Meeting Time: 3 PM
Meeting Location: BSU Office, A255F Gatton Student Center
Meeting Attendees: Tsage Douglas, Brandon Colbert, Aaron Porter, Raven Reeves, Chandler Frierson, Joi Craig, Carol Taylor-Shim, Bill Swinford, Eli Capilouto
Initial comments from the administration will be in the standard text size and font. Responses, questions, and concerns raised by the BSAC will be in underlined, as shown here.
Meeting Update:
The BSAC went into this meeting with the expectation that it would be led by Dr. Swinford. In the previous meeting (April 2nd) we identified this meeting (April 5th) as a time for administration to present the members of their task forces to us, any further information they could quickly gather about our demands, and a time for Dr. Capilouto to become more acquainted with the BSAC members. We addressed the demands in the order identified in the previous meeting, by the amount of time it will take to accomplish each task.
On Financial Stability:
The task force or workgroup will consist of Kirsten Turner, the Associate Provost for Academic Affairs and Angie Martin, the Vice President for Financial Planning and Chief Budget Officer. They will produce a report on the William C Parker Diversity Scholarship by May 1st, detailing the evolution of the scholarship, the breakdown of who is awarded the scholarship, and further information.
Our first meeting with these two women will be next Friday, April 12th.
On the Mural:
The task force or workgroup will consist of Stuart Horodner, Director of UK Art Museum and Terry Allen, Assistant Vice President for Institutional Equity. Mr. Horodner, we are told, is currently working on thinking of ways to creatively use the space outside of holding classes. The administration is working to eliminate any mandatory classes there, such as classes that are required in a major, by the Fall of 2019.
The BSAC made it clear that administrative officials will not have the deciding vote on the mural again. We would like to see all classes moved from Memorial Hall, not just those deemed to be mandatory.The BSAC has ideas on how to proceed with the mural. (If you, the reader, have any suggestions on alternative solutions to the mural please submit them through our contact sheet). Memorial Hall serves a purpose for Black students as a place where we hold probates, stage-needing events, and more. There is no equitable space on campus to that of Memorial Hall, which is regrettable.
On Diversity and Inclusion Officers:
The task force or workgroup currently consists of college Deans, the Office of the Provost, the Vice President of the Office for Institutional Diversity, and the Human Resources Department. The administration is currently working on assessing all job descriptions for DIOs for uniformity. They are also looking into appropriate marketing for DIOs so that students know who their officers are. They have heard our complaints about confidentiality, the worry of retaliation, and inconsistency when concerning DIOs reporting to the Deans of colleges. Trainings for DIOs is also being considered after the job description is formalized, so that they can ensure fit.
We should consider both the job descriptions of DIOs and the actual jobs they hold, being both DIOs and faculty/ staff. They have entirely too much on their plate and may need to be transitioned into full time roles.We must give DIOs the time and resources needed to effectively complete their jobs. A specific question we have is: Who picked these DIOs and what are their qualifications? The administration will have an answer in the following week. We find that DIOs can be feasible at an entry level position. We recommend that DIOs report to the Office of Institutional Diversity as opposed to their current reporting to the Dean of the colleges and the Dean reporting to the Provost. We request that a report be put together on all trainings offered to DIOs over the past year or so and how many DIOs have attended. We formally recommend that the University of Kentucky use the National Coalition Building Institute's prejudice reduction training model to train the entire administration, DIOs, and other campus community members.
On Search Committees:
There is no task force for search committees, the Black Student Advisory Council will simply be meeting with the co-chairs of ongoing councils to begin understanding the process. The search for the Dean of Libraries is expected to be ending soon. The search for the Dean of the College of Education is expected to take the next step of hosting the candidate on campus from mid-late April. The search for the Dean of the College of Communication and Information is expected to take the next step of hosting the candidate on campus in earl-mid April. We are not revealing these dates until the university has done so. The names of candidates for such positions are not released until 24-48 hours before their campus visit out of respect for their former positions and institutions. The Colleges of Law and Social Work may also launch search committees this Summer. The Provost continues to plan search committees.
We want to begin meeting with the co-chairs and sitting on search committees immediately, specifically for the Gatton Student Center and the Diversity Recruiter. We asked for the contact information of the co-chairs and the meetings times to be sent to us at the earliest convenience.We do not believe that the Provost is capable of effectively putting together search committees for high level positions, and ask that the university consider further checks on his team building.
On Cook Ross:
The administration fulfilled their 36 hour promise.
We have presented the administration with literature from the University of Missouri's student protests in 2015 in which their methodology and outcomes are presented. We also presented the administration with a faculty and staff powerpoint detailing their key takeaways from the 2017 National Conference on Race and Ethnicity in Higher Education conference (NCORE). All participants of this meeting are expected to have read the presented literature and Cook Ross survey and be prepared to discuss these results at the following meeting. Furthermore, the Black Student Advisory Council will be presenting a cross analysis of these results to better understand where the University of Kentucky may be headed.
Other Meeting Notes:
The administration would like for us to take on Campus Safety as well. Police Chief Monroe and Jay Blanton, UK Spokesperson would like to discuss the flow of information when concerning campus safety and general announcements.
The President took time to learn more about individual members of the BSAC, such as personal history and motivation. The President spoke with students over a growing divide in the country and his striving for unity among students, mirroring the macrocosm of our country. The President has one personal research into the history of the mural as it related to Kentucky, and found that there were 300 to 400 lynchings in the state between the end of the Civil War and the painting of the mural.
Our Next Meeting:
Friday, April 12th 1-2 PM
Location: Black Student Union Office, GSC A255F
Discussion topic(s): William C Parker, Lyman T Johnson, and other financial outlets for students; Cook Ross analysis; search committee meetings are expected to be scheduled
Student Concerns in the Debrief
- Why is Asia Payne not invited to meetings about WCP?
A: Angie Martin supersedes her, but we think that having her there for the purpose of accountability would be fitting.
- Can we just move events needing a stage to Singletary?
A: Singletary is not a university-owned space, though it is on campus.
- What are the evaluation processes for DIOs and what are the consequences if they fail at their job?
A: We can ask this at the next meeting. We know that they may recieve a reduction in their raises, or miss a part of te raises.
-Please address campus tours through the visitor's center. Tours should be required to talk about the MLK Center, especially Black athletes. Also evaluate Come See Blue, as many students feel that it is a facade.
A: We will bring this point up at the next meeting. We all agree that campus tours are inadequate and misleading.
- Talk about turning Memorial Hall into a cultural center when the Mural is taken down.
- Let Capilouto know that this is happening throughout the country, not just here on campus. What will your legacy be?