Student Gathering Space

As a result of their meetings, the committee has identified a primary goal of this initiative: create a large, accessible space where domestic and international students can seek solace and find intentional support for their holistic wellbeing. The design of the space should be intentional to help students feel comfortable and provide visual representations of cultural backgrounds through art, colors and physical attributes of the space. Additionally, it is intended to encourage all students to learn more about different cultures and about their peers around them.

The committee created a benchmark process to assess spaces at other institutions. During Spring 2021, the lead will join others from UK to visit some of those institutions and learn more about how to create an engaging, welcoming and supportive space.

The committee also partnered with Project 12: DEI Campus Plan to solicit feedback through a joint survey. The survey asked participants to identify areas for improvement related to diversity, accessibility and inclusion. 

Committee Members

• Ely Medina (Assistant Director, Service and Community Engagement) 
• Adrian Dozal (Undergraduate Student)
• Nigel Taylor (College of Communication and Information)
• Stephanie Nance (Disability Accommodations Consultant)
• Alexis Meza (Enrollment Management)
• Kayla Gill (Program Advisor, Student Transitions and Family Programs)
• Dr. Kayla Johnson (Professor, College of Education)
• Andrew Fast  (Academic Advisor, College of Arts and Sciences)

This past semester, Project 10 continued to meet and deliberate on the process of creating a new multicultural center or multiple spaces on campus. Our goal this semester was to expand our committee, compare offices at benchmark institutions, and create opportunities to seek feedback from our campus community to better inform our recommendations to the university. Our first spring meeting began on January 12, 2021, and our final meeting for the semester occurred on May 24, 2021.

Benchmark Visits

This semester, we were able to coordinate a small team in April including DEI Project 10 committee members and additional university staff to visit two institutions to explore existing multicultural and identity specific spaces on their campus. Our goal was to look at the physical operations of the spaces, gain understanding for how students utilize the spaces, staffing, and seek insight on considerations for our process.

DEI Campus Survey with Project 12: DEI Campus Plan and Sasaki Design Firm

In alignment with our goal of seeking feedback from UK students, staff, and faculty about our project, we developed a series of questions related to how individuals feel an expansive multicultural center and/or spaces would impact their sense of belonging and improve inclusion on campus. We also wanted to understand how UK community members see themselves utilizing the new facility and what elements would be most ideal to consider. Throughout our process of crafting questions, we were able to work closely with representatives from UK Institutional Research to ensure our questions would allow us to receive clear qualitative and quantitative responses. In addition, we combined elements of our survey with the work of Project 12 who were coordinating the DEI Framework Plan through identity-based listening sessions and a final campus-wide survey facilitated by Sasaki Design firm. Project 10 was impacted most by the responses in part two of the survey.

Survey Highlights

• 568 participants completed the online survey (UK students, staff, and faculty)
• 58% of survey respondents noted “Yes” to the question “Would a new multicultural space (or spaces) at the University of Kentucky make the campus community feel more inclusive to you?”
• Academic Core (Gatton Student Center, Memorial Hall, Chemistry-Physics Building) and Central Campus (The 90, Young Library, Woodland Glen, University Flats) both equally had the highest responses for location with 53.7% (139 respondents)

Spaces dedicated to diversity and inclusion on our campus: Our Board of Trustees has authorized the university to move forward with millions of dollars in modernization projects in the core of our campus.

One of the projects that passed is a renewal and revitalization of Memorial Hall. Following the removal and relocation of a controversial mural, it will be transformed as a space, particularly for our students, to celebrate diversity and inclusion on our campus.

For many, Memorial Hall is an iconic building in the heart of our campus. For many others, it is a space where a mural, in place since the 1930s, depicts in a distorted fashion the way enslaved people and other marginalized peoples were treated in Kentucky.

Beginning more than a year ago, a group from our community visited other campuses to examine what other institutions do more closely in terms of dedicated spaces for diversity. As we move forward with this important project, we will be pulling together a broad-based group to discuss the design elements and other facets of the building.