(Getty Images)

Emilie McKiernan Blanton has been called a “unicorn” — but not because she has mystical powers.

Rather, her reputation comes from her career. The 38-year-old is a 15-year teacher veteran.

Her long track record makes her something of a rarity nowadays as Kentucky and the nation face a shortage of teachers — a phenomenon that Blanton says isn’t being helped by rhetoric from some politicians.?

“I’m not in my classroom being like, ‘do you want to change your pronouns?’” Blanton said.

Perhaps the most controversial legislation coming out of Kentucky’s recent regular session, Sen. Max Wise’s anti-trans Senate Bill 150 guarantees teachers will be allowed to misgender students, requires schools to revise sexual health studies and mandates school bathroom policies. The bill also bans some medical care for transgender minors.

Amidst the politicization of education, teachers face persistent logistical and workload challenges.?

As a freshman seminar teacher at Southern High School in Louisville, Blanton manages up to 31 teenagers in a single class period.?

Her alarm goes off at 4:45 every morning. Between building lesson plans, engaging with parents and providing academic and emotional support to students, 12-hour days are the norm.

“That’s how much it takes to be a good educator right now,” she said. “I have ten months to move 150 students to the finish line. And if I don’t, I am the worst human being to have ever existed.”

Like many educators, Blanton pursued teaching out of a passion for the profession. Having been a non-compliant student herself, she felt a calling to be the kind of teacher she wished she had had.?

With Kentucky’s teacher shortage reaching emergency levels this school year, educators are feeling the weight of the crisis. The Impact Kentucky Working Conditions survey asks thousands of teachers across the state about their working conditions. The 2022 data highlight several alarming statistics:?

• ? ? ? ?53% of teachers have a disfavorable perception of their well-being, efficacy and belonging;
• ? ? ? ?46% of teachers felt dissatisfied with the quality and quantity of feedback;
• ? ? ? ? 53% of teachers experienced dissatisfaction with the adequacy of school resources;?
• ? ? ? ? 41% of teachers were dissatisfied with the overall social and learning climate of their schools.?

The teacher shortage received considerable attention during the recently adjourned legislative session. From House Bill 538, Rep. Timmy Truett’s controversial school discipline bill, to Senate Bill 49, Sen. Matthew Deneen’s emergency teaching certificate extension, the Republican-led legislature addressed the issue from different angles. Notably, the legislature ignored Gov. Andy Beshear’s “Education First Plan” that called for a 5% pay increase for all school employees and a new student loan forgiveness program for public school teachers.

Recruiting and retaining teachers is a complex and multifaceted challenge; teachers have unique reasons for leaving the field.

After earning her doctorate, Jasmine Perry left teaching for a role at the Collaborative Center for Literacy Development, an organization that promotes literacy development policy and practice for stakeholders in Kentucky’s education system.?

In her final year of teaching, Perry “floated” between classrooms, pushing a cart with lesson materials in place of a permanent classroom or office. Pressures brought on by standardizing test-based curriculum and performance evaluations encouraged her transition out of the classroom and into education research.

“It felt like an atmosphere where we’re being watched,” she said. “We weren’t being trusted to implement (our own lesson plans).”

Teachers did not always feel this way.?

Allison Slone, a special education teacher at Rowan County Senior High School in Morehead, has seen the shift over her 24-year career. She says her colleagues have departed for many reasons, including mistreatment from their district, the fear of retribution, physical and verbal assault from students and a contradictory correlation between their workload and compensation.?

“Students are the priority. There’s no teacher that’s here for any other reason than students,” she said. “But someone has to take care of the teacher so that we can take care of the students.”

Terrie Morgan, the superintendent of the Hardin County school district, remembers a time when teaching was held in high esteem. She has almost three decades of experience in the field.?

“Some of our politicians are not showing respect for education,” she said in a recent phone interview. “They’re saying things that, in some cases, are not accurate. I question if they have been inside the schools themselves.”

Morgan is co-chair of the Kentucky Association of School Administrators’ Coalition to Sustain the Education Profession, which has worked closely with lawmakers to develop policy, including Rep. James Tipton, chairman of the House Education Committee and sponsor of HB 319, a bipartisan, low-cost teacher retention bill that Beshear signed into law.

The coalition proposed many of the new solutions, she said, including signing Kentucky into a multistate teacher-licensing agreement and supporting the relocation of educators married to military personnel.

“We certainly see this as a start,” Morgan said. The coalition recommends other strategies, including conducting a comprehensive study of Kentucky education, addressing issues with certification and analyzing financial incentives for in-state recruiting and retention, among other things.?

In the meantime, Morgan supports her staff as best as she can.

“The most difficult part of my job is trying to make sure that (teachers) realize they are doing a phenomenal job in the classroom,” she said. “This is an honorable profession — don’t listen to anyone (who says otherwise).”

Led by high school students, a march and speeches in downtown Lexington on April 1, 2023 called for protecting the rights of trans people. (Kentucky Lantern photo by Mariah Kendell)

LEXINGTON?— Hundreds of Kentuckians on Friday gathered for a LGBTQ+ youth visibility march in downtown Lexington.

The event, led by local high school students, was organized in response to Senate Bill 150, a sweeping anti-trans measure that the Republican-controlled Kentucky legislature enacted into law this week over Gov. Andy Beshear’s veto.?

On Wednesday, protests against the legislation led to the arrest of 19 people at the Capitol in Frankfort.?

Friday’s Lexington protest coincided with the International Transgender Day of Visibility, dedicated to recognizing and raising awareness about the transgender community and the difficulties it faces. The demonstration commenced with a march downtown and concluded with speeches.?

?One of the speakers, Lillian Stewart, a senior at Frederick Douglass High School and the president of her school’s Gay Straight Alliance, urged legislators who voted for SB 150 to visit schools in their district and “talk to the kids (they) voted against.”

?“You have the duty as a public servant to vote for us and not against us,” she said to the crowd.?

?“SB 150 does nothing to protect families,” said Noah Healand, a trans student at Lafayette High School, who called for the legislature to direct its attention to other issues, like gun regulation.

Since the shooting at a Nashville school that killed six people, conservative commentators have falsely connected mass shootings to the transgender community, he said.?

The gender identity and motive of the shooter, a former student at the school, remain unclear but, in any case, Healand said “Nashville had nothing to do” with anyone being trans.?

The controversial legislation, sponsored by Sen. Max Wise, R-Campbellsville, bans gender-affirming care for young people in Kentucky, including hormone therapies and reassignment surgeries for children under the age of 18. SB 150 also prohibits schools from teaching “gender identity, gender expression or sexual orientation.”? It mandates that students use the restroom that correlates to their biological sex and prohibits schools from compelling educators to use the preferred names or pronouns of transgender students.?

Secil Sensing, a transgender advocate who attended the rally, said. “They’ve taken my rights away. And it’s not just an inconvenience. It’s murder.”

Thomas "Lofton" Hazelwood (Photo provided by Tracey Hazelwood)

Hazing that causes death or serious injury can be prosecuted as a felony in Kentucky under a bill that Gov. Andy Beshear signed Monday.

Senate Bill 9, also known as Lofton’s Law, defines hazing in Kentucky statute and establishes penalties for the behavior. Hazing that leads to injury or death is a Class D felony, and reckless participation is now a Class A misdemeanor.?

Lofton’s Law was created in honor of Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood, an 18-year-old University of Kentucky freshman who died from alcohol poisoning in 2021. Lawmakers gave the bill final passage on March 15.??

Beshear’s signature makes Kentucky the 14th state to classify hazing as a felony.?

“Signing this bill is the right thing to do,” Beshear said in a news conference. “As a father of two middle schoolers, I cannot imagine what (Lofton’s family) have had to go through.”?

Beshear was joined by Lofton’s parents, Tracey and Kirk Hazelwood, and other supporters of the law.??

“We want to thank everybody who has helped us through this journey,” Tracey Hazelwood said. “It’s a phone call no one wants to get, and we hope that this never happens to anyone again.”

Tracey detailed how the idea for the bill started in her children’s junior high school. The Hazelwood family has worked tirelessly to lobby the legislature and share Lofton’s story to students.

“The driving force behind this legislation is Lofton’s parents,” said Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, the main sponsor.? “Children and young people that go to college should have the ability to have a great time … and not have the fear of hazing that has been so prevalent over the last few years.”

Since 2021, four Kentucky universities have tracked 25 incidents of hazing. A 2008 study from the University of Maine found that 95% of recognized hazing cases go unreported.?

In the? new statute, hazing is defined as a direct action that “substantially endangers the physical health of a minor or student for the purpose of recruitment, initiation into, affiliation with, or enhancing or maintaining member or status within any organization.” It includes acts like forced violation of the law, consumption of controlled substances and physical or sexual brutality.?

Depending on the charge, offenders could be punished with up to five years in prison.

Thomas "Lofton" Hazelwood (Photo provided by Tracey Hazelwood)

FRANKFORT —?The Kentucky House on Wednesday voted to make hazing that causes a death or serious injury a felony.

Lofton’s Law – named after 18-year-old Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood, a University of Kentucky freshman who died from alcohol poisoning at his fraternity house – was approved in the House by a vote of 97-3. The Senate approved the measure on Feb. 23.?

Senate Bill 9 establishes penalties for two types of hazing activities. Hazing that results in injury or death is a Class D felony, punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Reckless participation in hazing is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to one year in prison and a $500 fine.

The bill applies to students in all public, private and post-secondary schools, in an attempt to “let students know that Kentucky values students’ safety,” according to sponsor Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson.

In the last two years, four Kentucky universities reported 25 incidents of hazing.

The House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday made minor changes before approving the bill by a 15-1 vote.

Tracey and Kirk Hazelwood, Lofton’s parents, were present for the committee and House votes.?

Lofton was a freshman when he was found unconscious in Farmhouse Fraternity after drinking approximately 18 shots of bourbon. He later died of alcohol poisoning.?Although an investigation by UK found that Hazelwood’s death was not directly related to hazing, his story reflected an issue that plagues universities across the state.

“For far too long, hazing has been this awkward rite of passage in Kentucky that many still refuse to acknowledge was wrong,” Mills told the House committee Wednesday. “We believe the elevation of hazing to a crime addresses head-on the seriousness of these actions.”

Since Lofton’s death on Oct. 18, 2021, the Hazelwoods and their supporters in their hometown of Henderson have campaigned against hazing, educating local students and traveling to Frankfort to testify before lawmakers.

“I was getting a little nervous,” Tracey Hazlewood said in a phone interview Wednesday morning. “I’m ready to put an end to worrying about it.”?

The Senate must still approve the changes made by the House before the bill goes to Gov. Andy Beshear.?

Kentucky would be the 14th state to classify hazing as a felony.

Thomas "Lofton" Hazelwood (Photo provided by Tracey Hazelwood)

FRANKFORT — An anti-hazing bill is one step closer to becoming law in Kentucky after a 15-1 vote by the House Judiciary Committee.?

Known as Lofton’s Law, Senate Bill 9, was introduced after the death of 18-year-old Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood, a University of Kentucky freshman who was found unconscious in Farmhouse Fraternity after drinking approximately 18 shots of bourbon. He later died of alcohol poisoning.

Although an investigation by UK found that Hazelwood’s death was not directly related to hazing, his story reflected an issue that plagues universities across the state.?

“For far too long, hazing has been this awkward rite of passage in Kentucky that many still refuse to acknowledge was wrong,” Sen. Robby Mills, the bill’s sponsor, told the House committee Wednesday. “We believe the elevation of hazing to a crime addresses head-on the seriousness of these actions.”

Tracey and Kirk Hazelwood, Lofton’s parents, attended Wednesday’s committee meeting. Chairman Daniel Elliot, R-Danville, applauded their “persistence and work,” on advancing the bill.?

“We’re really excited,” Tracey Hazelwood said in a phone interview earlier Wednesday. “I’m going to be one heartbroken momma if it doesn’t pass.”

The bill passed the Senate on Feb. 23. If Lofton’s Law passes on the House floor, Kentucky would be the 14th state to classify hazing as a felony.?

Along the Ohio River in Moneta Sleet's hometown of Owensboro, K.O. Lewis's portrait of the photographer is displayed. As background, Lewis painted images from Sleet's photojournalism; the woman on the right was marching in the rain from Selma to Montgomery in 1965. (Photo by Drew Hardesty, Wonder Boy Media)

Moneta Sleet Jr.’s eye led him from his hometown of Owensboro around the world.

As a photojournalist for Ebony magazine, Sleet captured on film some of the 20th century’s most iconic moments; his work earned a Pulitzer Prize in journalism, the first awarded a Black American.

This week, the Ohio River town where nine-year-old Sleet first picked up a camera will celebrate his life and legacy with a festival called?“Through Sleet’s Eyes.”?

Each event will be held free of charge at the RiverPark Center.

Born in 1926, Sleet is best known for his coverage of the Civil Rights Movement. He photographed the 1955 Montgomery bus boycott and the 1965 Selma to Montgomery march, all while subject to racism and discrimination himself.

Sleet’s most recognized work, a photo of Coretta Scott King and her daughter, Bernice, grieving at the funeral of their husband and father, the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., earned the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography in 1969.

A graduate of the-then Kentucky State College in Frankfort, Sleet built an extensive portfolio?during his 41-year career at Ebony. He recorded the joys, pains, dreams and artistry of Africa and Black America.

Sleet, who was inducted into the Kentucky Journalism Hall of Fame in 1989, died in 1996.

“Moneta Sleet’s story is American history, and it’s American history that starts in Owensboro,” said Emmy Woosley, the festival chair and an MBA student at Vanderbilt University.?

Woosley initially pitched a public art piece for Sleet in 2021 to her Leadership Owensboro class. What began as a plan for a bronze sculpture in his honor quickly evolved into a community effort, Woosley said.?

The festival was born shortly after a portrait of Sleet, created by local artist and educator K.O. Lewis, was unveiled and circulated in Daviess County.

Friday, Feb. 24

“Through Sleet’s Eyes Festival” will open to the public at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 24, beginning with a gallery of Sweet’s photographs entitled “A Witness to History.” The exhibit invites viewers to “witness the miracle of Moneta” by exploring images that curator Bob Morris calls “some of the most important of the 20th century.” A jazz performance by the Owensboro Symphony Orchestra will supplement the program.

At 6:30 p.m., Ozier Muhammad, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and friend of Sleet, will give a firsthand account of Sleet’s career and personal life.?

Muhammad “was just so excited to come and be part of this event because I think he truly recognizes how great Sleet’s legacy is not just on photojournalism, but on American history,” Woosley said.

Saturday, Feb. 25

On Saturday, the festival will start at 3 p.m. with a guided experience of the photo exhibit, followed by community conversations with the festival’s creators and a musical performance by the Owensboro Men’s Mass Community Choir at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m., respectively.

The festival’s main programming begins at 7 p.m. with a screening of the documentary “A Fine Remembrance” and a performance of a one-man-play called “The Power of the Lens.”

“A Fine Remembrance,” produced by Woosley and Drew Hardesty of Wonder Boy Media, explores Sleet’s impact through a series of interviews with people who were his colleagues and also a visit to his alma mater Kentucky State University.

Woosley and Hardesty started by visiting Sleet’s son, Greg, a retired U.S. district judge in Delaware, and traveled across the country, interviewing those who keep his legacy alive.

“When we talk to his colleagues, they just light up talking about Sleet, his stories and how much he pushed them to be better,” Woosley said. It’s that energy, she hopes, that will empower Owensboro’s youth to realize their potential.

“The Power of the Lens,” written and performed by Jeremy Gillett, is a three-movement play that takes a contemporary look at Sleet’s life. It follows Walter, a teacher at an art camp, through a story that explains the overlap between Black history and Sleet’s photography.

Gillett, an actor, writer and teacher with an expansive portfolio in theater and television, said he was drawn to Sleet’s story for its prominence in the Black community and its message to youth who may struggle with identity.

“His work was like a silent film. Each picture had a point, each picture had stood for something; there was a mission, a purpose,” Gillett said. “I want to bring visibility to the long lineage of paradigm-shifting inventions and creations that have come out of the Black community.”?

For more information on the “Through Sleet’s Eyes Festival” and to see more of his photographs, visit tsefest.org.

BBC News wrote about Sleet and published many of his photographs on the 50th anniversary of his Pulitzer Prize in “Moneta Sleet: The great black photographer you’ve never heard of.”

Thomas "Lofton" Hazelwood (Photo provided by Tracey Hazelwood)

LEXINGTON — The death of 18-year-old Thomas “Lofton” Hazelwood sparked a conversation across Kentucky — one that, for many, was long overdue.

On Oct. 18, 2021, the first-year student was found unconscious at the University of Kentucky’s Farmhouse Fraternity house. He later passed away from alcohol poisoning.

“I had no clue what was going on. He was joining the Farmhouse, and we were told that it’s just a bunch of good old boys,” Tracey Hazelwood, Lofton’s mother, said in a recent telephone interview.

The time after her son’s death was marked by grief, shared by the community in Henderson County, where Lofton resided most of his life. Signs, t-shirts and text messages in support of Lofton supported his family through forever heartbreak, his mother said.

Two months after Lofton’s death, high school students proposed anti-hazing legislation during the annual Kentucky Youth Assembly mock government. Students approved the bill overwhelmingly, laying the foundation for Senate Bill 9, known as Lofton’s Law.

Since the bill was introduced last year, Tracey Hazelwood has engaged with students, community members and legislators on the dangers of hazing, a tradition that happens in secrecy and, she says, too often. It’s not limited to college campuses; just last month, an alleged hazing incident was reported among football players at Henderson County High School.

“Hopefully to God they’ll stop. My son passed away and I don’t want anybody else to ever go through this,” said Tracey Hazelwood. “We feel like we owe it to him to do this.”

Nolan Abdelsayed, a University of Kentucky senior and member of the Beta Theta Pi fraternity, agrees. Though he says he was never hazed, he supports anti-hazing legislation.

“If a parent sends their son off to college, I don’t think that they should die for no reason at all — just so they can make friends,” Abdelsayed said.

Lofton’s Law

Kentucky would be the 14th state to classify hazing that leads to death or serious injury as a felony.

As Lofton’s Law awaits a Thursday hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee, the sponsor, Sen. Robby Mills, R-Henderson, said he will introduce a committee substitute in response to concerns that the bill’s original language is too broad.

Cortney Lollar, a professor of law and public policy at the University of Kentucky, said the bill’s language is “very broad – in my view, overly broad – and has the potential to bring people under its scope that are not intended.”

SB 9 states that the misdemeanor statute would apply to anyone who “recklessly” participates in hazing. Prosecutors could argue that “reckless behavior” includes giving money to an entity that provides alcohol to minors, leaving room for potential misdemeanor charges to all dues-paying members, even if they didn’t attend the party, Lollar said.

A senior fraternity member who has previously attended parties where underaged students were drinking would have a difficult time arguing he was unaware that an underaged student would be drinking at a future party, for example, she said.

“Virtually any imaginable hazing incident can, and has been, addressed by existing laws,” Lollar said. “It is unclear to me what purpose is served by adding this new crime to our criminal code.”

Mills, the sponsor, said his committee substitute will tighten the language to avoid prosecutions of uninvolved people. Among the tweaks will be clarifying the definition of hazing “participant,” he said.

Mills acknowledged that wanton endangerment and other laws already on the books could be used to prosecute participants in hazing that causes injury or death. But Mills said hazing warrants its own law to emphasize the dangers and to send the message that “this is a serious issue and not something just to joke about.”

Making hazing a felony or serious misdemeanor will have a deterrent effect on students, who now think they face nothing worse than expulsion, Mills said. They would know that the consequences of hazing could include jail time, probation and a criminal record.

“That just gives you a bigger stick to say ‘don’t do this.’” he said. “If we can make the law stiffer to make sure that people know it’s a serious issue, and it saves a life, it’s worth it to me.”

Sean Callan, a lawyer who specializes in fraternity, sorority and student life organizations, agrees. He is a managing partner of Fraternal Law, a Cincinnati firm that provides counsel on hazing, crisis and incident management.?Callan commends SB 9 for its focused language.

“If someone is severely injured or killed by some of this activity, it needs to be a felony,” Callan said. “I know people in the fraternity community will support something like this.”

Hazing on Kentucky’s campuses

The prevalence of hazing is not easily captured. There is no formal method of tracking it and institutions are not required to report hazing behaviors to other entities. Nonetheless, an estimated 26% of college students belonging to campus groups have experienced at least one hazing behavior, according to a 2018 study conducted by the University of Maine.

Between 1959 and 2021, there was at least one hazing death a year in the U.S. involving a school, club or organization, according to journalist Frank Nuwer, who tracks hazing deaths.

The Lantern filed open records requests for student conduct records with four universities. The University of Louisville did not respond. At UK and Eastern Kentucky University there had been 25 reported instances of hazing since Jan. 1, 2021, according to the records. Western Kentucky University reported no incidents of hazing.

The University of Kentucky received 13 hazing reports in the timeframe. Approximately 5,500 UK undergraduates belong to 39 Greek organizations.

• Ten reports involved hazing in nine fraternity chapters. Alleged offenses included requiring new members to “sit in a basement with pillowcases on their head for an hour or so,” purchase alcohol and wear a fanny pack with “smelling salts, condoms and matches” to present to older members when asked.
• Four reports concerned Farmhouse Fraternity, where Lofton Hazelwood was found unresponsive. Investigations led by UK’s police force and student conduct office found that Hazelwood consumed approximately 18 one-ounce shots of bourbon within 45 minutes. Although no signs of physical coercion were found in connection to Hazelwood’s death, UK’s report detailed multiple occurrences of other hazing activities within the fraternity. Interviews revealed that new members were subject to line-ups and berating and expected to provide personal servitude and participate in illegal activities, among other things.
• Two documents reported hazing in a sorority. The investigations did not find the chapter responsible.

According to UK’s student conduct website, 11 of the 25 registered fraternity chapters are on some sort of restriction, ranging from disciplinary probation to revocation of registered student organization status for previous offenses of campus conduct.

Western Kentucky University tracked zero reports of hazing since Jan. 1, 2021. As of the spring 2022 semester, the university had 2,203 students in Greek life, according to publicly available records.

Eastern Kentucky University had 12 reports of hazing in the timeframe. As of spring 2022, the university had fewer than 1,000 students in Greek life, according to publicly available records.

• Ten reports involved fraternity chapters. Alleged offenses included drunken driving, sexual assaults at parties, humiliation and drug use.
• One report was filed against a sorority, where individuals allegedly “required and coerced members” to attendevents surrounding alcohol. The report showed screenshots in the chapter’s group message where a member wrote “… if a frat is holding a mixer for us and you’re going out in Richmond that (night), you’re expected to stay there for at least an hour.”
• Another report detailed alleged hazing in the university’s club hockey team after an EKU police officer found members “taking a sign from a gas station,” according to a misconduct report form. The officer found a 36-point “scavenger hunt” list that asked new team members to deliver food and alcohol, sneak onto a sorority dormitory floor and shave an eyebrow — among other activities — in exchange for “points.”

The results of these incident reports were not provided. Aside from EKU’s club hockey team, each organization involved is a recognized student organization.

Students: Hazing legislation is “necessary”

Alicia Gowan, a University of Kentucky junior and member of Pi Beta Phi sorority, said, “Fraternity culture from the outside looks great when they’re promoting philanthropy, involvement on campus and high GPAs.” On the inside of these organizations, she believes that most men have likely experienced some form of hazing.

Lawson Hill, an Eastern Kentucky University freshman and member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity, considers hazing less of a problem than it used to be, but says legislation is still necessary.

“A lot of guys I know are legacies, which means their dads were in (fraternities) a long time ago. They tell me some of the stories, and I think ‘wow, that could kill somebody,'” he said. “I couldn’t imagine shoving a bottle down someone’s throat. That’s just inhumane.”

Shannon Chen, a freshman UK student and new member of Alpha Gamma Delta, heard about hazing rumors through classmates, including a story of a pledge who was “treated horribly.”

She said fraternity members “pay what? A thousand dollars to get their car thrown up in? If the bill goes through, at least the top members will be like ‘we can’t do this.'”

With support from their community, the Hazelwood family is creating an endowment to fund scholarships for Henderson County residents. Two students going into agriculture will receive $5,000 scholarships; there will be a $2,000 scholarship for a trade school student.

Lucas Bertucci, a UK chemical engineering senior from Louisville, is the first Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Scholarship recipient for his research on recycling metals. (Photo by Kevin Puckett of CAER)

LEXINGTON — As the global energy and climate crises balloon, one remedy may lie in something as small as a beaker — the place where Lucas Bertucci got his start in sustainability research.

The chemical engineering student at the University of Kentucky is the first winner of the Lee T. Todd, Jr. Student Innovation Scholarship, giving him access to resources and mentorship, both scientific and entrepreneurial.?

UK’s Center for Applied Energy Research (CAER) sponsors the scholarship which is funded through donations and focuses “on inspiring and training the next generation of Kentucky high-tech entrepreneurs.” It is named for UK’s 11th president, tech entrepreneur Lee T. Todd Jr.

Bertucci has spent much of his academic career in the laboratory focusing on recycling electronic waste.?

As a freshman, he studied methods to recycle nickel-metal hydride batteries that power electric vehicles.

Later, he shifted to his first large-scale challenge, recycling metal waste. Over three years, the project expanded, along with his knowledge, producing a giant reactor that extracts pure metals like copper.

Now, in his senior year, Bertucci has turned his attention to optimizing solar panel recycling, his Todd Scholarship project.?

It’s an area of sustainability that he says is largely overlooked.?

“By 2030, end-of-life solar panels will be worth a combined total of $450 million in recycling potential,” Bertucci said. “While the green energy revolution is sweeping the globe, little consideration is being put into what to do with broken, old and unusable solar panels. My proposal for this program is to develop an environmentally friendly and economically sustainable process for recycling solar panels.”?

No matter the project, Bertucci’s passion for sustainable energy underscores his efforts. That passion, he says, is ignited by conventional misconceptions of the field. His latest venture is in collaboration with CAER researchers who he says are also Kentucky’s leading mining engineers and taught him the basics of recycling.

For the past three years, Bertucci has worked under the guidance of Jack Groppo and Josh Werner from UK’s Department of Mining Engineering. Groppo, a longtime CAER researcher, will serve as his research mentor as part of the Todd Scholarship, according to a UK news release.?

“I am extremely proud of Lucas and thrilled he has this opportunity,” Groppo said. “Not only is he deserving of this opportunity, I think he has a chance to do great things. I look forward to continuing to work with him to see his dreams come true.”?

Bertucci says, “People think that mining engineers just do coal; they are much more than that — and actually, in my opinion, quite essential to recycling.”?

He says a better term for the field is “resource engineering” or “sustainability engineering.”

Bertucci views recycling research as the catalyst to minimize future mining and its environmental and humanitarian impacts?at a time when the manufacture of cellphones and other technologies is pushing up the demand for metals.

The metal mining industry brings about increased deforestation, soil erosion and contamination of the water and air that communities rely upon. And although artisanal and small-scale mining practices provide some economic opportunity to those in resource-rich, yet developing countries like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, they are extremely dangerous. These mining communities are rife with unregulated work zones, obsolete tools and child labor.

Additionally, pushes for sustainability? promote American self-sufficiency, Bertucci said. “To put (it) to the more conservatively minded people …? there’s a lot of issues that recycling solves on a sort of national security level —? we’re not as reliant upon foreign sources.”

A Louisville native, Bertucci hopes to inspire change on the state and local levels. He thinks Kentucky can contribute to sustainability in unique ways, including ?the $5.8 billion electric-car battery plant in Hardin County that Ford and its Korean partner, SK Group, plan to open in 2025.?

“It’s really awesome to have new battery plants come home to Kentucky. We’re centralized to a lot of big cities,” Bertucci said. “And while we’re at it, we should be the recycling capital of the world too.”

That’s where he hopes his ultimate goal — commercialization and implementation of solar panel recycling — will carry him, Kentucky and the nation in years to come.

That would fulfill the goals of the Todd scholarship, which CAER launched earlier this year. Rodney Andrews, CAER director, said the scholarship’s focus on student creativity and innovation is unusual. “In most cases, undergraduate researchers participate in research projects that are driven by their mentor. Which is fantastic — we need more Kentucky students involved in undergraduate research. But we also need students to work on their own ideas while also being trained and encouraged to commercialize those innovations. This is especially true as we look to transition our energy infrastructure.”?

Todd, a graduate of UK and MIT and founder of two tech companies, said: “To have this scholarship focus on energy, innovation and commercialization makes it that much more special. … With young people like Lucas leading the way, Kentucky’s future is looking bright.”?

Bertucci, who graduates in May, is pursuing minors in computer science, photography and mathematics. His sights are set on graduate school. Whether?he ends up at MIT, Vanderbilt, Yale, Cornell, Carnegie Mellon or back at the University of Kentucky, sustainability research will continue to be a core part of his identity.

“Someone’s got to make the technology to push (the green revolution), and research is the only kind of way to do that and hopefully maybe change the world. That would be?nice. I wouldn’t complain.”