Local groups not told before UK flagged them in civil rights investigation
Local organizations said they were not informed their relationship with the University of Kentucky was up for further review before a list of 1,200 groups was released earlier this week.
On Tuesday, UK said it was reviewing those partnerships and memberships as part of a federal investigation from the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights. Earlier this year, the department said the university violated the federal Civil Rights Act for participating in the PhD Project’s annual conference, designed for students of color completing their doctoral degrees.
As part of the investigation, UK had to turn over a list of any organization that the university had a partnership with or affiliation with that “may restrict participation based on race.” Of those, 400 groups were marked as a continuing relationship, mainly organizations that were required for accreditation, certification or licensure, while 1,200 were “flagged for cancellation/deeper review.”
More than 80 of those organizations have a direct link to Lexington or Kentucky, according to the list. It includes groups and businesses like the Kentucky 4-H Foundation, Kentucky Historical Society, Kentucky State Parks, Kentucky Educational Television — KET — and the University of Louisville.
It also includes professional organizations, like the Kentucky Nurses Association, the Kentucky Pork Producers Association and the Kentucky Society for Clinical Social Work. Other organizations include the Kentucky Christmas Tree Association, the Kentucky Maple Syrup Association and the Kentucky Association of Equine Practitioners.
Partnerships have not been officially terminated, and those listed as flagged for further review are not final decisions, according to a Q&A page on the university’s website. Additionally, there is a pause on new memberships and partnerships that would be paid for with institutional funding, except for those required for accreditation, licensure or certification. That pause will remain in place until the Office for Civil Rights completes its review of UK’s submission.
Local organizations said UK did not tell them about changes
Ashley Smith, executive director of Black Soil KY, said she received no official communication from UK prior to the list being released. Black Soil KY is a nonprofit agribusiness that invests in Black farmers, food businesses and more through grants and partnerships.
“We have not been contacted by the University of Kentucky,” Smith said. “We do have several emails to the university, emphasizing direct clarity, requesting they go on the record with us to confirm why they’ve pulled support. We’ve asked them in so many ways.”
Smith said her organization has worked with UK since 2017 in multiple ways, including trainings for employees and students, connecting the university to Black farmers and chefs, and offering mentorships and internships for students. They’ve also participated in events, distributing free produce to attendees.
“We’ve asked for a conversation, we’ve asked for an email, anything to help bring closure so we can clearly and thoroughly move on, and it just has not been provided,” Smith said.
Smith said if they were no longer to partner with UK, she has concerns about the impact on the university and its relationship with the community.
“At the end of the day, us not partnering with UK is a bigger loss for them than our organization,” she said. “They’ve benefitted greatly from access and exposure to our events, our ability to connect them with the farmers, chefs and makers that we’ve connected … which allows them to expand their worldview and build the confidence to not be afraid to work with farmers who don’t look like them.
“It’s such a shame that many of the students will also be continuing to go without real world experience in working with a grassroots agribusiness,” she said.
Also included for further review was Kentucky Youth Advocates. Executive Director Terry Brooks told the Herald-Leader the group has a small grant of $5,000 for research around adverse childhood experiences with UK, but had not been informed they’d been flagged for review.
Another organization flagged for review is the Carnegie Center for Literacy & Learning. UK had already cut its support for the Say It Loud program, a collaboration with WUKY to broadcast writers from the Kentucky Black Writers Collaborative.
“It was established to help WUKY with their need for diverse programming and reach a broader audience and help raise awareness of Black writers,” said Jennifer Mattox, executive director of the Carnegie Center.
But they did not know the Carnegie Center itself had been flagged. Mattox said UK’s Community Engagement Office has supported the Kentucky Writers Hall of Fame program and the Books in Progress Conference for many years.
“We were deeply disappointed we were not able to continue the program with WUKY because it had always been well attended, and the broadcast brought a lot of attention to Kentucky writers,” Mattox said. “I’m now concerned they’ll cut funding for other programs.”
UK spokesperson Jay Blanton said the university is waiting on further guidance from the Office of Civil Rights and continuing to review the list of partner organizations.
“Because we must wait for the OCR’s review, we cannot guarantee a timeline,” Blanton said. “In the interim, we are working with colleges and units to identify mission-critical memberships or partnerships, which includes various community partners. Organizations were not informed about the investigation, but we’ve sought to be very transparent about what we are doing, why we are doing it and the process going forward. We’ve also been very clear that the list is based on our initial review. We are diving more deeply now, and working with colleges and units, to make final determinations about the list, while the OCR conducts its review.”
Herald-Leader reporter Linda Blackford contributed to this story.