Campus News

'Behind the Blue' – Jason Brooks’ Vision for Equity, Inclusion at the University of Kentucky

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Dec. 30, 2020) — In only his third year at the University of Kentucky, Jason Brooks already is making a significant imprint by positively impacting the lives of students, faculty and staff across campus.

The Kansas native joined UK in 2018 as director of the Martin Luther King Center and promptly expanded programming, educational opportunities and outreach raising the profile of the center to many citizens in the greater Lexington area. In 2020, he was named to a new position, executive director of institutional engagement for UK.

In this edition of the ‘Behind the Blue’ podcast, Brooks talks with UK's Carl Nathe about the work he and his office are doing in the areas of diversity, equity, inclusion and more.

"Behind the Blue" is available on iTunes, Google Play, Stitcher and Spotify. Become a subscriber to receive new episodes of “Behind the Blue” each week. UK’s latest medical breakthroughs, research, artists and writers will be featured, along with the most important news impacting the university.

For questions or comments about this or any other episode of "Behind the Blue," email BehindTheBlue@uky.edu or tweet your question with #BehindTheBlue.

To discover what’s wildly possible at the University of Kentucky, click here.

As the state’s flagship, land-grant institution, the University of Kentucky exists to advance the Commonwealth. We do that by preparing the next generation of leaders — placing students at the heart of everything we do — and transforming the lives of Kentuckians through education, research and creative work, service and health care. We pride ourselves on being a catalyst for breakthroughs and a force for healing, a place where ingenuity unfolds. It's all made possible by our people — visionaries, disruptors and pioneers — who make up 200 academic programs, a $476.5 million research and development enterprise and a world-class medical center, all on one campus.   

In 2022, UK was ranked by Forbes as one of the “Best Employers for New Grads” and named a “Diversity Champion” by INSIGHT into Diversity, a testament to our commitment to advance Kentucky and create a community of belonging for everyone. While our mission looks different in many ways than it did in 1865, the vision of service to our Commonwealth and the world remains the same. We are the University for Kentucky.