The UK Department of Chemistry and the UK Office for Institutional Diversity have arranged to make the film, Picture a Scientist, available for anyone in the University of Kentucky community to view.

“PICTURE A SCIENTIST chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights. Along the way, from cramped laboratories to spectacular field stations, we encounter scientific luminaries - including social scientists, neuroscientists, and psychologists - who provide new perspectives on how to make science itself more diverse, equitable, and open to all.”

Licensed viewers will be able to watch the film on the Vimeo streaming platform sometime between noon on Sunday, October 25, and noon on Wednesday, October 28. Registrations for the viewing must be requested by noon, Friday, Oct. 23. 

The license to view the film is free to every member of the University Community, but you must register at https://chem.as.uky.edu/request-movie-license and provide your email address to receive your license, and you must enter your linkBlue ID and password to access this page.

Sue Roberts, associate provost for internationalization and professor of geography, will outline some of the ways COVID-19 has up-ended universities' global engagements. In conversation with Dean Mark Kornbluh, she will explore UK's exciting initiatives to reimagine internationalization and to connect UK students and faculty to the world outside the U.S. even though in person travel is on hold. 

IntlEdVSS from UK College of Arts & Sciences on Vimeo.

As a prelude to the Fall Semester, Associate Provost Kathi Kern and Dean Mark Kornbluh will discuss the challenges posed by teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. Faculty and students alike worry about the logistics. How will we maintain a safe and healthy learning environment? How much of instruction will need to be moved online or “flipped”? How does technology enable or restrict us? How do we continue to foster strong student-teacher bonds at a distance? How do we build community in our current environment?

And while these questions are urgent for the particular moment, they also point to a lasting shift in how we go about our work as educators. Even after the pandemic subsides, we will likely find ourselves reflecting on the unexamined, yet sacred elements of what makes a college education. As disruptive as the pandemic has been, it has also ignited a climate of innovation. We are led to think anew about the journeys that our students take, how our research and disciplines best serve a diverse community of learners, how the wicked problems of the world defy institutional silos, and how we can best support individuals while also strengthening communities. Our lessons learned and enduring challenges from the past few months afford us a unique opportunity to anticipate these emergent paradigms for teaching and learning.

Pandemic and the Professor from UK College of Arts & Sciences on Vimeo.