12 graduate students honored with Appalachian research awards
The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center is honoring 12 students with its annual research awards.
Eight graduate students received the James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia, and four students received the Eller and Billings Student Research Award.
"This year's award recipients represent a range of disciplines doing cutting edge research in Appalachia" said Kathryn Engle, Ph.D., director of UK Appalachian Center. "Representing a variety of colleges and departments across the university, these students are working in and with Appalachian communities examining pressing issues in the region."
The James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research on Appalachia is given to honor the memory of James S. Brown, a sociology professor at UK from 1946 to 1982, whose pioneering studies of society, demography and migration in Appalachia (including his ethnography of “Beech Creek”) helped to establish the field of Appalachian studies at UK and beyond.
To be eligible, students must be actively enrolled in a master’s or doctoral degree program at UK. The award must be used to meet the costs of doing research relevant to social life in Appalachia including travel, lodging, copying, interviewing, ethnography, data collection, archival research, transcribing and other legitimate research expenses. Up to $1,000 is awarded to each recipient.
The recipients will present their research at Sharing Work on Appalachia in Progress with Appalachian Studies Program faculty and students during the 2026-27 academic year.
The 2026 James S. Brown Graduate Student Award for Research recipients and their projects are:
- Nicole Marks, Department of Anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences: “And the creek don’t rise: Disasters, Climate, and Resiliency in Appalachia”
- Kelli Lemaster, Department of Teaching and Learning in the College of Education: “A Sense of Place: Place-Based Inquiry in Appalachian Social Studies Classrooms”
- Michelle Rutherford, Department of Music Education in the College of Fine Arts: “Teaching pedagogies and strategies in middle and high school bluegrass music ensembles: A multiple case study of music teacher perspectives in Appalachia”
- Julianne Bowling, Department of Psychology in the College of Arts and Sciences: “A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on Academic Disparities in Central Appalachia”
- Morgan Gilbert, Department of Arts Administration in the College of Fine Arts: “Contemporary Ancestors: Leadership Evolution and Cultural Capital in Berea College’s Fireside Weaving Student Craft Weaving Program”
- Ally Moseley, UK College of Social Work: “Rainbow Roads Aren’t Just for Mario Kart: Visibility, Belonging, and Queer Voices in Kentucky’s SAFE ROADS Debate”
- Arshiya Jeelani, Department of History in the College of Arts and Sciences: “Mary Jane in the Mountains: Marijuana Production and Eradication in Eastern Kentucky, 1980-2002”
- Courtney Martin, Department of Kinesiology and Health Promotion in the College of Education: “Understanding How Youth Think About Cancer: A Cross-Sectional Analysis Exploring Cancer Knowledge and Risk Perceptions among High School Students in Rural Appalachia”
In the spirit of collaboration across units, colleges and academic and community boundaries, the Appalachian Center and Appalachian Studies Program established the UK Appalachian Center Eller and Billings Student Research Award for research by UK students focused in and on the Appalachian region, especially toward furthering the conversation on sustainable futures in the region. Named after longtime UK historian Ronald D. Eller and longtime UK sociologist Dwight B. Billings, the award seeks to encourage and promote cutting-edge research across disciplines.
To be eligible for this award of up to $1,000, students must be actively enrolled in a graduate or undergraduate program at UK. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. Recipients of this award will also present their findings during the 2026-27 academic year.
The 2026 Eller and Billings Student Research Award recipients are:
- Tania Rojas Carbajal, Department of Biology in the College of Arts and Sciences: “Spatiotemporal Effects of Surface Coal Mining on Bird Occupancy in Appalachia”
- Holden Dillman, College of Social Work: “We Are Here: National and Appalachian Accounts of Youth-to-Adulthood Mental Health and Well-Being Among Sexual and Gender Minority Emerging and Early Adults”
- Tara Littlefield, Department of Forestry and Natural Resources in the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment: “Linking Population Genetics, Demography, and Restoration to Guide Translocation and Recovery of the White Fringeless Orchid (Platanthera integrilabia) in the Appalachian Region”
- Emelia Harris, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences: “Relationships Between Water Quality Indicators and Flooding in Southeastern Kentucky”
The awards committee included Engle, Jennifer Cramer, Ph.D., Dwight Billings, Ph.D., Karen Rignall, Ph.D., and Lauren Cagle, Ph.D.
For more information about awards and funding opportunities through the UK Appalachian Center, visit appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/scholarships.
The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center contributes to the land-grant mission of the University of Kentucky by fostering community-university partnerships in research, learning and engagement in Appalachia, a region faced with unique opportunities and challenges toward sustainable development in a globalized context.
The Appalachian Studies Program, like the Appalachian Center, has an active 40-year history at the University of Kentucky. It is an interdisciplinary program based in the College of Arts and Sciences with participation by faculty and students from across the colleges at UK.
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The University of Kentucky Appalachian Center will celebrate its 50th anniversary in 2027. The center will host a series of events to mark the milestone. More information is available at appalachiancenter.as.uky.edu/appalachian-center-50th-anniversary.
