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Over 11,800 students have gained free online access to essential course materials and saved more than $1.48 million in textbook spending from 2017 through 2021, thanks to the University of Kentucky Libraries’ Alternative Textbook Grant Program.

Katrice A. Albert, Ph.D., will begin her duties as vice president for institutional diversity on Sept. 27, 2021. UK Chief Communications Officer Jay Blanton talks with Albert about what she’s looking forward to in joining UK, particularly at this moment, as the institution is engaged in a broad-based and expansive effort around diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

The NKAA Database was introduced in 2003 by University of Kentucky librarians Reinette Jones and Rob Aken. The project’s web pages, which focus on African Americans in and from Kentucky from the 1700s to the present, were developed to bring together names, places, events and sources where additional information could be found.

The Black History Month theme for 2021 is, “The Black Family: Representation, Identity, and Diversity.” Throughout the centuries, the Black family’s representation and identity have been revered and stereotyped. It knows no single location, and genetic-ancestry searches and family reunions show the spread of Black families across states, nations and continents.

“Our goal this year was to truly encompass a collaborative effort for planning Black History Month and to bring in diverse perspectives to highlight the many facets of Blackness and the Black Diaspora,” said Ja’Mahl McDaniel, director of the MLK Center. “I am extremely proud of the work and commitment our Black History Month planning team has demonstrated."

Two programs fostered by the University of Kentucky Office for Technology Commercialization (OTC) have been awarded by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the National Science and Technology Council for creating “a more inclusive research and development innovation ecosystem for the future.”

SPARK, which was launched last year by UK’s Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) and Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences (CCTS), is a year-long community-engaged program for undergraduates focused on research related to health equity.

“By seeking books that explore the intersections of sports and racial and ethnic histories through the racial dynamics of gender, culture, masculinity, sexuality, and power through biography, community, film, literature, and oral history, the series opens a new analysis of American sport and culture,” said Ashley Runyon, University Press of Kentucky director.

Five recently hired faculty members associated with the Department of African and Africana Studies in the College of Arts & Sciences are broadening the range of diverse and inclusive course offerings to University of Kentucky students. 

Chenghui Zhang is studying the factors that go into how people interpret hate crime. She received a $50,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice for her study, “Social Construction of Hate Crime in the U.S.: A Factorial Survey Experiment.”