UofL, initially designated as a community engagement university in 2008, was among 277 schools reclassified by the Carnegie Foundation and the American Council on ����ֱ��.

“The University of Louisville is proud to receive the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification for another six years,” UofL President Gerry Bradley said. “This achievement is a testament to our partnerships across Louisville, and the work we’re doing on campus and beyond.”

In 2025, the��Carnegie Foundation once again named UofL a Research 1 (R1) institution��for its elite status as a top research university and named UofL an��Opportunity College and University (OCU)��for its work fostering student success. UofL is one of only 13 universities nationwide to earn R1, OCU and Community Engaged designations from Carnegie and is the only ACC school to receive the OCU title.��

manages partnerships and programs at UofL with organizations across Louisville, the Commonwealth, and surrounding regions to drive impact in four areas: education, health and quality of life, social and human services and economic development. These programs focus on key areas of partnerships and engaged scholarship defined by the Carnegie classification, including the and the��.

“This recognition highlights our dedication to integrating community engagement into UofL’s core mission,” UofL Vice President for Community Engagement Douglas Craddock said. “This distinction reaffirms our role as a trusted partner in advancing the public good.”

��of all institutions that hold this distinction.

It was an opportunity for her to put her work in context for herself in a way she had never done before, Vrebalov, 53, told the audience at the University of Louisville on April 11.

Vrebalov, a Serbian-American composer who now resides in New York City, was awarded the 2024 for “‘.”

The Grawemeyer Award for Music Composition, which was the first of the five , typically receives 150 to 200 entries each year from around the world.

The work’s Latin title translates to “Mass Above Words” in English. The nontraditional work, which is performed by string quartets and girls’ chorus, features just two words in English.

“Words are not essential,” she said. “And I will say again – words are not essential for us to understand, and have insight into the abstract concepts of creativity, truth, beauty and love. These concepts represent the mental aspects of human existence and transcend language.”

Kronos Quartet, a group long known for nurturing musical innovation, and San Francisco Girls’ Chorus, a Bay Area group for young women from diverse backgrounds, premiered the work in 2018 in San Francisco.

Following her presentation, the audience had the opportunity to fully take in “Missa Supratext” by listening to the 22-minute work, which includes handbells, Tibetan bowls and musical saw.

Vrebalov said through her music, she hopes to bring people together.

“It’s about my own yearning for a world that’s filled with love and a world in which we can experience connection and belonging,” she said.

��That’s why “Missa Supratext” deliberately has no recognizable language, she said.

“We have reached a point of realizing individual freedoms as never before in history, and at the same time, our communities are fragmenting into increasingly separate worlds that often exclude each other,” Vrebalov said.

Her idea – to create a work that forces people to confront human existence – inspired her to “bypass traditional language elements and focus on a nonverbal dramatic narrative.”

“Words move us, but music can move us in ways that are not always easy to explain because it doesn’t require language,” Vrebalov said.

The $100,000 Grawemeyer prizes also honor seminal ideas in ,��,�������Ի���. Winners visit Louisville to accept their awards and give free talks on their winning ideas.

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Louisville chef kicked off this year’s at the University of Louisville, which also features a student gala, art workshops and lectures.

UofL News caught up with Jianhua (Andrew) Zhao, the president of UofL’s Asian, Asian American Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association (AAPI FSA) and an associate professor of anthropology, to learn more about this year’s .

UofL News: Can you tell us about the mission of the Asian, Asian American, Pacific Islander Faculty and Staff Association and its history at UofL?����

Zhao: The vision of the AAPI FSA is to��build community, promote diversity, and champion action and change for the Asian, Asian American, and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations on campus.��The AAPI FSA is an employee resource group (ERG) that was established in 2021, in the aftermath of the Atlanta spa shootings and surging anti-Asian hate. We initially started the group to offer a safe space for AAPI folks to speak their minds. Over time, we expanded our vision and purpose.��

UofL News: What is the significance of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week, both within the UofL community and nationally?

Zhao: Nationally, AAPI heritage is celebrated in the month of May. At UofL, along with some other higher education institutions in the U.S., the AAPI FSA have dedicated the second week of April to recognizing the contributions of Asians, Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Americans.��

UofL News: What are some key aspects of Asian American and Pacific Islander culture and heritage that you hope to highlight or explore during AAPI Heritage Week?

Zhao: This is the third year for celebrating the AAPI Heritage Week. The first year, we focused on the theme of the “invisible minority.” Last year, we focused on the historical injustices toward and contributions of the AAPI community.��This year’s AAPI Heritage Week seeks to highlight the stories of our community through artistic expression. Art has long served as a way of preserving traditions, building community, and demonstrating resistance. From Chef Edward Lee’s speech about his culinary experience, to UofL student organizations hosting dance workshops, we hope to emphasize the importance��of creativity in identity.��

UofL News: How does the AAPI FSA collaborate with other organizations or initiatives on campus?��

Zhao: We collaborate with AAPI student RSOs, other ERGs, the Office of Institutional Equity, the Office of Community Engagement, Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE), the College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, UofL Libraries,��the University of Louisville Athletic Association,��Center for Asian Democracy, and the Asian Studies Program, in AAPI related programs and initiatives to help create a vibrant and inclusive campus culture. We also collaborate with community partners, including the Asia Institute-Crane House and the World Affairs Council of Kentucky and southern Indiana.��

UofL News: What message would you like to convey to the UofL community regarding the importance of celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Week?��

Zhao: Through AAPI Heritage Week, we are hoping to foster community and a sense of belonging for AAPI identifying individuals, increase visibility and awareness of the AAPI community, and celebrate the rich heritage, cultures, and contributions of the AAPI community.

UofL News: How can students, faculty, and staff from diverse backgrounds engage with and learn from the events and activities organized during AAPI Heritage Week?

Zhao: Go to our events, participate in the activities, try some different foods, and have an in-depth conversation with someone of a different background from you. Anyone who is interested in the AAPI FSA can join us��, and please consider supporting our future programming with a��.��

To learn more this year’s AAPI Heritage Week celebrations, which includes lectures, dance and art workshops and student galas, All events are free and open to the public.

As of 2016, 70% of the line-of-duty deaths for career firefighters were caused by��UofL News caught up with Cripps to learn more about the classes he is teaching throughout Kentucky.��

UofL News: What made you want to raise awareness of occupational cancer?

James Cripps: When I was working as a career firefighter, another firefighter that came in as a high school student had gotten hired and been with our fire department for many years. After turning about 35, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and then died pretty quickly thereafter. The prevalence of cancer in firefighters is higher than your general population, but this is one of the first ones that really personally touched me and the department that I was working with at the time.

I talked to the chief at the time —��his name is Dave Goldsmith. He spurred me along to get this started because he thought my combination of being a firefighter and knowledge of cancer biology and how cancer works in the body would provide a good resource for firefighters.

UofL News: ��What should the general public know about occupational cancer?

Cripps: There are lots of different occupations that have higher risks of cancer than the general population, but I solely focus on firefighters. It is something that’s only recently been focused on in the past 10-plus years. Really, it comes about because of our increased use of petroleum-based materials — things that are derived from oil-based products of plastics and synthetics. Some of those are what they call “forever chemicals,” which are types of chemicals that get in your body and they’re there forever. These are the types of chemicals that penetrate the gear that firefighters wear, get inside their bodies, and really cause a lot of this havoc. It’s where we’re seeing increased rates of cancer, and firefighters dying earlier from very uncommon cancers.

UofL News: ��What topics do you cover in your trainings to firefighters?

Cripps: First of all, I explain to them what causes cancer, so they understand how these toxins cause cancer, and then we have mitigation strategies. So, we talk about different things, pretty much everything from what you would consider a decontamination procedure, which is something normally done when you’re exposed to hazardous materials. We also talk about limiting exposures by use of different types of new products or new types of gear that helps prevent a lot of these particles and toxins from getting to the firefighters themselves, and just some alterations of standard things that have always been done in the fire service.

Fire services is a lot like many professions, where we tend to do the same thing over and over, because that’s the way it’s always been done. Now, a lot of firefighters are seeing, a lot of younger firefighters are seeing that people are changing the way they’re doing things. Much of it is just changing behaviors.

UofL News:��What are some of the best ways to prevent occupational cancer?

Cripps: Awareness in general is probably the number one thing that helps. Being aware reinforces that they do the necessary mitigation strategies like decontamination after the fire where they try to remove as much contaminants from their skin as possible and wear the proper protective gear during the fire.

We also talk about making sure you’re having regular checkups with your doctor. I often suggest firefighters get a physical every six months. That way, if there’s any changes in bloodwork, it increases the chance of catching any type of potential issues that might be arising.

UofL News:��What does it mean to you to receive the Outstanding Community Engagement award?

Cripps: It’s a huge honor. The thing that really pushes me even more is that it gives me another opportunity to let people know of this problem because it’s not a widely known issue in the firefighter space, in general.

UofL student Nkechinyere Okorie, UofL Associate Professor of Social Work Jennifer Middleton and community engagement partner Redeemer Lutheran Church also received for their work throughout Louisville.

Any fire departments who are interested in a prevention training, can contact Cripps at james.cripps@louisville.edu or through the Colon Cancer Prevention Project

These are the ingredients that make up raiseRED, the University of Louisville’s largest student-run philanthropy that has raised over $4.7 million for pediatric cancer and blood disorders research and patient support since 2013.

“Fight Like a Kid” is the theme of this year’s raiseRED, which will be held Friday through Saturday, Feb. 23-24, at the Swain Student Activities Center Ballroom.

raiseRED is a dance marathon that benefits UofL’s Division of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology and the Norton Children’s Cancer Institute outpatient clinic. Participants raise a minimum of $200 per person to participate, with many raising even more.

“Every dollar fundraised for raiseRED goes directly to either research for pediatric oncology or to the patients themselves,” Emilia Perez, a UofL student who was diagnosed with lymphoma in high school, said. “Everything we raise is going to benefit someone personally.”

The event kicks off at 6 p.m., Friday, Feb. 23, and culminates with the big reveal of total dollars raised at the Community Celebration from 10:30 a.m.-noon, Saturday, Feb. 24.

In between, students will kick up their heels. To keep up their spirits – and help keep their eyes open – several mini-themed events are held during raiseRED. Among them are:

• Buzz for the Cure: A long-standing raiseRED tradition, students pledge to shave their head, or do a major chop, during the dance marathon if they reach their fundraising goal.
• Angel Hour: The people in participants’ lives who have been impacted by cancer and blood disorders are recognized and remembered.��
• Mail Call: Letters of support from participants’ loved ones are read to cheer them on.
• Silent Disco: The speaker system goes silent and participants wear headphones to hear and dance to music only they can hear.

It’s the cause of helping others battling cancer and giving second chances that is the core of the effort, said Sophie Doszak, a junior at UofL.

Doszak was swabbed by the during raiseRED in 2022 and received the call last year that she had matched with a leukemia patient.��

“I would not have donated without raiseRED,” Doszak said. “Seeing the impact that you can have on someone’s life made me wish I had gotten on the donor list a long time ago. Most of the time it takes years to finally match with someone, and I was lucky enough to match with someone and give my gift of life to someone who needed another chance at life.”

The event will be beginning at 6 p.m. Friday. For information and to donate,