Writer

Kenneth Best

Ken Best served as editor of UCONN Magazine for 10 years. He is a co-host of the UConn 360 Podcast. He previously covered news and sports in Connecticut for The New York Times, edited the Weekend section for the Stamford Advocate and Greenwich Time, wrote arts and culture stories syndicated by the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post News Service and was the media coordinator for Yale-New Haven Hospital. During the summer of 2015 he hosted “Walking a Blues Road,” a weekly program on WHUS in Storrs based on the holdings of the Samuel and Ann Charters Archives of Blues and Vernacular African-American Musical Culture at UConn’s Thomas J. Dodd Research Center. He is the author of Eight Days a Week: An Illustrated Record of Rock ‘n’ Roll (Pomegranate Books).


Author Archive

A view of Thoreau’s Cove from the western side at Stop 10. Two people on the beach provide scale. (Robert Thorson/UConn Photo)

Thorson’s Guide to Walden Pond

When UConn geologist Robert Thorson discovered there was no guidebook to one of America's most iconic places, he set out to write one himself.

Angelina Gadeliya, assistant professor-in-residence and director of keyboard studies, tests grand pianos at the Steinway & Sons factory in Queens, New York, last October. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Let Them Play Steinways!

UConn students will not just be playing pianos, they will be playing Steinways! That’s thanks to generous donors who are purchasing Steinways with the goal of UConn joining the elite ranks of all-Steinway institutions.

The Concert Choir sings at the Sistine Chapel in Rome. Together with the Womens Choir and Collegium Musicum, the group spent nine days over Spring Break participating in the American Celebration of Music in Austria and Italy.

UConn Voices Serenade Michelangelo’s Most Famous Painting

The Concert Choir and other UConn music groups spent nine days over Spring Break performing in the American Celebration of Music in Austria and Italy.

(Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

A Steinway School

Tour the famed Steinway & Sons piano factory to learn how UConn is becoming a "Steinway school," and what that means for the School of Fine Arts.

Today, students all over the country took part in 17-minute protests, one minute for each person who died in the high school massacre in Parkland, Florida. In this photo, students protest in front of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-KY) office to urge Congress into changing gun laws on March 7 in Washington, D.C. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Parkland School Shooting: Keeping Memory Alive

'These days, people often think not just of permanent memorials on the ground, but of living memorials, efforts that will serve as education, that will motivate change,' says Ken Foote, a geography professor who studies the aftereffects of tragedy.

Cathy Schlund-Vials, Professor of English and Asian American Studies, at her office. (Peter Morenus/UConn Photo)

Coveted Class: Asian American Literature

'I try to make the experience of Asian American people relevant to non-Asian Americans,' says English professor and Asian American studies director Cathy Schlund-Vials.

Cover of 'Where the Wild Things Are,' ©1963 by Maurice Sendak, copyright renewed 1991 by Maurice Sendak. Used with permission from HarperCollins Children’s Books.

UConn Archives to House Maurice Sendak Artwork

The finished artwork for his published books and other materials created by leading children's book artist the late Maurice Sendak will be hosted and maintained at the University.

Sixth-graders work on writing projects with teacher Kim Albro at Dr. Joseph S. Renzulli Gifted and Talented Academy in Hartford on Dec. 14, 2011. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)

Students in Poverty Less Likely to be Identified as Gifted

The fact that high-potential students in poverty are less likely to be recognized and served in programs for the gifted may increase, rather than decrease, social inequities, according to a new UConn study.

Lewis Gordon, professor of philosophy, lectures at Storrs Hall. (Peter Morenus/UConn File Photo)

Bringing Black Issues in Philosophy to the Blogosphere

UConn philosophy professor and editor Lewis Gordon says the new blog aims to provide a forum for examining questions and issues that the global community of black philosophers cares about.

Students are overwhelmed with snow as they exit the Field House. (UConn File Photo)

The Impact of Winter Storm Names

If the storm is large enough and enough people are within the storm warning range, it gets a name. But a UConn researcher found the name does not add credibility.