SEE BLACK UK
Handbook for the African- American Experience: The original list of commitments sought from the university administration
I. The Establishment of The Black Student Advisory Council
The Black Student Advisory Council is charged with the responsibilities of representing African American undergraduate and graduate students at the University of Kentucky concerning strategic planning, the hiring of faculty and staff, as well as ongoing representation of African American students among administration at the university[1]. This council will be comprised of undergraduate and graduate students who identify as African American. The Black Student Advisory Council will attend all strategic planning meetings held by the university regarding undergraduate student success, graduate education, diversity and inclusivity, research and scholarship, and outreach and community engagement. The Black Student Advisory Council will work with the university to craft strategic outlooks, such as the “University of Kentucky 2015-2020 Strategic Plan.” This includes current discussions regarding strategic outlooks. The[2] Black Student Advisory Council will have the hiring of each faculty or staff member at the University of Kentucky made known to them. The Black Student Advisory Council will have representation on search and hiring committees for the President, Provost, Executive Vice Presidents, General Counsel, Directorships, Vice Presidents, Vice Provosts, and Associate Provosts. The recommendation of the African American Student Advisory Council will be assigned a weight when hiring each of the specifically aforementioned positions. At each interview for faculty, staff, or the specifically aforementioned positions the question must be asked: How have you contributed to diversity and inclusion at the University of Kentucky or your previous institution? The Black Student Advisory Council will have monthly, two-hour meetings with the President and[3] Provost at which the campus climate and other issues concerning diversity and inclusion will be discussed.
II. The Invigoration of Belonging and Engagement
The University of Kentucky must be more accountable for acts on campus which target underrepresented student groups. It is asked that when non-university formed groups visit campus to display their beliefs, thus negatively impacting student belonging and engagement, the university calls upon an administrator to host a booth within a designated area that clearly shows the university’s support for its students. The university is not asked to take a moral, legal, or academic stance in any of these occurrences, but to show support for the targeted students.
III. The Establishment of Financial Stability for African American Students
African American students feel under-supported by the University of Kentucky regarding financial resources and aid. The re-visiting of Inclusive Excellence Grants and the William C Parker Scholarship are specific areas of interest for African American students. Inclusive Excellence Grants currently discourage registered student organizations and instill an environment of restraint among them. It is asked that the monies used to fund the Inclusive Excellence Grant are more accessible to registered student organizations and that they are used for a wider and sensible range of needs. In terms of individual students, the William C Parker Scholarship is currently seen as opaque and unfairly distributed. It is asked that the responsibilities of the student associated with the William C Parker Scholarship be revisited by the appropriate administration and the African American Student Advisory Council; and, the demographics served by the William C Parker scholarship be reconsidered. It is asked that a succeeding meeting is held concerning this specific subtopic with the appropriate administrators.
IV. Increased Transparency Concerning Collected Data and University Conduct
It is asked that the following be made public knowledge: the most recently conducted Campus Climate Survey, current recruitment efforts and statistics, University of Kentucky Police Department diversity and/or sensitivity training and frequency of trainings, available data concerning diversity and inclusion with increased segmentation by minority groups, and university contractors for diversity trainings. Specific to Diversity Officers within each college, a formal training concerning diversity and inclusion should be established and approved by the university and the Black Student Advisory Council. The obligations of a Diversity Officer should also be made apparent to each student upon their entering into that college. It is asked that the university become more accountable for Diversity Officers via a progress report from each individual officer to the Office of Institutional Diversity. Additionally, it is asked that students are presented with a visual model of the spending of each student dollar, a report of how fundraised monies are spent, a report of how monies designated for scholarships are divided by racial and ethnic groups, and a report of how monies designated to student organizations, both fee-receiving and non-fee-receiving, are divided.