- Mailing Address
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1450 Jayhawk Blvd
Lawrence, Kansas 66045 - Phone
- (785) 864-2700
- Email address
- adm@ku.edu
- Website
- https://ku.edu/
- School Information
- "In 1866, the University of Kansas welcomed the first class of 55 students to an unfinished building on a treeless ridge called Mount Oread. "Today, our enrollment sits at 28,500. From that single building, we have grown to five campuses — the Lawrence campus, the Edwards Campus in Overland Park, and medical branches in Kansas City, Wichita, and Salina. The once barren landscape has grown into a wooded campus considered one of the most beautiful in the nation. "We embrace our role as the state’s flagship university and a premier research institution, serving the state, nation, and world. We celebrate the energy and compassion that infuse the Jayhawk spirit. And we remain true to our historic values: the elevating force of education, the transformative power of research, and the healing power of service." The university offers over 200 fields of study and has a 16:1 student-faculty ratio. (Source: https://ku.edu/about-ku) (Source: https://accelerator.ku.edu/11-facts-you-didnt-know-about-ku/) (Source: https://accelerator.ku.edu/why-ku/)
- General Information
- Since the summer of 2020, the university has formed an advisory council for equity and inclusion, charged campus leaders to participate in intergroup dialogue training, made a commitment to improve equity, diversity, and inclusion, and provided resources on anti-racism to its students. No mandatory Critical Race Training sessions are yet required of students. However, see developments below:
Actions Taken
- Admissions Policies
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A group of researchers released its anti-racism plan: "Encouraging individuals, communities and institutions to acknowledge racism and intersectionality;Being transparent and accountable; Removing barriers to opportunities; Embracing and accommodating all members; Addressing racist and discriminatory history; Tackling colonial and parachute science (research typically conducted in low-income countries by international scientists and published without including local researchers)."
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- Anti-Racism, Bias, and Diversity Training
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The university will "charge leaders across campus to participate in training that will allow us to begin the work of facilitating intergroup dialogues that bring together representatives of agent groups and target groups to open up difficult conversations."
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KU provides diversity and "safe zone" training through the Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging. Additionally, it offers the "Unpacking Whiteness in the Workplace" training series.
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The University of Kansas Medical Center is providing "Unconscious Bias Training" in summer 2022.
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- Program and Research Funding
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KU has started a series of 10 new racial equity projects through the Racial Equity Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Fund as of November 2021.
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- Resources
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The university provided a resource site titled, "Strategies and Activities for Reducing Racial Prejudice and Racism," which encouraged students to "organize vigils, anti-racism demonstrations, protests, or rallies" and to "work to include anti-racism education in your school's curriculum."
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The university library has created a site called, "Social Justice Resources: Training & Teaching Resources," which includes "Black Lives Matter Teaching Resources" and the "Catalyst Project: Anti-Racism for Collective Liberation"
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The library provides "Anti-Racist Books and Films." These include "White Rage: The Unspoken Truth of Our Racial Divide" and "So You Want to Talk About Race," among many others.
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- Symbolic Actions
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The university formed a "university-level advisory council for equity and inclusion" which will commit to "regular and continued outreach."
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The university will ensure that "improving equity, diversity and inclusion is explicitly stated as a goal for each team in our COVID-19 Design Challenge and in the longer term, in all of our Jayhawks Rising strategic doing activities."
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In February 2022, KU hosted "The Ethics of Antiracism" speaker event with Dr. Eddie Glaude. At the talk, he discussed "deconstructing the idea of whiteness" and the "moral reckoning" needed to combat racism.
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The Racial Equity Research, Scholarship & Creative Activity Fund will also be providing equity workshops.
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The History Department at KU announced its commitment to Black Lives Matter.
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In November 2021, KU Law Faculty and Staff Committee on Diversity & Inclusion, presented a two-part series called, “Critical Race Theory at KU and Beyond.”
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