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The College of Arts & Sciences Commitment to Equity and Anti-Racism

The College of Arts and Sciences is committed to learning and working environments that are diverse, inclusive, and equitable for students, staff, and faculty.

We stand in solidarity with those working to confront systemic racial injustice in our communities and in the United States. We recognize the disproportionate burden of racism and other forms of violence on many within our A&S community during this time. We affirm our support of faculty, students, staff, and alumni in standing against all forms of racism, discrimination, and bias.

During this time of pandemic and continued racism and violence that especially impact marginalized communities of color, we recognize the disproportionate impact on Black and African-American people. In the context of the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, George Floyd, and here in Kentucky, Breonna Taylor and David McAtee, we affirm that Black lives matter.

As a College, we are committed to educating students and the broader community to participate in civic discourse. Understanding how policing and the criminal justice system have historically, and disproportionately affected people of color provides a way of engaging with ongoing racial disparities in our society. In this context, the militarization of police practices over the past two decades has exacerbated historical injustice. Understanding the history and manifestations of anti-Black and other forms of racism and violence in our communities, higher education, the United States, and world can help destabilize longstanding forms of structural violence.

We continue to take steps through policies, programming, courses, and resources to address systemic inequities yet know there is still much more work to be done, and we welcome input from our A&S community. We encourage you to share your concerns and ideas with us directly at kornbluh@uky.edu and cristina.alcalde@uky.edu.

You can learn more about current University inclusive excellence efforts here, about College diversity and inclusion initiatives here, and about resources for anti-racism and anti-xenophobia here. The African-American and Africana Studies Program and the Center for Equality and Social Justice are also important resources.

Mark Kornbluh
Dean

Cristina Alcalde
Associate Dean for Internationalization and Inclusion