August 14, 2026 - Robin Cooper (2026 Great Teacher Award Winner)
Release Date: 08/14/2026
October 15, 2026 - Mark Prendergast (2026 Great Teacher Award Winner)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 15, 2026) – The University of Kentucky Alumni Association started the Great Teacher Award program in 1961 to honor excellent teaching at the university. There have been more than 300 teachers honored since that first year. Nominations may only be submitted by current students. To receive the award, a candidate must: Hold the rank of full-time lecturer or above and have been a member of the faculty for the past three years at UK. Have superior knowledge of the subject matter. Have original and innovative classroom presentations. Demonstrate concern for...
info_outline![October 8, 2026 - Joey Conrad & Sue Oatey (UK's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) [ENCORE] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/207316153?height=50&width=50)
October 8, 2026 - Joey Conrad & Sue Oatey (UK's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute) [ENCORE]
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 8, 2026) – THIS IS AN ENCORE EPISODE PRESENTATION. Each spring, the University of Kentucky celebrates a new class of graduates stepping into the next chapter of their lives. But at UK, learning doesn’t end at commencement. On this episode of Behind the Blue, host Kody Kiser talks with Joey Conrad, director of the University of Kentucky’s Office of Lifelong Learning, and Sue Oatey, an OLLI class participant, about the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at UK and the community it creates for adults ages 50 and older. OLLI at UK offers educational...
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October 1, 2026 - Kelly Holland & Jill Smith (Alumni Association - Homecoming 2026 Preview)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (October 1, 2026) – Homecoming Week is just days away at the University of Kentucky, bringing alumni back to campus while giving current students an opportunity to take part in traditions that have connected generations of Wildcats. On this episode of ‘Behind the Blue,’ Kelly Holland, incoming president of the UK Alumni Association, and Jill Smith, Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement and Executive Director of the UK Alumni Association, join host Kody Kiser to discuss Homecoming 2026 and the many ways alumni can remain connected to UK long after graduation. ...
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September 24, 2026 - Patrick Lee Lucas (2026 Great Teacher Award Winner)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 24, 2026) – The University of Kentucky Alumni Association started the Great Teacher Award program in 1961 to honor excellent teaching at the university. There have been more than 300 teachers honored since that first year. Nominations may only be submitted by current students. To receive the award, a candidate must: Hold the rank of full-time lecturer or above and have been a member of the faculty for the past three years at UK. Have superior knowledge of the subject matter. Have original and innovative classroom presentations. Demonstrate concern for...
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September 17, 2026 - Dr. John D'Orazio, Dr. Amanda Harrington, James Collard (Project Inherited Cancer Risk)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 17, 2026) – When a child is diagnosed with cancer, families understandably want to know why. For some patients, part of the answer may be found in their genes. Researchers and clinicians know that about one in every 10 patients diagnosed with cancer may have a genetic finding that helps explain why they developed the disease. But identifying those patients based solely on family history or other clinical clues can leave some inherited cancer risks undetected. At , Project Inherited Cancer Risk is working to change that. The project offers genetic testing to...
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September 10, 2026 - Trudi Matthews (Be Healthy Bash)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 10, 2026) – Taking steps toward better health doesn’t always have to begin in a doctor’s office. Sometimes it can start with a blood pressure check, a conversation about nutrition or a simple screening that identifies a potential health concern before it becomes something more serious. On Saturday, Sept. 19, and will bring those opportunities — along with plenty of family-friendly activities — together for the . The free community health and wellness event will take place from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Fayette County Extension Office, located off Red...
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September 3, 2026 - Hannah Tiffin, Ashley Russo, & Matt Springer (Tick Research)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (September 3, 2026) – University of Kentucky researchers are working to better understand how ticks move through Kentucky landscapes — and how wildlife, livestock, people and land use all connect in the spread of tick-borne disease. On this episode of Behind the Blue, Kody Kiser talks with Hannah Tiffin, Ashley Russo and Matt Springer from the Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food & Environment about a UK research project focused on tick ecology and surveillance. The team is collecting ticks from different environments, including wooded areas, cattle pastures,...
info_outline![August 28, 2026 - Golisano Children's at UK and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library partnership [ENCORE] show art](https://assets.libsyn.com/content/205528845?height=50&width=50)
August 28, 2026 - Golisano Children's at UK and Dolly Parton's Imagination Library partnership [ENCORE]
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 28, 2026) – THIS IS AN ENCORE EPISODE. A new partnership at Golisano Children’s at UK will help put books directly into the hands of Kentucky children and families. On this episode of Behind the Blue, host Kody Kiser talks with Kelsey Rahenkamp of Golisano Children’s at UK, Lindsey Westerfield of Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library of Kentucky and Dr. Anna Thamann, a neonatal neurologist at UK HealthCare, about the hospital becoming an official enrollment location for Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. Through the partnership, families coming through...
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August 20, 2026 - Dr. Paramarajan Piranavan & Dr. Izabela Antic (CAR-T Lupus Clinical Trial)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 20, 2026) – A UK HealthCare patient who has lived with severe lupus for more than 20 years recently became the second patient in the United States to receive an experimental CAR-T cell therapy through a Phase 2 clinical trial. On this episode of ‘Behind the Blue,’ Dr. Paramarajan Piranavan, chief of the Division of Rheumatology at UK HealthCare, and Dr. Izabela Antic, the patient’s primary rheumatologist and a sub-investigator on the study, explain how the trial came to UK and why researchers are cautiously hopeful about what this approach could mean for...
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August 14, 2026 - Robin Cooper (2026 Great Teacher Award Winner)
Behind the Blue
LEXINGTON, Ky. (August 14, 2026) – The University of Kentucky Alumni Association started the Great Teacher Award program in 1961 to honor excellent teaching at the university. There have been more than 300 teachers honored since that first year. Nominations may only be submitted by current students. To receive the award, a candidate must: Hold the rank of full-time lecturer or above and have been a member of the faculty for the past three years at UK. Have superior knowledge of the subject matter. Have original and innovative classroom presentations. Demonstrate concern for...
info_outlineLEXINGTON, Ky. (August 14, 2026) – The University of Kentucky Alumni Association started the Great Teacher Award program in 1961 to honor excellent teaching at the university. There have been more than 300 teachers honored since that first year. Nominations may only be submitted by current students.
To receive the award, a candidate must:
- Hold the rank of full-time lecturer or above and have been a member of the faculty for the past three years at UK.
- Have superior knowledge of the subject matter.
- Have original and innovative classroom presentations.
- Demonstrate concern for students, both inside and outside the classroom setting.
- Not have been a recipient of the award for the past 10 years.
A committee of the UK Alumni Association Board of Directors and a representative from the student organization Omicron Delta Kappa select the recipients based on objective rating and ranking of the eligible nominations submitted.
This episode of Behind the Blue spotlights one of the six Great Teacher Award winners for 2025: Robin Cooper, a professor of neurobiology and neurophysiology in the UK College of Arts & Sciences.
Cooper’s research focuses on the mechanisms underlying synaptic differentiation and communication between neurons and muscle cells. A comparative physiologist, he has spent decades investigating how living systems work and fostering the same curiosity in his students. An accomplished scholar, he has published extensively, served as editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Zoological Research, and is deeply engaged in community outreach and STEM education.
‘Behind the Blue’ is available via a variety of podcast providers, including Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify. Subscribe to receive new episodes each week, featuring UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists, writers and the most important news impacting the university.
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This interview has been edited for time and clarity.