort Worth UK Alumni Club since 2017. His dedication earned him the lifetime achievement award from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in 2021, along with two DHS Secretary Awards for exceptional and distinguished service to DHS and the United States in 2024. Phillip obtained his Juris Doctorate from George Mason University in 2005 and is a member of the bar in Texas, DC, and Virginia. He lives in Weatherford, Texas, with his wife Angie, their dogs Mittens, Leroy, and Buttons (and often a rescue foster puppy), their horse Quick, their cat Dottie, and approximately 100,000 honeybees.

Tracy Lovan

A 1984 graduate of the University of Kentucky’s College of Education, Tracy received a bachelor’s degree in elementary education. She earned her master’s degree and her Rank 1 in special education with an emphasis on learning disabilities and behavior disorders from Eastern Kentucky University. Tracy was employed by Fayette County Public Schools as a teacher for 12 years and as a special education diagnostician for 16 years retiring in 2014. She has been an active volunteer for the past four decades serving on the boards of her son’s parent organizations, Habitat for Humanity, the Junior League of Lexington, Lexington Philharmonic Guild, the Lafayette Band Association, Central Music Academy and the Central Kentucky Youth Orchestras where she served as president for two terms. She served on the UK Alumni Association board from 2001– 2004. Tracy volunteers in the museum store of Ashland, the Henry Clay Estate. Her favorite volunteer time is spent with the UK Alumni Band where she served as co-president for two terms alongside her husband Joel ’77 FA. Both are long-time members of Spindletop Hall and are Life Members of the UK Alumni Association. The couple has been married for 41 years and they have one son, Will ’19 FA.

Ouita Michel

Ouita Michel is the founder of a culinary group that is at the apex of the Central Kentucky food chain. It includes seven restaurants – from the fine-dining flagship Holly Hill Inn to Wallace Station, situated on a national scenic byway – along with a bakery, a bar, an events business and a cooking studio. She is a ’87 graduate of the College of Arts & Sciences with a major in political science. She’s an author, a food activist, an eight-times James Beard semifinalist and a Culinary Ambassador in the U.S. State Department Culinary Corps. Ouita is Kentucky’s go-to authority on local food and the culture of agriculture, winning awards for championing our farmers, fishermen, butchers and stewards of the land. Over the last two decades, her Holly Hill & Co. restaurants have purchased $10 million worth of Kentucky Proud foods and garnered lifetime achievement status. She co-founded Lexington’s FoodChain to fight for food access and opened Smithtown Seafood as its window to the outside world. Her Holly Hill website tells stories of Kentucky’s people, places and ingredients. And she brings those people, places and ingredients to life in her Holly Hill Cooking Studio. Ouita wrote “Just a Few Miles South: Timeless Recipes from Our Favorite Places.” She’s been at the stove for 37 years, dispensing kitchen wisdom and life hacks. She’s a girl mom, a wife, daughter, sister and aunt; caretaker of cast iron, a collector of cookbooks (4,000 and counting) and a mentor to multitudes of young chefs and creative spirits. She lives with her husband Chris in Midway, Kentucky. Daughter Willa is a student at Columbia University.

Rachel Watts Webb

A native of Shelbyville, Kentucky, Rachel Watts Webb received a bachelor’s degree in integrated strategic communication in 2005. Before graduating with a 4.0 GPA, she served two terms as Student Government president and two years on the UK Board of Trustees. Webb chaired the Kentucky Board of Student Body Presidents and was a member of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, Campus Crusade for Christ, Panhellenic Council, Emerging Leaders Institute, 2004 Homecoming Court, Omicron Delta Kappa and Phi Beta Kappa. She received the 2005 College of Communication and Information Dean’s Award. After graduation, she became the UK government relations coordinator, working with the state legislature in Frankfort, as well as organizing grassroots alumni advocacy efforts throughout the Commonwealth. She has remained committed to nonprofit organizations, providing outreach for the Children’s Hospital Foundation, as well as working as executive director of the Kentucky Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. Rachel was appointed to the UK Board of Trustees from 2018-2024, where she chaired the academic and student affairs committee and served on the athletics committee and the executive committee as secretary. Webb has served 14 years on the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors. She is a founding member of the UK Young Alumni Council. In 2014, she received the Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award. Her husband Lee Webb ’98 received the same award in 2010, making them the first couple to share the honor. In addition to running a commercial real estate company, Alton Webb & Associates, they are raising three children: Walker, Warren and Wells. She is an alumna of Leadership Shelby and serves on the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, but her greatest passion is helping faith leaders in Kentucky find meaningful ways to connect and serve their local communities.

S. Zebulon “Zeb” Vance

S. Zebulon “Zeb” Vance is a 2013 graduate of the University of Kentucky in biosystems engineering. After earning his doctorate in biomedical engineering from the University of South Carolina in 2018, he moved to New York City where his multidisciplinary academic research spanned neurodegeneration, hematology and molecular therapeutics at the Mount Sinai Hospital and the New York Blood Center’s Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute. His most recent paper, published in 2024 in Blood, the journal of the American Society of Hematology, focused on the effects of genetic iron overload related to acute myeloid leukemia. Zeb is a field application scientist for Olink Proteomics, part of Thermo Fisher Scientific, where he supports academic researchers and professional scientists in population scale proteomics to uncover biomarkers across diverse disease areas. He remains an active and engaged alumni with a dedication to providing mentorship and visibility for underrepresented scientists. He has served on the boards for both Mount Sinai oSTEM (Out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) and the NYBC Research Fellow Advancement group. He has also been a member of the Pigman College of Engineering Young Alumni Philanthropy Council, a College of Engineering alumni mentor and president of the NYC UK Alumni Club where he has worked to expand outreach and alumni engagement in the nation’s largest city.

Our new leadership

Thomas K. Mathews, of Cypress, Texas, was elected president of the UK Alumni Association. Tom attended UK as a Commonwealth Scholarship recipient and received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 1993. The Louisville native is the president and owner of Industrial Solvents Corporation. He previously worked as an environmental chemist and compliance manager for Blue Grass Chemical Specialties.

Mathews is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, a UK Fellow and served as secretary and president of the Greater Houston UK Alumni Club. At UK, he was a resident advisor and hall director at Holmes Hall, a member of Collegians for Academic Excellence and an RHA council representative.

Mathews received his master’s degree in liberal studies from Bellarmine University in 1999 before relocating to Texas in 2001. He is a member of the Houston Chemical Association. He has worked as a volunteer at Career Gear Houston, has helped to foster, vaccinate and find new homes for dozens of stray dogs via his wife’s involvement with the Big Love Rescue group, has served as a youth coach in the Cy-Fair Sports Association and in collection events for the Houston Food Bank. He is married to Tonya Williams Mathews, and they have two children, Shelby and Pierce.

Kelly Sullivan Holland of Lexington, Kentucky, was elected president-elect of the UK Alumni Association. The Danville, Kentucky, native earned two degrees from UK: a bachelor’s degree in psychology in 1993 and a master’s in kinesiology and health promotion in 1998. While attending UK, she was an Otis Singletary Senior Award recipient, Phi Beta Kappa and Homecoming Queen. She served as president of Chi Omega sorority and secretary of Omicron Delta Kappa. In 2005, Holland was inducted into UK’s Greek Alumni Hall of Fame.

After graduation, Holland represented UK as an admissions counselor and later as the director of recruitment, associate director of undergraduate admissions. She was a board member of the Kentucky Association of Secondary and College Admission Counselors where she received the Most Outstanding Admissions Professional Award in 2000. She is the first alumna to be honored with the Joseph T. Burch Young Alumni Award, receiving it in 2004 and in 2010, she received the UK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service Award. She served as president of the Fayette County Young Alumni group and later as president of the Fayette County UK Alumni Club. Her service continued with the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors.

In 2012, Holland was appointed as a University of Kentucky Alumni Trustee, serving a 6-year term. Holland was selected to the 2021 Class of Leadership Kentucky and led UK’s Women & Philanthropy as

The UK Alumni Association announced its 20252026 Board of Directors during its annual Summer Workshop held June 2628. This year’s officers are Thomas K. Mathews, president; Kelly Sullivan Holland, president-elect; Quentin R. Tyler, treasurer and Jill H. Smith, secretary. The new slate officially took office July 1 and will serve until June 30, 2026.

co-chair in 2023. For 23 years, she has been employed by Merck & Co. Inc. in sales and account management roles. She has been awarded the prestigious Hall of Fame distinction. She is married to Darin Holland’93 AS and they have a son, Jacob.

Quentin R. Tyler of Okemos, Michigan, was elected treasurer of the UK Alumni Association. The Hopkinsville, Kentucky, native earned three degrees from the UK: a bachelor’s in agricultural economics in 2002, a master’s in agricultural economics in 2005 and a doctoral degree in sociology in 2011. He graduated from the Institute for Management and Leadership in Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in June 2022. While attending UK, he was a member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc., a residential advisor and a member of Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences. He served as national professional president of MANRRS from 20152016, chair of National MANRRS advisory board from 2018-2024 and he received the National MANRRS Legend Award in 2022.

Tyler is the director of Michigan State University Extension and senior associate dean for outreach and engagement. Prior to MSU, he worked for the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment as an assistant dean and Extension associate for recruitment and retention. He is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association and the UK Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment Alumni Association where he was president from 2020-2024.

Tyler has chaired the UK Alumni Association’s efforts in engagement and diversity and served as the nomination committee chair. He was awarded a 2022 Distinguished Alumni Service Award from the UK Alumni Association and was inducted into the University of Kentucky College of Arts and Sciences Hall of Fame in 2024. He is married to Jon’a Joiner Tyler and they have two children, Zoe and Quentin Jr. (Deuce).

Jill H. Smith of Lexington, Kentucky, was elected secretary of the UK Alumni Association. Smith earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management from UK in 2005 and a master’s degree in career, technical and leadership education in 2011. She began working at the UK Alumni Association in 2006 as a program coordinator and became executive director in February 2020. She also serves as associate vice president for stakeholder engagement at UK.

Smith has been a volunteer with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education at the state and district level, and a member of the Council of Alumni Association Executives. She is an advisor to the Delta Rho chapter of Delta Delta Delta and a 2022 graduate of Leadership Kentucky. She is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association, a UK Fellow and Women & Philanthropy member. She and her husband, Ryan, ’04 AFE, have two children, Tanner and Emmy.

Pictured left to right are Jill H. Smith, Thomas K. Mathews, Kelly Sullivan Holland and Quentin R. Tyler.

Who’s new in 2025

These alumni were recently elected to the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors and Leadership Advisory Council for the first time.

In-State Board Representative

Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028

Maegan Mansfield graduated in 2011 and 2013 with degrees in civil engineering from the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering. She was a Chi Omega while attending UK. The Paducah Area Chamber of Commerce and the Paducah Sun named her the 2023 Young Leader of Western Kentucky. She contributes to her community by serving on the Board of Directors for Greater Paducah Economic Development, the Paducah Chamber’s Business Advocacy Committee and the Paducah Bank Advisory Board. She is a member of the Leadership Kentucky Class of 2022 and was recognized as the Outstanding Member of Leadership Paducah Class #35. She has served as the past president of the United Way of Western Kentucky and the Charity League of Paducah. She is a project manager and civil engineer at BFW Engineering, specializing in maritime and federal market areas. Before joining BFW, she held various government positions, including roles with the DOE, KYTC and the city of Paducah. She is a Life Member of the UK Alumni Association and a member of the McCracken County UK Alumni Club. She lives in Paducah, Kentucky.

Out-of-state board representative Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2028

Tanner Thompson is a 2023 graduate of the Gatton College of Business and Economics where he earned a bachelor’s degree in finance, management and accounting. During his time at UK, he represented the university as the mascot, Scratch, and held leadership roles including vice president for alumni relations of the UK Finance Society Board, Alumni Association Student Ambassador and peer advisor for the Graham Office of Career Management. He’s a senior associate with Affinius Capital, a real estate investment firm based in San Antonio, Texas. He serves on the KYCPA Accounting Pipeline Task Force and the board of Wednesday’s Child, a Kentucky nonprofit focused on supporting children in the foster care system. He is an active member of the UK alumni community. He lives in San Antonio, Texas.

In-State Board representative

Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026

Emmanuel Dhemby Moussabou is a 2024 graduate of the College of Health Sciences with a focus in clinical leadership and management. During his time at UK, he conducted research under Dr. Janeesh Sekkath Veedu on financial toxicity among cancer patients. He later studied universal healthcare in France as a recipient of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. He was honored with the 2024 Algernon Sydney Sullivan Award, the university’s highest student recognition for humanitarian service. He serves as an operations manager for environmental services through Crothall at UK Healthcare where he oversees more than 60 operating rooms. A former Alumni Ambassador, he is passionate about continuing to serve and support his alma mater through deeper alumni engagement.

In-State Leadership Advisory Council representatives

Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027

Julia Little is a 2019 graduate of the College of Education. She participated in DanceBlue and the Christian Student Fellowship while a student. She is an elementary school teacher. As a young alumnus she is looking forward to empowering other young alumni to get involved and be connected with the UKAA. She lives in Danville, Kentucky.

Who’s new in 2025

In-State Leadership Advisory Council representatives Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027

Jason Marcus graduated from the College of Arts and Sciences in 2024 with a degree in political science and is attending the UK J. David Rosenberg College of Law. As an undergraduate, he served as a College of Arts and Sciences ambassador, a DanceBlue dancer and student body vice president of the UK Student Government Association. He was also a member of Pi Kappa Alpha and served on the UKAA Leadership Advisory Council. He serves on the University Appeals Board, and at the UK J. David Rosenberg College of Law, he serves as his 2L class representative, a member of the Honors Council and a Supreme Court Justice for the UK Student Government Association.

Out-of-State Leadership Advisory Council representative Term: July 1, 2025 – June 30, 2027

Pete Shattuck is a 1986 graduate from the College of Education. Originally from Middlesboro, Kentucky, he now lives in Valrico, Florida having retired in 2021 as the chief operations officer of the YMCA of Southwest Florida. Shattuck serves as the president of the Sarasota/Suncoast UK Alumni Club. The club has received recognition for its work with student recruitment, alumni engagement, service and new and innovative programming. It was also among those recognized as a most improved club in 2023. Over the past three years, the club has contributed nearly $34,000 to its scholarship endowment.

Alumni Ambassadors

The University of Kentucky Alumni Association welcomes 36 Alumni Ambassadors this year, the largest class ever for the program. The mission of the Alumni Ambassadors is to bridge the gap between alumni and current students to create positive experiences for both. Alumni Ambassadors serve as the official student hosts of the university and act as the governing body of the Student Alumni Association.

For more information on the Alumni Ambassadors, visit www.ukalumni.net/AlumniAmbassadors

Photo by Joe Bandy

Alumni Association clubs receive honors for service, good work

Each year the University of Kentucky Alumni Association recognizes the outstanding contributions of its alumni clubs at the Alumni Service and Club Awards Banquet held during the annual Summer Workshop. Clubs are recognized for excellence in six areas: alumni engagement, community service and philanthropy, most improved, new and creative programming and scholarship. Clubs do some amazing work. Here are a few examples of how clubs are reaching out to alumni and supporting the University of Kentucky. Sarasota Suncoast UK Alumni Club supported the scholarship fund by organizing a Wildcat Women’s Tea. The Fayette County UK Alumni Club has an annual Strikes for Scholars bowling fundraising event. Chicagoland UK Alumni Club gathers with other SEC alumni groups for an SEC flag football tournament. The Triangle Area UK Alumni Club partnered with former Head Football Coach Joker Phillips for a Kentucky Derby party. Cumberland Valley East UK Alumni Club invited members to a Murder Mystery Dinner produced by a local theatre group. The Greater Louisville UK Alumni Club volunteer to ring the Salvation Army bell as part of its community service. The Greater Nashville UK Alumni Club hosted a UK Alumni Day with the Tennessee Titans.

Scan the QR code for a full list of winners.

Nearly a decade ago, retirees Amy and Eric Redfield built more than a place to eat — they carved out a space where flavor meets faith and purpose rises like dough, giving their tight-knit Northern Kentucky enclave...

Photo by Josh Keown

By Dan Knapp

sso buco specials aren’t something you’ll find at most diners. Authentic house-made bronze-die bucatini at a drive-in? Unlikely. And a slice of Italian sopressata hot honey pizza at a neighborhood dive? Fuhgeddaboudit.

So when Food Network star Guy Fieri rolled up to Northern Kentucky’s Camporosso restaurant in his tomato-red ‘68 Camaro to film an episode of “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” earlier this summer, it begged the question: Which category could this upscale eatery possibly fit into?

“I’d say we’d be a drive-in diner dive because it’s an old renovated, repurposed gas station,” laughs Eric Redfield ’89 CI, who — along with his wife Amy ’85 ED — converted an abandoned depressionera Sunoco station in Fort Mitchell into one of greater Cincinnati’s most celebrated family restaurants. “I think it’s a combination of everything.”

It’s mid-afternoon on a late-July Tuesday, long past the expected lunch rush, but there’s still no open table inside the bustling dining room. An elderly gentleman totters past Eric, extends his hand and congratulates the newly minted local celebrity on his national TV debut — his 15 minutes of fame now served wood-fired and well-seasoned. It’s been like this since the episode premiered, when word spread that the communityminded business had its story brought to a national stage.

Outside, the covered patio is just as packed. The mercury hovers around 100. That sultry, velvet breath the Ohio River exhales hangs heavy in the heat, saturating everything (and everyone) in a sticky haze. Industrial-sized fans positioned on the perimeter provide relief to local devotees and curious newcomers drawn in by the show — diners willing to brave the sweltering heat for a bubbling, authentic taste of Naples.

The Redfields say that ardent fans of “Triple D” — as the show is also known — have converged on Camporosso from places like Philadelphia, Atlanta and Minneapolis just to get a taste of their much-talked-about fare.

“There are some people that will travel just to eat at “Triple D” spots — one guy told me this was his 140th!” Eric explains, incredulously. “They’ll come into town, eat, then catch a Reds game, visit the zoo or check out something unique to the area.

They do that all over the U.S.”

Top: Eric Redfield impressed “Triple D” host Guy Fieri with the restaurant’s authentic Italian cuisine. Fieri characterized one of Redfield’s signature pizzas to the Cincinnati Enquirer as “jaw dropping.” Bottom: During Fieri’s recent visit to Camporosso, the Redfields posed next to “Righteous Rojo.” The souped-up Chevrolet added a touch of Hollywood flair to the Derby-weekend filming.

Filming occurred over the first weekend in May — Derby weekend, one of the restaurant’s busiest — and Eric, although slightly disappointed they had to close their doors for the cameras, says he was a little starstruck when Fieri showed up.

“It was very exciting,” Eric smiles, calling the visit “electric.” “He was as nice and genuine in person as he is on TV. It’s unbelievable how he relates to people. It was like meeting somebody you hadn’t seen from high school in 35 years and catching up. That’s how he was; you could tell it was genuine.”

Eric admits he got more than a little choked up when the spikyhaired host and undisputed Mayor of Flavortown took a bite of his signature Cincinnati chili pizza and responded with the kind of emphatic, no-notes approval that chefs dream about.

“He goes, ‘This is dynamite.’ I started crying,” Eric confides. “I

was trying not to, but the emotion just came out because we’re throwing our hearts into this, and to see it blossom and develop and to be so successful — it’s overwhelming.”

Although Eric’s emotional response was captured in a quick cutaway scene, Fieri’s effusive comments weren’t reserved just to Camporosso’s pizza with the lighter-than-air crust. After tasting the Bucatini all’Amatriciana, Fieri quipped, “The pasta really sings here, baby! You’d pry that out of my dead hands” before assuring the Redfields they’d “graduated to a level that many want but very few succeed.”

Photos submitted by Food Network and Eric Redfield

This year, Camporosso — Italian for “red field,” a cheeky callback to the owners’ surname — expects to have receipts north of $4 million, not bad for a neighborhood joint with a maximum occupancy of 125 guests at any given time. The Redfields say that owner involvement is a key part of their success.

“We’ve been very fortunate with our financial growth from when we started until now,” Eric says, “and that allows us to not only take care of our staff, but we’re also taking care of retirement. It’s allowing us to support the goals that we’re passionate about and see where this will take us.”

Guy Fieri (left) discovered Amy and Eric Redfield’s celebrated pizza when show scouts attended a keynote address by Eric shortly after Camporosso was named Pizzeria of the Year.

was finally realized in April of 2017. Recalling the building’s humble origin, an operable garage door remains a focal point for the dining room. An imposing Marni Forni pizza oven that can bake a Margherita in about two minutes now sits front-and-center on the same spot where Model Ts and old jalopies once had their oil changed and tires rotated.

Success looks good on the Redfields, but it hasn’t been easy. They acknowledge these days demand longer hours than their past corporate jobs ever did — Amy worked with clients like Pepsi and Nabisco in the hospitality industry, while Eric specialized in medical sales for Johnson & Johnson — but retiring early and plunging headlong into making pizza was the culmination of a decades-long dream.

“We talked about it for 30 years,” Amy says with a hearty laugh, “and then one day, I looked at him and said, ‘just do it.’”

Their leap into a new line of work came at an unconventional time. When the Redfields — soon-to-be empty nesters in, as Eric describes, the “Indian Summer” of their careers — finally took the plunge, daughter Shannon ’17 AS ’18 AFE was finishing her undergraduate degrees at UK and their other daughter, Jordan ’18 MED, was on her way to becoming a gastroenterologist.

“They didn’t grow up in the restaurant,” Amy says, “but they’ve absolutely watched it grow — from the very first dough stretch.”

“Amy and I, as well as two of our kids, are all proud UK graduates,” Eric beams. “It is a special place for all of us. Our son Adam, who graduated from West Point, is probably the biggest UK sports fan of all of us.”

The Redfields say that they saw a market void they wanted to fill. They wanted a place where people could come celebrate — after a sporting event or dance recital, “somewhere that the whole family could come and get something out of that experience.”

However, before they jumped ship on their regular 9-to-5s, the couple learned all they could about the restaurant business and crafting authentic Italian food. They imported an oven from Italy that they had installed in the driveway of their home, where they spent countless hours mastering the art of achieving a perfectly blistered pizza crust. They searched for the ideal location for their pizzeria and came upon the derelict garage hidden in plain sight on the edge of the old Dixie Highway. Eric was skeptical, but Amy, the granddaughter of an architect, recognized the building’s inherent charm and good bones.

Although it was a chore resurrecting a building suffering from both neglect and years of patchwork repair, the couple’s dream

While the 1100-degree oven steals the spotlight, offering some visual spectacle with the dining experience, there’s one thing visitors won’t see: a freezer. Every item at Camporosso is prepared fresh every day — nothing is frozen.

“Our dough is proofed for a full 48 hours, and the sauce is made with fresh tomatoes that never hit heat until they hit the oven,” boasts Eric. “All those things make for an outstanding Neapolitan pizza. That’s our bread and butter; that’s really why people come back.”

Quicker than you can say “quattro formaggi,” Camporosso became a sensation with its extensive wine list, a distinctive streamlined menu and, perhaps most importantly, exceptional service.

“When a customer walks out the door, I want to ensure we exceeded their expectations,” Eric says. “Were they excited? Did they enjoy themselves? Did they feel like they were at a dinner party at my home? We try to provide an elevated customer experience at lunch, at dinner, you name it. If someone’s not happy here for whatever reason, I’m not happy.”

Asked what advice he might offer his younger self about opening a restaurant, Eric laughs, “Do it sooner — prepare yourself and just do it.”

“My younger self would never have envisioned our success,” he adds. “If you had told me before we opened that I could write the script on this restaurant and how it’s going to end up, I would’ve way, way undershot.”

The Redfields are glad they accepted the invitation to have their dishes featured on the Food Network, but it wasn’t an opportunity they sought out. After hearing Eric deliver a keynote address at the 2025 International Pizza Expo in Las Vegas, “Triple D” talent scouts approached the couple. His 42-minute talk was a deep dive into the couple’s business ethos: offering culinary excellence, engaging their staff and championing community involvement. Those same values helped earn Camporosso the title of “Pizzeria of the Year” in August 2024 from the influential industry publication “Pizza Today.”

Sitting at a high-top table near the entrance, the Redfields sport branded shirts bearing the corporate logo. But just as the couple wear their hearts on their sleeves figuratively, they also showcase their guiding values quite literally: stitched into the fabric is a reference to a Biblical scripture that calls for humility and selflessness. It’s more

Photo submitted by Food Network

than a design detail; it’s a quiet reminder of the servant-hearted philosophy that shapes everything: from how they treat their guests to how they lead their team.

“We measure every decision against Philippians 2:3-4, “you not only look out for your own needs, but look out for the needs of others,” Eric paraphrases. “So that’s what we’re doing right now: ‘Is it good for this business and does it help other people?’ Who can’t get behind the general principle of looking out for the needs of others? It’s that simple. And since we opened, Amy and I have used this as a platform to serve others.”

Their dedication to employees and community shines through in a thousand different ways — like during the early days of the pandemic, when Camporosso distributed 100% of profits to staff and provided more than a thousand meals to frontline workers. Guided by this core value, the restaurant adapted quickly, adding takeout that became a surprising hit. With creative teamwork and support from Fort Mitchell officials, they balanced safety with service, all while loyal customers kept coming through the doors.

That spirit of service didn’t begin — or end — with a crisis. It’s baked into the business itself, from backing local sports leagues and hosting fundraising nights — like the sold-out event in early August that raised $60,000 for a fellow UK Wildcat suffering from a traumatic brain injury to help him get back on his feet — to rallying behind key neighborhood causes. Just as intentionally, the Redfields have worked to foster a workplace where everyone feels seen, respected and empowered to be themselves.

“Our team is made up of a lot of different people with different perspectives on life,” Eric explains. “We have employees of every religion, every sexual orientation all with varying political beliefs. Everyone has a voice. You can’t live on the extremes. You just can’t. Nothing gets done; nothing gets settled.”

As if on cue, Miles Laird, a longtime employee with Down syndrome featured on “Triple D,” sidles up to the table with a wave and a plastic container full of blue-frosted cupcakes for a coworker’s baby shower later that afternoon. He’s part of a spirited crew united

“

“ He goes, ‘This is dynamite.’ I started crying… because we’re throwing our hearts into this, and to see it blossom and develop and to be so successful — it’s overwhelming.

— Eric Redfield

in the Redfields’ mission to deliver service — and exceptional food — with a smile.

“It’s really simple: we just don’t talk politics here,” Eric adds with a grin. “We have employees as liberal as it gets and as conservative as it gets. And I don’t care if I’m somewhere in the middle — nothing gets resolved if people are arguing.”

That inclusive mindset has fostered something rare in the restaurant world: longevity. While industry turnover rates can hover around 75%, Camporosso’s attrition is a scant 10%, with many team members still on staff since the restaurant opened.

The Pizzeria of the Year honor followed a string of other highprofile accolades, including top placement on numerous “Best Of” lists in the Cincinnati area and a nod from “Food & Wine,” which named Camporosso — along with Louisville’s Impellizzeri’s — as having the best pizza in the Commonwealth. (The 2021 list praised the pies as both “modern, glamour-puss pizza” and “gorgeous, often admirably true-to-style Neapolitans.”)

Even in the wake of a tidal wave of praise and media buzz, the Redfields and their team of four dozen employees aren’t floating on the sea of acclaim. If anything, Eric says, the swell of recognition has only raised the bar — pushing them to elevate both the food and the experience with relentless focus and care.

“With every one of those accolades, it makes us work harder,” Eric rationalizes. “We’re working harder to ensure we live up to that expectation. Yesterday, we (the staff and I) talked about the national and local exposure. We have to make sure we improve day to day, and then every guest leaves satisfied. So yeah, it’s gratifying, but we don’t take it for granted.”

Drive-in, diner or dive — it might not matter. Around here, it’s just known as Camporosso: the place where the food sings, the public connect and the heart behind it all beats a little stronger, every single day. ■

Photo by Josh Keown

ABOVE IT ALL: CRANES SIGNAL THE NEXT CHAPTER FOR CAMPUS

The skies across campus have been full of cranes this summer. Not the feathered variety, but the large metal ones assisting in construction. This photo was taken in July. Each crane is either working on new construction or on building renovations and expansions. The photograph was taken from the west side of campus, looking southeast. From left, four cranes (in the foreground) are working on the University of Kentucky Cancer and Advanced Ambulatory Building and associated parking garage on South Limestone; the two in the left background at the Michael D. Rankin MD Health Education Building at the intersection of Huguelet and University Drives. The crane in the right background is working on the Johnson Recreation Center Expansion on South Campus. Not pictured is a crane at the new Agricultural Research Building on University Drive.

Photo by Mark Cornelison,

"It’s amazing that UK has a scholarship for students like me. The UK LEADS program helped fund my education and inspired me to push myself harder. This helped me get to the finish line of my degree, and I will finish."

—

DALTON STEVENS, CLASS

OF

2026

Henderson, Kentucky Criminal Justice Major

UK LEADS is a nationally recognized program designed to identify and support students whose primary barrier to success is financial need, providing them with targeted scholarships and aid to help them complete their education. The program aims to reduce unmet financial need by using data-informed analytics.

When you give to UK LEADS, you do more than cover tuition or fees — you give students the opportunity to focus on their studies, build their careers and shape their future. You turn hope into something real.

Help more Wildcats go from uncertain to unstoppable.

Give today at: GIVE.UKY.EDU

Photos by Breven Walker

By Laurel Swanz

Eugene Poole Jr. eagerly unloads 12 eight-foot-long, plastic-sealed cardboard tubes from his white Nissan SUV.

Once placed on a wooden table inside, he peels back the plastic wrap of one of the packages, splits the seam of the cardboard underneath it and reveals a tightly wound roll of fabric. He gingerly places it atop a white cloth sheet, unfurling vibrant colors and complex stitching within.

His quilt, which depicts a young man in green derby silks straddling a racing saddle against an orange paisley backdrop, is part of Poole’s "Reflections N Black: Kentucky Derby Jockeys (1800s-1900s)" collection.

Altogether there are 31 quilts highlighting 16 historic Black Derby-winning jockeys. The works mark the first time the jockeys have been artistically rendered “in a life-size quilted format, in this medium, anywhere in America,” Poole said, proudly.

He removes any misplaced threads from the quilt and smoothes it, smiling at the jockey it portrays as if he were an old friend. This one is Oliver Lewis, the first jockey to win the Kentucky Derby, sporting silks precisely color matched to the uniform he wore when he made history in 1875 on Aristides. Lewis was 19 at the time.

Despite being born long after Oliver Lewis’s death, Poole ‘85 DES said he knows the jockey well from his many hours of research, cutting, measuring and stitching fabric and the many “conversations” the pair shared.

“When I worked on each one of these jockeys, late at night, early in the morning, there's this really intense conversation,” Poole said. “Some of it's audible, some of it's in my mind, but I'm asking each one, what do you want to be? What type of facial expression do you want to have? What do you want me to tell people about you?”

These imagined conversations, inspired by countless hours of research, are reflective of the care Poole takes with each story he tells through quilting. He seeks to capture more than just his subject’s likeness; he wants to embody their spirit.

Oliver Lewis’s great-granddaughter, Sheila Lewis, believes Poole accomplished his goal. She was among the first to see a portion of his Black jockeys exhibition at a private showing at the Kentucky Derby Museum in April 2024.

“I felt like I was standing right next to the man,” Lewis said after seeing the quilt of her great-grandfather. “It was freeing, to say the least. It felt so good. It was tearful. Happy, joyful tears. It was very emotional.”

Sheila Lewis has spent much of her life studying her family’s history. She said she believes her great-grandfather was underappreciated in his time. Knowing people care about sharing and learning his story, and getting to experience this recognition for him and her ancestors, means the world to her, she said.

“I just felt like this was a godsend moment for me, for my grandmother, for my mother, and my grandmother’s mother,” Sheila Lewis said. “They’re since deceased, so they won’t get to enjoy this with me, but I can almost feel them jubilating.”

Eugene Poole Jr. poses in front of two of his life-size quilts featuring Black jockeys. On the left is William "Billy" Walker who won the Kentucky Derby in 1877. On the right is Willie Simms who won the Kentucky Derby in 1898.

Since discovering Poole’s quilting project, Sheila Lewis and Poole have become close friends. (They were introduced through Lexington city leader and historian Yvonne Giles.) Sheila Lewis said Poole, and the positive reception his quilting collection has received, inspired her to keep telling her great-grandfather’s story. She is planning to write a book about Oliver Lewis, his family and his legacy.

Poole started what he calls his “passion project” with no intention of displaying it on a large scale. Quilting was a hobby he discovered during the COVID-19 pandemic.

His experience as a working architect and in other forms of artistry, like oil painting, served as a foundation to quickly pick up the craft. That, and his grandfather Charles Edward Lynch was a professional tailor in the 1930s and 1940s.

“My family believes that gene from him jumped from the 1930s and landed on me,” Poole said.

In his living room in Maryland during quarantine, he taught himself how to use a non-computerized quilting arm. The result: 180 quilts designed to bring Black historical figures into contemporary awareness.

“Every single stitch and every inch comes from the creativity in my head to my hand. There’s no computer in this,” Poole said.

He began stitching quilts of Black jockeys in 2021, holding special significance given his Kentucky upbringing. He was born in Hopkinsville and sought to honor the accomplishments of the jockeys and illuminate a part of Kentucky’s history he did not know much about growing up.

In April 2025, he got to share this project with his state when "Reflections N Black" opened at the Kentucky Center for African American Heritage in Louisville. Poole said around 200 people attended the opening ceremony, including “busloads of schoolchildren.” In the three months the exhibit was open, an estimated 1,500 people viewed it, according to KCAAH executive director Aukram Burton.

“I’m just over the moon about it. I didn't know all this was going to happen, and for it to get the type of attention that it got there in Louisville…” Poole said. “It’s paying homage to the people that it depicts, that's the main thing. If I don't make a dime out of this, I'm good, I've already had a school of kids to come in, right? Hey, man, I've been paid.”

“Quilter” is certainly not Poole’s only title. He’s a decorated Air Force veteran, ordained preacher and motivational speaker, author, former professor and scholar. He is the chief staff architect for the management of

Each of the quilts feature Eugene Poole Jr.'s signature, colorful patterned fabric and intricate stitching. This quilt shows jockey Jimmy Winkfield who won the 1901 Kentucky Derby on His Eminence.

"Lots of artists have done paintings, but quilts make it more three dimensional. It's one piece of flat fabric that has been manipulated to fool the eye.

"

U.S. Capitol design and construction. He led the restoration of the U.S. Capitol dome. He earned two bachelor’s degrees, four master’s degrees and a doctorate degree. His oil paintings are displayed in various locations across the world. He was inducted into UK’s 2020 Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

He said it’s all in the interest of doing things that have “never been done before,” impacting humanity and most importantly, making his father proud.

His father, who was a social worker, “understood people and the things they deal with” and taught Poole from an early age to help people. He recalled waking up early on Saturday mornings at the age of 6 to bring groceries to hungry community members.

He knew people were in need. So, he’d buy groceries, drive up to someone's house, and say, ‘Junior, take that bag, put it on the door, knock on the door, come back to the car.’ I did that,” Poole said.

“I didn't know at the time those selfless acts of charity were going to follow me, but it did, and I have spent my life just trying to be half the man my dad was.”

That lesson shaped not only how Poole treats others but also his approach to Reflections N Black. Poole said he wants his quilts to bring the Black jockeys back to life, serving as an effective medium to convey their stories by allowing viewers to meet them eye to eye.

“Lots of artists have done paintings, but quilts make it more three dimensional. It's one piece of flat fabric that has been manipulated to fool the eye. I make it life-sized because I want to bring them to 2025,” Poole said. “So, you’re standing eye to eye with the artwork, and the artwork is looking square back at you, and it doesn’t blink. It’s not intimidated by you standing there. I think that’s so powerful. It continues to tell a story, that ‘this is how I lived; this is what I did.’”

This storytelling power will be on display in Lexington — where Poole nurtured his passion for art 40 years ago — beginning in the fall of 2026. His quilts are slated to be featured at the Headley-Whitney Museum in an exhibit titled The Art of Quilts and the Stories They Tell, said Executive Director and Curator Christina Bell. The exhibit will coincide with Keeneland hosting the 2026 Breeders’ Cup.

“His genuineness as a person comes through to me in the quilts, even before I knew him,” Bell said. “The stories that he is telling, I think it's something that hasn't been talked about that much and needs to be.”

Poole is nowhere near done talking about Black jockeys. He

said the current collection is only a first iteration and he’s already working on another one, this time with the jockeys riding horses, which Bell hinted at wanting to include in the Headley-Whitney exhibit if they’re ready.

“I can't wait to release this work, though it's still underway.” Poole said. “You can just feel the motion in the piece. The whole dynamic is different. It’s exciting to me because it's a continuation of this, but it's also a departure, because it's a different presentation. If you think about them being right there at the finish line, it captures that essence.”

His drive to push his work forward is part of a larger philosophy. With every stitch, speech, build and brush stroke, Poole strives to secure his legacy.

“I make room for myself, we all do. But the blessing is when you unselfishly act, it comes back around,” Poole said. “This whole thing is a cycle, and sometimes it takes people a lifetime to learn it. I think I learned it fairly early. So, I have to create value in myself, so I'm able to give value and impart values to others. There's nothing ostentatious or grand or flamboyant about it, I'm just who I am.”

He hopes for the same self-realization for UK students who come after him, suggesting that the thread that weaves one’s life into something unforgettable is persistence.

“Stick to it and be true to self. When you’re true to self, you’re true to humanity. It doesn’t matter the flavor of the humanity,” Poole said. “It's going to pay off. I'm not talking about monetarily. I'm talking about legacy, because we should be creating things that create legacy for other people, to learn from, to draw from, to improve, to enhance, to move forward and also to have hope for, that is the main thing.” ■

Who are some of the other jockeys?

• U.S. Racing Hall of Fame inductee Willie Simms won the Kentucky Derby in 1898 on Plaudit and won five of the races that would become the U.S. triple crown series. He created the short-stirrup riding style, which jockeys still imitate.

Other Black jockeys in the Reflections N Black collection

• A lonzo Clayton was the youngest jockey to ever win the Kentucky Derby at age 15. He won in 1892 on Azra.

• I saac B. Murphy, considered by many to be one of the greatest riders in American horse racing history, was inducted into the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame at its creation in 1955. He won the Kentucky Derby in 1891 on Kingman.

Eugene Poole Jr. made two quilts of each jockey — one standing and one seated in a saddle. The bold quilt portraits measure 7-feet by 4-feet, making the jockeys appear to be life size. The jockeys are, from top, left to right, Jimmy Winkfield, Alonzo Clayton, Oliver Lewis, Willie Simms, William "Billy" Walker, Willie Simms, Jimmy Winkfield and Oliver Lewis.

• Erskine Henderson is the only jockey to win three derbies in one year: the Kentucky, the Tennessee and the Coney Island derbies. He won the Kentucky Derby in 1885 on Joe Cotton.

UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY

HOMECOMING HOMECOMING

OCT. 12-19 2025

Welcome home, Wildcats! Our annual Homecoming celebration is right around the corner. This October, we invite alumni from every generation to return to where your journey began and be part of UK’s rich legacy. Whether you graduated last year or 50 years ago, your story is woven into the tapestry that makes our university special.

From nostalgic gatherings among historic limestone buildings to exciting new experiences in our cutting-edge facilities, there’s something for everyone. The campus may have evolved since your time here, but the spirit that unites us remains unchanged. Don’t miss the opportunity to reconnect with the UK family, celebrate our shared history, and help write the next chapter in our storied tradition.

Come home to Kentucky and help us paint the town blue! Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Alumni News

1. Members of the University of Kentucky Alumni Band – along with 11 students and some UK faculty members – enjoyed a summer rehearsal and picnic at the King Alumni House in July. The group gathered for a photo on the Alumni House front steps.

2. John Rees ’68 AS and wife Sue ’69 AS took Flat Wildcat with them while they visited a glacier between Banff and Jasper, both in Alberta, Canada.

3. PrideCats, the LGBTQ* Alumni Group, represented the university at Lexington’s 2025 Pride Festival. On the sweltering hot day, the Pride Cats fans were a popular giveaway.

4. The Greater Louisville University of Kentucky Alumni Club enjoyed UK Alumni Night at Louisville City FC. UK men’s soccer coach Johan Cedergren joined the group of alumni and friends for the game. Dan Jacus (top), a former UK cheerleader and UK Greater Louisville board member, joined three UK men’s soccer team captains (left to right), Sebastian Conlon, Max Miller and Marqes Muir at UK Alumni Night.

Student Send Offs

The 2025 fall semester at the University of Kentucky will be easier for lots of students thanks to the Student Send Offs hosted by UK Alumni Association Club members. At the celebratory gatherings, first-year students and their families meet with alumni and university representatives to learn about UK and to make the transition to college life as smooth as possible. Alumni share tips on life on campus and new students get the opportunity to ask questions and meet new friends.

Thanks to all these clubs for welcoming these Wildcats will a Big Blue welcome: Big Sandy, Central Ohio, Charlotte, Chattanooga, Christian County, Cumberland Valley East, Dallas Fort Worth, Danville-Boyle County Area, Daviess County, Greater Ashland, Greater Atlanta, Greater Dayton, Greater Louisville, Greater Nashville, Hardin County, McCracken County, Nation’s Capital, New York City, Northern Alabama, Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati, Saint Louis, San Diego, Sarasota Suncoast, Tampa Bay and Upstate South Carolina.

1. Northern Kentucky/Greater Cincinnati

2. Chattanooga

3. Greater Atlanta

4. Christian County

5. Danville-Boyle County Area

6. Cumberland Valley East

Sports

56 YEARS AFTER STUNNING UPSET, WILDCATS TAKE ON A NEW MANNING

By Michael Ruehling

When Kentucky takes the field for the Oct. 18 Homecoming game against the Texas Longhorns, the Wildcats will be squaring off against a team expected to be led by the Southeastern Conference’s Pre-Season All-Conference Quarterback, Arch Manning.

It will be the highly touted sophomore’s Lexington debut. However, it will not be the first time UK has hosted a quarterback with a near-identical name and reputation –that being University of Mississippi football legend Archie Manning, who also happens to be Arch’s grandfather.

The night Archie Manning came to town was Sept. 27, 1969. The location was Stoll Field, predecessor to Commonwealth Stadium and Kroger Field, located across the Avenue of Champions from Memorial Coliseum. The occasion was the SEC opener for both teams.

Ole Miss, the pre-season SEC favorite largely due to the presence of their junior-year quarterback Manning, was ranked No. 8 after a 28-3 opening game win over Memphis State. Kentucky, meanwhile, had experienced a 58-30 thumping by Indiana in its first game under new Head Football Coach John Ray.

So, what happened on that Saturday night 56 years ago?

One of the most stunning upsets in UK football history. The final score: UK 10, Ole Miss 9.

Here’s how John McGill, sports editor of the Lexington Herald-Leader, described it in the Sunday morning newspaper:

“Kentucky proved it is on the right path to a football comeback Saturday night. Hitting heavily favored Mississippi with furious offensive and defensive play, the Wildcats scored an astounding 10-9 upset to smash a nine-game Southeastern Conference losing streak.”

The game was a nail-biter from the start. Mississippi scored first early in the second quarter on a 24-yard field goal and two minutes later, the Rebels added six more when Manning ran 64 yards for a touchdown. UK safety David Hunter blocked the extra point kick, leaving the score at 9-0. UK finally hit the scoreboard after a 36-yard field goal by Bob Jones with just six seconds left before halftime.

A six-yard, third-quarter run by UK quarterback Bernie Scruggs tied the game at nine. Jones’ extra-point kick was perfect and suddenly the Cats were ahead 10-9. Ole Miss threatened a comeback in the fourth quarter on an 18-yard pass from Manning to Riley Myers that made it first and goal from the UK five-yard line. A Manning run gained two, but on

the next play tailback Leon Felts was hit hard by linebacker Wilbur Hackett, with help from Joe Federspiel and others, knocking the ball loose. The fumble was recovered by defensive back Paul Martin, turning the ball over to UK with about seven minutes left.

The Cats were unable to convert the opportunity into points, but punter Dave Hardt was able to pin Ole Miss back on its own five-yard line with just 90 seconds left. Not to worry – the UK defense held firm with linebackers Hackett and Federspiel stopping two attempted runs before defensive back Dave Van Meter picked off a last-ditch desperation pass by Manning deep in UK territory with 56 seconds left. All that remained was for Scruggs to run out the clock to secure the UK win.

UK’s offense totaled 246 yards with 172 coming on the ground. The running game was led by tailback Roger Gann’s 93 yards, earning him SEC Back of the Week honors from the Associated Press. Fullback Bill Duke added 83, averaging an impressive nine yards per carry. Scruggs was 8-for-18 with no interceptions in the passing department for 74 yards.

Clutching the game ball in the post-victory celebration, UK Coach Ray was still processing the outcome. “What was the final score? 10-9? All I know is we won,” he said. “They played the kind of ball they can play. They zipped around there pretty good and they know they can win now.”

Blindsided by the loss to the Wildcats, the Rebels did not immediately regain their swagger. They also fell to 15thranked Alabama (33-32) and unranked Houston (25-11) before reversing course at mid-season with a vengeance. They roared back to stun unbeaten No. 6 Georgia (26-23); shut out third-ranked and undefeated Tennessee (38-0); defeated an unbeaten No. 8 LSU team (26-23) and ended the regular season with a 48-22 blowout of in-state rival Mississippi State.

The Rebels went on to knock off third-ranked Arkansas in the Sugar Bowl, 27-22, with Manning being named the game’s MVP. They finished with an 8-3 record and ended up No. 8 in the final AP rankings – exactly where they had been before the UK ambush.

Manning went on to be the No. 2 overall selection in the 1971 NFL draft by New Orleans. He spent 14 years with the Saints, twice selected to the Pro Bowl. He finished his career in 1984 after brief stints with the Houston Oilers and Minnesota Vikings. His NFL career stats included 23,911 passing yards,125 touchdown passes and 18 rushing touchdowns.

As fate would have it, UK linebacker Federspiel – who as a sophomore played a key defensive role in the Ole Miss upset – was a fourth-round draft pick of the Saints in 1972. He would end up being Archie Manning’s New Orleans teammate for nine seasons (1972-1980). Both he and Manning are enshrined in the Saints Hall of Fame. They were also named to the Saints All-50th team in 2016, which recognized the top 50 players in team history on the franchise’s 50th season.

Even though Archie led Ole Miss to wins over Kentucky in his rookie season as a sophomore in 1968 (30-14) and senior year in 1970 (20-17), he is the only member of the famed Manning football clan ever to lose to UK. His sons, Peyton and Eli (Arch’s uncles), went undefeated against the Cats during their collegiate days. UT was 4-0 over the course of Peyton’s four-year career at Tennessee (1994-97) while Ole Miss was 2-0 in games against Kentucky during Eli’s time there (2000-03). ■

Before his career in politics and government, Michael Ruehling ’69 AS, was an aspiring sportswriter. He knows a good sports story when he sees one and decided to share this one with readers of the Kentucky Alumni magazine.

FOOTBALL, BASKETBALL STANDOUTS AMONG THE KENTUCKY SPORTS HALL OF FAME CLASS OF 2025

The Kentucky Sports Hall of Fame is honoring University of Kentucky football All-American Randall Cobb ’17 AFE and UK men’s basketball all-American Tayshaun Prince ’02 AS in the Class of 2025. The KSHOF honors individuals with strong Kentucky connections who have made significant contributions to sports. The 2025 KSHOF class members will be honored in September in Louisville, Kentucky.

A Tennessee native and football standout, Cobb was primarily a wide receiver at Kentucky who also played quarterback, returned punts and kickoffs and held for placements. He earned first-team AllAmerica in 2010 as an all-purpose player, setting the UK and SEC single-season records with 2,396 allpurpose yards. Drafted in the second round by Green Bay, he was named to the 2011 NFL All-Rookie and 2014 Pro Bowl teams. He had a 13-year NFL career, 10 with the Packers.

A two-time Kentucky basketball All-American, Prince earned SEC Player-of-the-Year and SEC Tournament MVP honors in 2001 and led the Wildcats to three NCAA Sweet 16 appearances and one trip to the Elite Eight. He was named All-SEC three times, scored 1,775 career points and was a first-round NBA draft pick by the Detroit Pistons. During his 14-season NBA career, Prince won a world championship, was a four-time All-Defensive Selection with the Pistons and won an Olympic Gold Medal with the U.S. “Redeem Team” at the 2008 Beijing Games. After retirement, Prince began a career as an NBA executive. ■

HALL OF FAMER LETS HER CURIOSITY DRIVE HER PASSION

By Laurel Swanz

Journalism has undergone drastic changes since Jamie Lucke '76 CI entered the newsroom nearly 50 years ago. She cited the industry’s digital transformation, the rise of social media and the decline of daily newspapers, to name a few.

Despite this societal shift, Lucke’s passion and curiosity remained constant. This is what she said carried her through her career, winning national awards for her editorials with the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Recently, she was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame, which annually honors impactful journalists who have spent a large portion of their careers in Kentucky.

Lucke, 71, has written for numerous papers in different states, but spent the most time, 32 years, with the Lexington Herald-Leader. She briefly retired at 65 but got bored.

“I just did not really take to retirement that well,” Lucke said. “I really thought I was gonna become a gardener and a do-it-yourself project person around my house. And I didn't do any of that. About all I could come up with was Netflix and Amazon Prime Video.”

When she wasn’t watching British murder mysteries, she was reading the news, missing the excitement of breaking it herself.

So, when States Newsroom, a national nonprofit organization focused on expanding policy reporting in state capitals, came to her with the idea of starting a new newsroom in Kentucky, she couldn’t resist.

“The creator and CEO called me to talk about government and news and people in Kentucky, and I was so excited,” Lucke said. “And the more I thought about it, I thought, I’d like to contribute to that. And then I thought, well, I could be the editor.”

Lucke applied for the job. In September 2022, she was catapulted out of retirement and into her current role – founding Editor-in-Chief of the Kentucky Lantern, based in Frankfort.

We talked with Lucke to reflect on her career, her time at the Lantern and her thoughts on the evolving world of journalism.

Q: What is different about working for a nonprofit newsroom versus a for-profit one?

A: We’re not under any pressure to produce numbers for stockholders. Now, we want to publish stories that people want to read, but I don’t share analytics with reporters. In for-profit newsrooms, reporters are under pressure to produce numbers. Advertising has always supported traditional newspapers.

Photo by Joe Bandy

Q: Why do you think nonprofit journalism is important to citizens of Kentucky?

A: No one has to pay for a subscription. Not everyone can afford to subscribe to a news service, but everyone needs the information. We are in the habit of being able to read endlessly for free, and a lot of what you get for free is worth what you pay for it. I feel like, given the wash of misinformation we are in right now, to have a free source of independent journalism that's produced by the rules of journalism – I think that's all the more important. The mission of States Newsroom is to fill gaps left by the decline of newspapers, especially in state capitals, and we try to do that.

Q: How do you find the gaps in coverage that need to be filled?

A: We have beats that we cover, we go out and we ask questions and we figure out the stories we need to tell. I don't pretend that with a small staff we're filling all the gaps or we're finding all the stories that need to be told. In a way, that's the eternal frustration of a journalist.

Q: What has witnessing the shift from print to digital and how it affected the industry been like?

A: You know, in a way, I think it's like the frog who's in the pot of boiling water. It just happens gradually, and one day, you realize you're cooked. Three of the eight newspapers where I worked no longer exist. I think the technological change in my lifetime has been pretty overwhelming. It's changed our culture. It's changed our posture, hunched over on screens all the time. When you're inside something like that, I think day-to-day, you're just focused on what you need to learn that day to do your job.

Q: How have you had to adapt to do your job now?

A: I had a personal barrier of learning how to do every task that was required to publish a digital news site. I think that what I'm doing at the Lantern is kind of like what weekly newspaper editors do. It's a little bit of everything. I think a lot of journalists are doing that now.

Q: Does it feel more difficult to get the same information that you used to?

A: Yes, I think it does. I mean, we still have, thank goodness, an open meetings law in Kentucky and a Freedom of Information Act, although it can be pretty slow and burdensome. But, just in terms of being able to interact personally and directly with the people you want to ask questions of, it's a lot harder. I just think people in government and public life now, maybe I'm wrong about this, but it just strikes me that they're trying a lot harder to control the message than they did. It’s a lot harder to speak oneon-one with a government official than it was.

Q: What are some fears you have for the future of journalism, but also some hopes?

A: Well, the hopes are people like the staff of the Lantern. The fear is that we can't change fast enough to stay relevant and accessible in this media atmosphere, where there's so much competition for people's attention. The fragmented media environment serves to fragment reality for people, and you can find your own reality on the internet. Once you find it, the algorithms just keep pushing you deeper into it and away from real reality. That is our challenge to overcome as journalists.

Q: What advice would you give to aspiring journalists?

A: Cultivate, build, nurture your curiosity. Don't be afraid to ask questions. Read widely, read a lot, read books, don't just read Instagram. Don't spend all your time looking at reels.

Q: What does it mean to you to have many accolades for your work?

A: It’s nice to be recognized, but that’s not the most important reward for a journalist. I think it’s when you know you’ve told a story that needs to be told that would not have been told had you not done it. ■

Class Notes

1950s

Phil “Cookie” Grawemeyer ’57 BE was inducted into the 2025 class of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a member of the 1953-1954 Kentucky Wildcat’s undefeated team and his jersey was retired and hangs in the rafters of Rupp Arena.

Adrian “Odie” Smith ’58 BE was inducted into the 2025 class of the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a starter for the University of Kentucky’s 1958 “Fiddlin’ Five” national champions, an Olympic gold medalist and an NBA All-Star Game MVP. He played 10 years in the NBA for the Cincinnati Royals.

1960s

Lon Deckard ’69 AFE has been appointed by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to the State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota District Board of Trustees. He is the owner of Quadrel, Inc., and is a veteran of the United States Navy.

1970s

Gary “Doc” T. Huffman ’75 BE, former CEO and chairman of Ohio National Financial Services, has been appointed to an independent board of JAB Insurance. He has five decades of insurance experience.

Larien Kearns ’78 AS, ’82 MED has joined Main Street Primary Care & Aesthetics in Maysville, Kentucky.

1980s

Jerome F. Grant ’80 AFE received the Excellence in Teaching Award and the L.R. Hesler Award for Excellence in Teaching and Service from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. He has been a member of the UT faculty in the Herbert College of Agriculture for 39 years. He teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in entomology and applied insect ecology.

John Ham ’80 AFE joined AMGUARD as Midwest technical sales manager. Ham most recently was the key account manager for the Midwest and South regions with FMC Professional Solutions.

Bonita Black ’81 AS has been named a partner at White and Williams LLP. She will be leading the firm’s new public finance practice.

Josh Pons ’82 LAW has been named chair of the Pillars of the Turf Committee by the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame. He has served on the Pillars of the Turf Committee for the past two years and is a museum advisory trustee. Pons is a third-generation Maryland horseman who owns and operates Country Life Farm and Merryland Farm.

Kathleen Bulger-Barnett ’86 ’95 AS, professor in the department of modern languages and cultures at Virginia Military Institute, was initiated into the Order of Jose Marti, one of the highest honors of Sigma Delta Pi, the National Collegiate Hispanic Honor Society. She has been teaching Spanish courses at VMI for 36 years.

Daniel Croley ’86 AS, ’91 DE, vice president and chief dental officer at Delta Dental of California, is a recipient of the American Heart Association Award of Meritorious Achievement. He was instrumental in creating Healthy Smiles, Healthy Hearts™, a collaboration between Delta Dental of California and the American Heart Association that focuses on oral health, total health and well-being.

Jay Shidler ’86 AS was inducted into the first class of the Illinois Sports Hall of Fame. Shidler was a member of the 1978 NCAA men’s basketball championship Wildcat team. He played professional basketball in Scotland.

John “Marty” Emmert ’87 EN will serve as the interim dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Cincinnati. Emmert is a professor in the department of electrical and computer engineering and joined UC in 2018.

Debra Roling ’87 BE has been appointed the chief

financial officer for the Dallas Housing Authority. She was promoted from her previous role as DHA’s finance director.

Rebecca Barker Vest ’87 BE was named chief procurement officer at ExxonMobil Corporation. Previously she was senior vice president at Bridgestone America’s.

Thomas G. Ison ’89 DE has been named president of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. He is a private practice dentist in Newburgh, Indiana. He previously held appointments as an assistant professor at the UK College of Dentistry and Chief of Dentistry at Norton Children’s Hospital in Louisville.

Kasra Kasraian ’89 EN, ’94 PHA has been appointed chief technology officer for PepGen Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company. He has more than 25 years of experience in product and process development.

1990s

Cynthia Crawford ’90 ’93 AS has been named associate dean for research and innovation at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University’s John R. and Kathy R. Hairston College of Health and Human Sciences. With more than 27 years of experience, Crawford joins NC A&T from California State University, San Bernardino, where she served as faculty

fellow and interim associate provost for research.

Aaron Thompson ’90 ’92 AS received the James Bryant Conant Award from Education Commission of the States at the 2025 National Forum on Education Policy. Also, he has been inducted into the Junior Achievement Bluegrass Business Hall of Fame. Thompson is the president of the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

Christopher Spears ’91 BE, ’94 LAW has been appointed as an independent manager to the board of managers of David Vaughan Investments. He is the executive vice president and general counsel of International Game Technology PLC.

Carlos A. Bertot ’94 DE has been named president elect of the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry. A past parliamentarian and

trustee for AAPD, Bertot is the managing partner of a pediatric dental practice in Maitland, Florida.

Larry Blandford ’96 PHA has been named to the board of directors of BioBridges, a global provider of drug and medical device development and commercialization services. He has nearly three decades of experience in healthcare services.

Indranil “Bob” Sarkar ’97 AFE has been named interim market vice president of population health and physician alignment with CommonSpirit Health, a parent company of CHI St. Vincent. Sarkar has more than 30 years of health care experience and has been with CHI St. Vincent since 2015, when he was appointed president of Arkansas Health Network.

In the 1930s, the UK Alumni Association hosted a breakfast for seniors. From the looks of this 1933 photo, it was a popular event.

Ram Subramaniam ’97 AS has been named vice president of instruction at De Anza College in Cupertino, California. He joined the college in 2008 as a chemistry instructor.

Tony Hazen ’99 BE has joined DHR Global as managing partner, leading the Houston office. Before joining DHR, Hazen held senior leadership roles at national and global executive search firms.

2000s

Brett Johnson ’00 BE has been named superintendent of schools by the Harlan County (Kentucky) Board of Education. He served as assistant superintendent and director of pupil personnel.

Todd Jones ’00 ’02 ED has become the chief strategy officer and chief ambulatory services officer at BayCare Health System. Jones is a veteran BayCare leader, joining the organization as vice president for ambulatory services in 2018. He became chief ambulatory services officer in 2023.

Joel Eubank ’01 ’03 BE has been appointed chief operating officer of King Risk Partners, one of the fastestgrowing top 100 insurance brokers in the United States. Most recently he was chief operating officer and chief financial officer of Dealer Services at Brown & Brown Insurance.

Claudette Yankey Herald ’01 AFE, ’02 ED has been named superintendent of Oldham

Information in Class Notes is compiled from previously published items in newspapers and other media outlets, as well as items submitted by individual alumni. Send us your class note by emailing ukalumni@uky.edu or submitting your information in the online community at www.ukalumni.net/class

COLLEGE INDEX

AFE Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment

AS Arts & Sciences

BE Gatton College of Business & Economics

CI Communication & Information

DE Dentistry

DES Design

ED Education

EN Pigman College of Engineering

FA Fine Arts

GS The Graduate School

HS Health Sciences

HON Honorary Degree

LAW Rosenberg College of Law

MED Medicine

NUR Nursing

PHA Pharmacy

PH Public Health

SW Social Work

Career Corner Career Corner

Class Notes

by Caroline Francis

INTERNSHIPS PROVIDE MORE THAN RESUME BUILDING

County, Kentucky, public schools. After serving as a high school principal for eight years, she most recently worked in the Grant County, Kentucky, school district, where she held the positions of deputy superintendent, assistant superintendent and director of pupil personnel.

and community economic development and interim dean of UT Extension.

medical, industrial and aviation real estate.

Each year, University of Kentucky students take bold steps beyond the classroom to explore their academic interests and future career paths. For many, internships serve as that essential bridge – offering real-world context to classroom learning while fostering growth, mentorship and professional connections.

For students Alberto Cocke and Jakayla (Jaxx) Allen, their recent internships provided far more than résumé experiences; they served as launchpads for confidence, clarity and career momentum.

Sara Bradley ’05 AS was recently named a finalist for this year’s James Beard Awards. She owns the Paducah, Kentucky restaurant Freight House.

Cocke from Louisville, Kentucky, is majoring in business management and marketing and minoring in international business. He came to UK because his father – Michael Cocke ’76 EN – is an alumnus. Alberto interned with Enterprise Rent-A-Car, in Lexington, Kentucky. He discovered the opportunity through Gatton College of Business and Economics’ Graham Office of Career Management and campus employer networking events. After submitting his application through Handshake, he advanced through a competitive multi-stage process. The experience boosted his confidence and confirmed that Enterprise was a strong professional match.

Brian Duba ’02 BE, ’05 LAW has been promoted to general counsel and secretary of 1st Source Corporation and 1st Source Bank. He has served 1st Source as deputy general counsel since 2024.

As a management trainee intern, Alberto worked closely with local branch leaders and senior management to gain hands-on experience in customer service, operations and logistics. He participated in managing rental transactions, vehicle coordination and supporting daily operations. One of the most eye-opening aspects of his internship was his involvement in supply chain logistics – making sure the right vehicles were available in the right places at the right times. He learned how transportation scheduling and customer demand forecasting play critical roles in operational success.

Matthew J. Neale ’02 LAW was named the 2026 Virginia Teacher of the Year. Neale teaches journalism at Hidden Valley High School in Roanoke, Virginia. Neale led an opioid awareness campaign at the school. He is a member of the Principal’s Advisory Committee.

Jan Weisberg ’05 AS is the new head baseball coach at Eastern Kentucky University. Weisberg served as the head coach at NCAA Division II Valdosta State University this past season, leading his team to 30-plus wins for the 12th time in the last 16 years.

Allen, from Middletown, Delaware, is majoring in agricultural economics, accounting and finance, with minors in business and economics. Drawn to the University of Kentucky for its strong tradition in agriculture and commitment to innovation, she completed her second summer internship in Olathe, Kansas with John Deere where she served on the digital aftermarket and customer support team. Her previous internship was in the company’s sales and marketing division. Her connection to John Deere began through MANRRS (Minorities in Agriculture, Natural Resources and Related Sciences), when UK alum Jericho Curry ’19 CI and former MANRRS member, invited students to participate in Deere Day 2023 – an immersive weekend that introduced students to the company’s leaders and culture.

Crystal Miller ’03 ED, ’07 ’16 PH has been named Lexington-Fayette County’s Commissioner of Health. She previously served as director of the WEDCO District Health Department for nearly two decades.

Robert Croft ’06 LAW has been appointed as a trustee to Transylvania University’s governing board. Croft is an associate vice president and assistant general counsel, defensive litigation at Humana Inc., and previously served as director, corporate counsel – litigation at Starbucks Corporation.

Allen applied online and was selected for the program. Her internship responsibilities included collaborating with the team to support dealer operations, analyzing sales data and interpreting trends to develop actionable insights. She also worked on creating solutions to enhance customer support processes within the aftermarket digital space. Allen says the internship helped her develop skills in data analysis, business communication, crossfunctional teamwork and problem solving in a corporate environment. The experience was enriched by the support and guidance of several UK alumni and active members of the MANRRS community – Elydia Thomas AFE ‘10, Caitlyn McFadden AFE ‘21 and Harrison Goode AFE ‘24. Allen credits her growth to the guidance of UK alumni and MANRRS mentors at John Deere.

Tiffany Wheeler ’07 ED has been appointed interim vice president for academic affairs and dean of the university at Transylvania University, Lexington, Kentucky. Wheeler has been a Transylvania faculty member for 23 years and recently served as associate dean for academic affairs and as a professor of education.

Peng Zhang ’07 AS has been appointed as an independent non-executive director at Sirnamics Ltd. He has more than 20 years of experience in the therapeutic biologics industry.

Patrick Gillin ’08 BE has joined Brown Gibbons Land and Company as a managing director in its consumer investment banking group. Based in Chicago, Gillin will focus on expanding the firm’s coverage of consumer and residential services.

John Paul Scopetta ’09 MED has joined the Frontier Dermatology clinic in Seattle Washington. He is a double board-certified pathologist and dermatologist.

Jacob L. West ’09 AS is new stallion seasons and bloodstock manager at Claiborne Farm, Paris, Kentucky.

2010s

Lerato Barney ’10 BE has been named Princeton University’s next vice president and chief audit and compliance officer. She was the vice president and chief audit officer for The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia.

Jordan Gabbart ’12 BE has been promoted to head of investor relations at Lexington, Kentucky-based MiddleGround Capital.

Denise Vallandingham Fritsch ’07 CI has joined the Kenton County Public Library as the manager of the Career and Job Services Division. She previously worked at Gateway Community and Technical College.

Eric Marcotte ’08 EN has been promoted to vice president of sales at Stedman Machine Co. He joined Stedman in 2010.

“They not only helped me navigate the internship but also showed me what authentic leadership looks like in both the agriculture and corporate worlds,” she said. “Thanks to them, this internship didn’t just feel like a summer job – it felt like a glimpse into my future.”

UK Alumni Career Services are a benefit of Life and Active Membership with the UK Alumni Association. Explore options at www.ukalumni.net/s/membership

Caroline Francis is Director of UK Alumni Career Services. Visit www.ukalumni.net/career to learn more.

Justin Rhinehart ’03 AFE has been named dean of University of Tennessee Extension. Rhinehart has served the University of Tennessee Institute of Agriculture as a professor in the Department of Animal Science and as Extension beef cattle specialist; assistant dean of agriculture and natural resources

Brandon Painter ’07 AS has been promoted to director, real estate, at the Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority. He brings nearly 20 years of experience across multiple sectors including student housing, multifamily, commercial,

Jonathan W. Thomas ’08 ED has become a shareholder in the New York law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP. Thomas has been listed in Super Lawyers magazine’s New York Metro Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” from 2018-2024.

Deborah Taylor Givens ’12 CI received the Don Brod Award from the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. A member of ISWNE for more than 15 years, Givens has served two terms as president. She taught journalism and served as the chair of the Department of Communications at Eastern Kentucky University in Richmond, Kentucky.

Nick Norcia ’12 BE has been appointed chief financial officer at Neace Ventures, a leading investment firm. He joined the firm from The Nashton Company where he

was vice president of finance and accounting.

Julie Peterson ’12 AFE has been named the interim director of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte, Nebraska. An entomologist and extension specialist, she currently serves as associate director of WCREEC.

Sam McKown ’13 AS has been named president and executive director of the Kentucky Coal Association. Most recently, McKown was a national political consultant and pollster.

Phillip Mongan ’13 SW has been named the chair of the department of social work at Austin Peay State University, Clarksville, Tennessee.

Dylan Cole ’16 BE has been recognized by Forbes as one of the Best-in-theState Top Financial Security Professionals for 2025. He is the newest partner at Barnes Young Wealth Advisors, Louisville, Kentucky.

Sara Crouch ’16 AS is the director of development for the Blue Ridge Conservancy. She previously worked for the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services and OASIS, Inc.

Jodi Mills ’16 ED has been appointed dean of the College of Adult and Professional Studies at Mount Vernon Nazarene University, Mount Vernon,

Ohio. She has more than 15 years of experience in nontraditional and adult education. She previously held leadership positions at Indiana Wesleyan University’s national and global divisions.

Cody Barnett ’17 LAW has joined the Nebraska Department of Justice as its solicitor general. Barnett worked as a judicial clerk before joining the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office.

John Ritter ’17 LAW has been promoted from litigation attorney to partner with Dixie Law Group.

Michael Boyd Stacy II ’17 AS, ’20 LAW has been appointed as commonwealth’s attorney for the 1st Judicial Circuit of Kentucky by Gov. Andy Beshear.

Paige Kregor ’18 AS, ’21 LAW has joined the real estate practice at Haynsworth Sinkler Boyd PA in the firm’s Charleston, South Carolina office. She joins as an associate and will focus on commercial transactions.

Eric S. Pollitt ’18 GS has been named county administrator of Amelia County, Amelia Court House, Virginia. He was the town manager of Tappahannock, Virginia.

2020s

Joshua Garrett ’20 ’21 ED has been named superintendent of schools in Wrangell, Alaska. Garrett has been the director of an international school in the Kazakhstan in Central Asia.

Matthew T. Roddy ’21 AS, ’24 LAW has joined the construction service group of Stites & Harbison PLLC, Lexington, Kentucky. During law school, he was a law clerk for Gray Construction, a legal extern with the University of Kentucky HealthCare Risk Management Office and a law clerk with Kentucky’s Executive Branch Ethics Commission.

Brittany Walker ’21 ED is the new principal of Lexington’s Ashland Elementary School. She has been an assistant principal at Ashland since 2024 and has more than 13 years of experience in Fayette County Public Schools.

Jason Wilson ’21 ED has been named superintendent of Kentucky’s Christian County Public School system. Wilson is a Christian County High School alumnus and has worked for the school system for 12 years.

Matthew Hulette ’22 BE has been promoted to senior project coordinator at sports real estate firm McCullers Group. He joined McCullers as a project administrator in 2022.

Ava Lahey ’24 ED is featured in season two of the Netflix docuseries, “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.” She was a member of the UK Dance Team before joining the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

Janae Mobley ’24 ED has been named assistant principal of the year for north central Indiana by the Indiana Association of School Principals. She is the new head principal of Noblesville High School, Noblesville, Indiana.

Helen Galvin King became the first director of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association in 1946. She served the association until her retirement in 1969. During some of that time she hosted an alumni news program that was broadcast on WBKY radio. The station letters were changed to WUKY in 1989.

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“I

believe the UK Part-Time MBA program is MORE RIGOROUS AND MORE COMPLETE THAN MANY OTHERS.

The library resources are stellar. Access to faculty and advisors is tremendous. I am grateful that the classes are hybrid and provide me with the opportunity to participate remotely when work travel takes me away from Kentucky.

I have learned a lot on the job by virtue of being exposed to all aspects of business and financial planning throughout my career. However, I always felt my knowledge was surface deep and did not provide the full appreciation of key nuances. I did not think of an MBA as checking a box to help me advance to a next level; rather, I thought it would be

A GREAT FOUNDATION TO HELP ME PERFORM ANY JOB.

Since I am a licensed attorney, I often am asked why I need an MBA. I don’t view those things as mutually exclusive. What I’ve learned is helping me become a better attorney, policy advocate, and executive leader in my company.”

Vice President, Federal and RTO Regulatory Affairs at East Kentucky Power Cooperative DENISE FOSTER CRONIN

The MBA That Fits Your Life PART-TIME MBA:

In Memoriam

Gloria H. Doughty ‘48 AS, ‘51 PHA, ‘84 SW Lexington, Ky. Life Member

David O. Lykins Jr. ‘49 AFE Flemingsburg, Ky.

J. Leland Brewster II ’50 BE, ’57 LAW Cincinnati, Ohio

Thomas A. Collins ‘50 CI, ’56 LAW

Bonita Springs, Fla. Life Member, Fellow

Benjamin J. Elkin ‘52 BE Fort Myers, Fla. Life Member, Fellow

Clarice Carol Sharpe Harper ‘52 PHA Louisville, Ky. Life Member, Fellow

James S. Meador ’52 AFE Austin, Texas Life Member

William R. Walls ‘52 BE Bardstown, Ky.

Elizabeth F. Taylor ‘53 ‘57 ED Centreville, Va.

Dr. John R. Killinger Jr. ‘54 ‘57 AS Warrenton, Va.

Donald Woodbury McClanahan ’54 BE Terrace Park, Ohio Life Member, Fellow

Anne L. Peterson ‘54 AFE Masonic Home, Ky.

Bill V. Seiller ‘54 BE Louisville, Ky. Life Member

Sue Nall Allen ‘55 AS Lexington, Ky.

Dr. James G. Baker ‘55 BE Prospect, Ky.

Sharon M. Hall ‘56 ‘57 ED Elizabethtown, Ky. Life Member, Fellow

Dr. Elissa May Plattner ‘56 CI Melbourne, Ky. Fellow

Mona M. Tiller ‘56 AS Louisville, Ky.

David F. McAnelly ‘57 MED, ‘61 LAW Liberty, Ky.

Barbaranelle N. McClanahan ‘57 AS Winter Park, Fla.

David E. Wren ‘58 PHA Louisville, Ky. Fellow

Glenn E. McNabb ‘59 AFE Arlington, Texas Life Member

Elizabeth C. McCarthy ‘60 BE Highlands Ranch, Colo.

James W. “Jim” Stuckert ’60 EN, ’61 BE, ’04 GS Louisville, Ky. Life Member, Fellow

Ted F. Billington ‘61 EN Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Damon G. Pleasant ‘61 AS, ‘68 DE Lexington, Ky. Life Member

Robert S. Mason ‘62 BE Cincinnati, Ohio Life Member

Philip L. Taliaferro III ‘62 LAW Erlanger, Ky. Life Member

Charles R. Reusing ‘63 AS Williamsburg, Va. Fellow

Lloyd D. Roberts ‘63 AS Baltimore, Md.

Ronnie W. Suter ‘63 BE Louisville, Ky.

Mary A. Tobin ‘63 BE Estes Park, Colo.

Phyllis N. Saunders ‘65 PHA Versailles, Ky.

Evelyn R. Holbrook ‘66 ED Lexington, Ky. Life Member

Allen B. Paritz ‘66 EN Lexington, Ky. Life Member

Marilyn L. Gall ‘67 SW, ’83 BE Lexington, Ky.

Robert L. Kirkland ‘67 AS Lexington, Ky.

Richard S. Holt ’68 LAW Lexington, Ky. Life Member

Lawrence E. Scheurich ‘68 AS, ’78 BE Odenville, Ala.

Theodore L. Stanton III ‘68 DES Chandler, Ariz.

Harry M. Zachem ‘68 AS Lexington, Ky. Fellow

Dretta Christian ‘69 AS Lexington, Ky.

Larry Corea ’69 BE Louisville, Ky. Life Member

Geneva H. Hoskins ‘69 ED Lexington, Ky.

Dr. Robert P. Meriwether ‘69 AS Paducah, Ky. Life Member, Fellow

Linda N. Mize ‘69, ’22 AS Lexington, Ky.

Richard L. Stottmann ‘69 EN Prospect, Ky.

William J. Walker ‘69 ED Painted Post, N.Y.

Georgianna Eddins ‘70 ED Vienna, Va.

Karlton L. Fiero ‘70 BE Frankfort, Ky.

Sandra W. Godecker ‘70 AS Lexington, Ky. Life Member

Paul N. Feldman ‘71 DES Lexington, Ky.

W. P. Friedrich ‘71 EN Saint Johns, Fla. Life Member, Fellow

Ed James ‘71 LAW Venice, Fla.

John B. McClanahan Jr. ‘71 AS, ‘71 PHA Ashland, Ky. Life Member

R. Michael Ricketts ‘71 BE Louisville, Ky. Life Member, Fellow

Carolyn S. Breeding ‘72 ‘78 AFE Richmond, Ky. Fellow

Linda S. Mearns ‘72 FA Lexington, Ky.

Lewis R. Hart III ‘73 CC, ‘76 BE Lexington, Ky. Fellow

Paul J. Monsour ‘73 CI Morganfield, Ky. Life Member

Alice N. Bailey ‘74 NUR West Union, Ohio

Donald C. Buring ‘74 LAW Florence, Ky.

Joyce Lee Duke ‘74 SW Hazel Crest, Ill.

James S. Garland ‘74 AS, ‘81 ED Lexington, Ky.

Dr. J. Douglas Knoop ‘74 MED, ‘94 PH

Raleigh, N.C. Life Member

Dr. Dana R. Martin ‘74 AS Knoxville, Tenn. Life Member

Richard S. Pacenta ‘74 EN Hudson, Ohio

Randall W. Roush ‘74 AFE Lynchburg, Ohio

Anna R. Gwinn ‘75 ED, ‘85 LAW Lexington, Ky. Fellow

Alfred L. Tilmes ‘75 EN Louisville, Ky. Life Member

Ann J. Bryan ‘76 AS Lexington, Ky.

Sylvia L. Magoun ‘76 HS Nicholasville, Ky.

Elizabeth B. Newton ‘76 CC Frankfort, Ky.

Elsie D. Stephenson ‘77 CI Baltimore, Ohio

Ted V. Hall ‘78 AS Austin, Texas

Debra S. Varble ‘78 AS Lexington, Ky.

Terri S. Kilborn ‘79 SW Harbor Springs, Mich.

Nancy Elizabeth Wheeler ‘79 AS Lexington, Ky.

Carla Rae Mathison ‘80 AFE Middleton, Wis.

Larry M. Ward ‘80 CC, ‘87 EN Fairborn, Ohio

Rebecca P. Venn ‘81 AS Nicholasville, Ky.

Dr. Randall A. Wilson ’81 ’96 ’98 MED Harrodsburg, Ky.

Mark H. Fields ‘82 CC Wilmore, Ky.

Jerilyn Kay Omvig ‘83 CC Nicholasville, Ky.

Beverly A. Williams ‘88 AS Washington Township, Ohio

Jean Harrod Hixson ‘97 LAW Lexington, Ky. Fellow

Stephen E. Oakes ‘04 LAW Lexington, Ky.

Emilie Gail Hilton-Maynard ‘06 DES Ashland, Ky.

Aaron Tyler Martin ‘12 AS Glasgow, Ky.

Abigail Leigh Omlor ‘17 FA Lexington, Ky.

Kimberly Ann Owens ‘19 AS Clearlake Oaks, Calif.

Dr. George Edward Porta ‘23 PHA Lancaster, Pa.

In Memoriam

JAMES W. “JIM” STUCKERT ’60 EN, ’61 BE, ’04 HON

James W. Stuckert ’60 EN, ’61 BE, ’04 HON, a past president of the board of the University of Kentucky Alumni Association, died on August 7 at age 87.

A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he was a 1955 graduate of St. Xavier High School. He was chairman and CEO of Hilliard Lyons Inc., in Louisville. His first employment after graduating from UK was as a sales engineer with Cummins Engine Company in Columbus, Indiana.

He launched his career in the securities field when he joined W.L. Lyons & Company in 1962. He became a partner in the merged J.J.B. Hilliard, W.L. Lyons & Company in 1968 and served on the board of directors of Hilliard Lyons following its 1972 incorporation.

He served on the Board of Governors for the Securities Industry Association and was on the boards of the Hilliard Lyons Trust Company, Royal Gold Inc., and Thomas Transportation Group.

Stuckert was active in the UK Alumni Association since leaving UK. He helped re-establish the

Jefferson County Alumni Club (now Greater Louisville UK Alumni Club) in the mid-1960s, twice served as its president and served 25 years on the Alumni Club’s steering committee. In 1966, he received the club’s All-American Award, presented to the person who has given their time and talents to their alma mater.

He served as president of the UK Alumni Association in 1976 and remained on its board of directors for many years. In 1980, he received the association’s Distinguished Service Award for Exceptional Service. He was inducted into the UK Hall of Distinguished Alumni in 2000.

Stuckert was a Presidential Fellow and was recognized with the UK Career Center being named the James W. Stuckert Career Center in his honor in October 2000.

He served as chairman of the UK Development Council, a capital campaign and a fundraising committee. He headed the corporate and foundation committee in the William T. Young Library campaign.

He was named to the Gatton College of Business and Economics Hall of Fame in 1997. He served on the Gatton Deans Advisory Council and was named to the Stanley and Karen Pigman College of Engineering Hall

WILLIAM “PETE” FRIEDRICH ’71 EN

William “Pete” Friedrich died June 25 at home in Jacksonville, Florida. Friedrich graduated from the University of Kentucky with a degree in electrical engineering in 1971. He served on the University of Kentucky Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Leadership Advisory Council. He was president of the UK Alumni Association from 2006-2007. He received the UK Alumni Association Distinguished Service Award in 2008. He was a Life

of Distinction in 2002.

In 2004, he received an honorary doctorate degree from the Graduate School.

In 2009, Stuckert was appointed to the UK Board of Trustees for a term of six years. He served as vice chairman of the Board of Trustees and as chair of the board’s finance committee for five years. He served as chair of the UK presidential search committee in 2010 and 2011, resulting in the hiring of President Eli Capilouto.

The Supreme Executive Committee of Kappa Sigma Fraternity selected Stuckert as the 2019 Kappa Sigma Fraternity Man of the Year. He joined the fraternity when he was a freshman at UK. ■

Member of the UK Alumni Association and a University Fellow.

A native of Louisville, Friedrich graduated from St. Xavier High School in Louisville before attending UK. He worked for many years at BellSouth in Louisville, Nashville and Birmingham, where he was active with the Greater Birmingham UK Alumni Club. He and his wife Shirley retired to Shelbyville, Kentucky, where they were active with the Shelby County UK Alumni Club. He is survived by his wife, daughter Dawn and granddaughters, Skyler and Taylor. ■

The Bookshelf

Artress B. White ’10 AS has written, “A Black Doe in the Anthropocene,” a collection of poetry. Following her ancestors’ enslavement in 1700s Virginia and North Carolina, White weaves together data from Hairston family plantation archives and her Black Hairston mother’s inherited oral slave narrative to create searing poems on a history of Scottish genes and African ancestry. In doing this work, White expands the historical narrative beyond Hairston plantation grounds to examine the lives of freed people who emigrated back to Africa to reestablish themselves in a Black nation and to chronicle her life in the U.S. White is the recipient of the Trio Award for her collection “My Afmerica: Poems,” selected by poet Sun Yung Shin. Her prose, “Survivor’s Guilt: Essays on Race and American Identity,” received a Next Generation Finalist Indie Book Award. She is associate professor of English at East Stroudsburg University and coeditor of the anthology “Wheatley at 250: Black Women Poets Re-imagine the Verse of Phillis Wheatley Peters.”

Wes Blake ’02 AS published an award-winning debut novel, “Pineville Trace.” The novel won the Etchings Press Novella Prize and was a finalist for the Feathered Quill Debut Author Book Award. “Pineville Trace” tells the story of a former revival preacher who walks away from an Eastern Kentucky prison in the 1970s, following a cat named Buffalo and trying to reconcile himself with his past. Pulitzer Prize finalist author Lee Martin says, “Wes Blake renders the tale with great empathy and in language that’s so lyrical it practically lifts from the page. Blake is a writer to watch.”

James C. Nicholson ‘01 ED, ’05 AS, ’08 LAW, ’11 AS has written, “The Incredible Comeback of Old Rosebud and American Horse Racing.” The book tells the story of Old Rosebud within the context of the volatile cultural and political environment of the early 1900s. Named for a brand of bourbon produced by his owners’ family distillery, Old Rosebud set a track record when he won the 1914 Kentucky Derby by eight lengths. After sustaining an injury in his next race, Old Rosebud was sidelined for years before returning to the track, recording 40 wins in a career that lasted until 1922.

Tom Williams ’90 GS has published his fourth book, “The Third Party Candidate: In a Divided States of America.” The world’s peerless beacon of freedom is under attack from within, on the verge of collapse and destined to join all other nation-states on the trash heap of former greatness. Into this political maelstrom charges Augustus Lincoln Treatise. In his mind, intellectually dishonest, political operatives, driveling cowards, banal wimps and venal elites are bent on dissolving the adhesive that binds the unique civilization. This contentious third party political adversary abandons much of his prior pragmatism and competes in the realm of outlandish — fighting opponents with his own preposterousness. Does he succeed?

Dr. John Huang ’80 ’83 ’95 DE has released his latest book, “Whining for Posterity: Life, Sports, and Other Things Worth Complaining About.” This marks Huang’s eighth published work. A collection of essays, columns and stories, “Whining for Posterity” weaves together themes of life, love, politics, religion, travel, sports and society, all while exploring what it means to leave behind a meaningful legacy. Drawing on his diverse experiences as a military veteran, retired orthodontist, author and sportswriter, Huang balances humor, vulnerability and insight in equal measure. “Whining for Posterity” invites readers to pause, reflect and find connection in the shared difficulties of life. Huang is a reporter and sports columnist for Nolan Group Media.

Jimmy Dunne ’77 AS has written, “Jimmy Dunne Says: 47 Short Stories That are Sure to Make You Laugh, Cry and Think.” Dunne is America’s new positive, inspiring voice, reminding us of the wonder right in our own backyards. “Jimmy Dunne Says” is a collection of bite-sized stories that are heartfelt, smart and thought provoking. And some will have you belly laughing. They’ll remind you how blessed you are to be alive right now, with so much possibility knocking on your door.

UK and the UK Alumni Association do not necessarily endorse books or other original material mentioned in The Bookshelf. The University of Kentucky and the UK Alumni Association are not responsible for the content, views and opinions expressed on websites mentioned in The Bookshelf or found via links off of those websites.

Quick Take

BASKETBALL GREATS CELEBRATE BOOK LAUNCH

Some of the greatest names in Kentucky men’s basketball history gathered at Historic Memorial Coliseum in August for the launch of “Memorial Coliseum: 75 Years as a Monument, Stage, and Arena,” a new book by Kevin Cook. The book chronicles the dual legacy of Memorial Coliseum, which opened in 1950 as both a memorial to Kentuckians who gave their lives in military service and as the home court for Kentucky basketball.

Pictured are those who signed the book at the event. Front row, from left: Derrick Ramsey, Mike Flynn, Doug Flynn, Sean Woods, Dicky Beal, Ralph Hacker and Kevin Cook. Back row, from left: Kenny Walker, Jim Andrews, Cameron Mills, Tom Hammond, Jack “Goose” Givens, Chip Rupp, Jared Prickett, Tom Leach and Coach Dick Parsons.

Photo by Sydney Yonker, UK Athletics

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