By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts & Sciences 

When Saylor Fortner holds an object in her hands while examining artifacts from the Kentucky School for the Blind’s history, she’s also connecting with the people who once used them. 

“Each item becomes a lens into the lives and experiences of those who were part of this history. My hope is that they also allow today’s students to pause and reflect on that past,” she states. 

Associate Professor of History Elise Franklin was featured in the Autumn 2025 edition of American Philosophical News for her groundbreaking research on the little-known Perrou affair, a disturbing episode during the Algerian War for Independence. 

Meet Taylor Ryan (’15), founder and executive director of Change Today, Change Tomorrow, and one of our 2025 A&S Champions!  

By Audrie Lamb 

This story originally appeared on UofL News here. 

For avid traveler Larry Sloan, his education journey is like rafting trips he has taken. 

“You can hear rapids before you get to them or sometimes see them,” he said. “You start to think how you’re going to get through them, and then you turn the corner and get through them. It’s sort of similar to life.” 

By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts & Sciences 

Students completing their Individualized Major programs this December and spring presented last Tuesday, sharing their capstone projects and plans for the future across a range of disciplines including health equity, Japanese language and culture, music production and entrepreneurship, and more. 

The group joined virtually due to the snow day, with five students total. Four are graduating this December, while one student is graduating this spring. 

Congratulations to Katelyn McMahon, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in the Department of Criminal Justice, who has been selected as a winner of the 2025 Graduate Student Paper of the Year Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Victimology.  

This prestigious national honor recognizes McMahon’s outstanding scholarship and her commitment to advancing trauma-informed research for crime victims. 

This story originally appeared in UofL Magazine.

Joyce Chen’s journey from College of Arts and Sciences student to global design success is a testament to her relentless creativity and ambition. Chen moved to Louisville from her native Canada as a child and transferred to UofL in her second year of college to attend the Hite Institute of Art and Design.  

Pictured: Standing (L-R): Thomas Jennings (Faculty Fellow), Sherri L. Wallace (Associate Dean, International, Engagement, and Access Programs), and Shelby Pumphrey (Faculty Fellow). Andrea Gaughan, Associate Dean, Research and Innovation, was in attendance, yet is not pictured here. 

December 1, 2025 

By Dr. Sherri L. Wallace, Associate Dean and Professor  

By Stephanie Godward, Communications and Marketing Director, College of Arts & Sciences 

UofL's Center for Geographic Information Sciences held its annual GIS Day last week, featuring Louisville’s leading experts who are working together to increase the city’s urban forests, specifically with an eye on increasing equity for neighborhoods lacking tree canopy cover.  

The University of Louisville’s Interdisciplinary and Public Humanities Department and its Jewish Studies program are celebrating creativity, identity, and resilience through the Jewish Artists of Louisville 2024–2025 series—an initiative that shines a light on artists whose work connects faith, culture, and personal expression. 

The art can be viewed at Ekstrom Library in The Susan and William Yarmuth Jewish Studies Reading Room.