University of Kentucky funds institute for Black studies, pledges $10M to research
University of Kentucky President Eli Capilouto announced Wednesday the funding of an institute devoted to researching race and racism, while simultaneously committing the university to a multimillion-dollar investment in research on racial disparity and inequity.
The university is committing $10 million over five years to research into racial disparities in a wide range of fields, from history to health, according to the announcement Wednesday. The UNITed In racial Equity Research Initiative — also called UNITE — will focus first on research into social and racial injustice; health disparities that may be caused by race; and the “promotion of health equity across races, ethnicities and genders,” the university said.
Additionally, Capilouto, with the university’s African American and Africana Studies Program, announced that the university will put $250,000 into the Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies. Support for the institute was among 10 demands that AAAS faculty sent to Capilouto in late June. The letter also demanded the hiring of a more diverse staff, changing Rupp Arena’s name, altering campus policing and imposing repercussions for racist aggression and discrimination.
Capilouto foreshadowed the announcement in an email on Tuesday, and the funding comes a day after a student-led group devoted to combating on-campus racial inequity called the university hostile in its meetings and online exchanges.
“The new Commonwealth Institute for Black Studies at the University of Kentucky is an epicenter for cutting-edge research on people of African descent worldwide,” said Anastasia Curwood, a history professor and director of the African American and Africana Studies program.
The university’s initial $250,000 investment into the institute will help support the annual Black Women’s Conference, Black studies work in Appalachia, research grants, an internship program and a project — called “1619, Slavery and UK.” It will examine the university’s early history, its connections to slavery and the campus’ location on land previously owned by Indigenous people.
Curwood called the initial investment a “step in the right direction. We’re really happy about it.” The AAAS faculty learned of the investment Wednesday morning. Curwood said the initial funding will allow them to lay the groundwork for obtaining future funding.
“We have been working really hard building capacity and a crack team of Black studies researchers at Kentucky,” Curwood said. “To have our efforts be recognized and amplified and supported in this way is extremely helpful.”
Curwood and the rest of the AAAS faculty have given support to the Movement for Black Lives University of Kentucky — a vocal student group that has been meeting with and criticizing the university administration as it lobbies for on-campus police reform.
“We continue to support the students on the Movement for Black Lives UK and the issues they have raised, especially surrounding policing,” Curwood said. “A lot of work remains.”
According to the AAAS faculty’s prior demands, 15 percent of UK faculty should be Black, matching Lexington’s population. Currently, only 3.7 percent are Black, according to the faculty. Additionally, the faculty only count two Black department chairs and only 4.5 percent of administrative, executive and managerial leaders are Black.
In a campuswide email Tuesday, Capilouto wrote that workgroups charged with evaluating and carrying out the university’s goals toward greater equity and inclusion had been established. Curwood was listed as a member of the leadership team and intends “to be a voice of accountability on that leadership team.”
The multimillion-dollar UNITE initiative is comprised of $1 million annually from university funds for five years, and five participating colleges will also each commit $1 million annually during the same period.
According to the press release, Capilouto asked UK Vice President for Research Lisa Cassis to make the UNITE research initiative into a Research Priority Area for the university.
Research Priority Areas are designated topics that focus research on areas that could benefit the state and more. The university has six other priority areas, which include cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity, energy, neuroscience and substance use disorders.
“We are a research institution. A critical part of our mission is finding solutions to the issues that challenge our state and our world,” Capilouto said in the release. “Systemic racism over generations has inarguably impacted health and life expectancy, economic and financial standing, the educational attainment and success of Black people and persons of color over centuries. What we bring to the table is a world-class research institution with scholars and scientists who can work between and among disciplines to find answers to the most intractable of problems and what is fundamentally the issue that has simultaneously shaped and scarred a nation.”
This story was originally published August 5, 2020 at 4:41 PM.