Photos by Mark Cornelison | UKphoto
LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 23, 2026) — Three University of Kentucky College of Social Work faculty members have been selected for the 2026-27 cohort of Transdisciplinary Educational approaches to advance Kentucky (TEK) Faculty Fellows, joining faculty from across the university working to strengthen the connection between classroom learning, collaboration and career-ready skills.
Aubrey Jones, Ph.D., associate professor of social work; Carlyn Kimiecik, Ph.D., assistant professor of social work; and Nicole McKenna, Ph.D., assistant professor of criminal justice, are among 22 faculty members selected for the fourth cohort of the program.
TEK supports faculty in developing new transdisciplinary courses or reimagining existing undergraduate courses to more intentionally incorporate essential skills students can carry into their careers. Fellows participate in faculty learning communities and work with colleagues across disciplines to strengthen learning experiences centered on identifying multiple perspectives, reflection, communication and collaboration.
“Our society is facing complex and urgent challenges that rarely exist within the boundaries of a single discipline,” said Heather L. McCauley, Sc.D., M.S., associate dean for research at the UK College of Social Work. “Aubrey, Carlyn and Nicole each bring a strong interdisciplinary perspective to their research and teaching, and this fellowship creates another opportunity to translate that expertise into meaningful learning experiences that prepare students to collaborate, think critically and address real-world challenges.”
The three CoSW fellows bring research and teaching expertise across health, rural communities, sport, youth development and the criminal justice system — areas that routinely require professionals to understand different perspectives and work across systems and disciplines.
Jones’ scholarship focuses on improving health and well-being for women, families and rural communities, with research spanning maternal and postpartum health, behavioral health systems, substance use and access to care. Her work emphasizes community-engaged approaches and the development of solutions informed by the experiences of the people and communities they are intended to serve.
Jones was recently promoted to associate professor with tenure and was selected for a Health Disparities Research Loan Repayment Program award from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, part of the National Institutes of Health. The national recognition supports her continued research into health disparities and barriers affecting women, families and rural communities.
Kimiecik’s interdisciplinary work connects social work, public health, sport and positive youth development. A researcher with the College’s Sport Social Work Research Lab, she examines how sport and play can promote youth and student-athlete well-being, leadership development, civic engagement and stronger community connections. Her work frequently brings together schools, community organizations, athletic programs and young people themselves to develop practical, strengths-based approaches to complex challenges.
Earlier this year, Kimiecik received a 2026 Rapid Response Grant from UK Innovate’s Sustainable Futures Design Lab to study how natural disasters affect youth sport and community life in rural Kentucky. The community-engaged project is developing a resilience model alongside Central Appalachian communities to explore how sport and community networks can support young people before, during and after disasters.
McKenna brings a critical criminology perspective grounded in trauma-informed practice, participatory research and lived experience. Her scholarship examines trauma and trauma-informed care in the juvenile legal system, criminal and youth justice responses to deviance and the role of activism in scholarship and teaching, with particular attention to issues affecting girls and women.
McKenna’s community-engaged scholarship was recognized in 2024 with the Community-Engaged Scholar Award from the American Society of Criminology’s Division of Feminist Criminology. At UK, she teaches courses focused on the criminal justice system, corrections and juvenile justice while actively mentoring undergraduate and graduate researchers.
McKenna also co-led and facilitated the College’s Re-Entry Experiences Photovoice project, which used photography and storytelling to center the perspectives of people who have experienced incarceration and re-entry. As part of the research, participants responded to questions about re-entry through photographs, helping researchers better understand the supports, challenges and trauma associated with returning to their communities after incarceration. The project culminated in an April 2026 exhibit and panel at UK’s Lewis Honors College, giving participants an opportunity to share their experiences directly with students and the broader community.
Together, Jones, Kimiecik and McKenna represent the breadth of scholarship within the College of Social Work and the value of bringing social work and criminal justice perspectives into conversations that extend across traditional academic boundaries.
Through the TEK Faculty Fellows program, faculty will work within learning communities throughout the 2026-27 academic year as they develop or adapt courses that help students connect academic knowledge with the communication, collaboration and problem-solving skills required to address complex issues in Kentucky and beyond.
The TEK Faculty Fellows program is offered in collaboration with UK’s Center for the Enhancement of Learning and Teaching as part of a university-wide effort to expand transdisciplinary educational opportunities and advance the essential skills graduates need to thrive in their careers and communities.