Campus News

Fall 2021 Training Schedule From Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Education

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Sept. 1, 2021) — Inclusive Excellence and Diversity Education (IEDE) is pleased to share the fall training schedule for the Unconscious Bias Initiative (UBI) along with several new offerings. Spring semester training dates will be shared in December. To stay up to date, follow IEDE on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook at @ukyiede, or sign up for the quarterly newsletter

Unconscious Bias Initiative — Faculty and Staff

This three-part series will be offered in its entirety three times across the semester. Part I is delivered on Tuesdays (noon-1 p.m.); Part II on Wednesdays (noon-1:30 p.m.); and Part III on Thursdays (noon-1:30 p.m.). All sessions will take place via Zoom and registration is capped at 80. Each part of the initiative must be taken sequentially but can be spread out across a semester (or academic year).

            Oct. 12-14, 2021

            Oct. 26-28, 2021

            Nov. 30-Dec. 2, 2021

Registration for the faculty/staff UBI can be accessed through myUK Learning. Please visit the IEDE FAQ page for detailed registration instructions

Unconscious Bias Initiative — Graduate Student

Unconscious Bias for graduate and professional students is offered in two-parts. Registration can be found on the IEDE website. All sessions are held from 5-6:30 p.m. This two-part series will run twice in its entirety across the fall semester. 

Part I: 

Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021

Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021

Part II:

Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021

Wednesday, Nov. 17, 2021

Unconscious Bias: Intervention Practices — NEW

Due to popular demand, staff and faculty who have completed all three parts of the Unconscious Bias Initiative will be eligible to participate in Unconscious Bias: Intervention Practices (UBIP). This session dives into the practice ethos of the IEDE office and provides attendees an opportunity to work through scenarios with colleagues to better understand the activation of bias while developing potential intervention strategies. Fall dates for this session: 

Monday, Sept. 20, 2021: 10-11:15 a.m.

Friday, Nov. 5, 2021: 2-3:15 p.m.

Registration links to UBIP sessions can be found on the IEDE website. Each session is capped at 30 participants. 

Navigating Uncomfortable Conversations — NEW

IEDE will offer this by-request workshop to groups or departments wanting support with navigating uncomfortable conversations in the context of diversity and inclusion. In this session, participants will explore how discomfort shows up and why embracing discomfort is a critical feature to moving diversity and inclusion work forward. This session runs 60 minutes total allotting 15-20 minutes for Q&A. 

Participation is capped at 35. Sessions will be held remotely via Zoom (or in-person in accordance with university COVID protocol). Please be aware: IEDE has extremely limited availability for these trainings. Requests must be submitted at least four weeks in advance by emailing iede@uky.edu, and will be honored based on availability.

Embodying Anti-Racism: Pilot Series — NEW

Drawing on theories of somatics, this workshop explores how attending to embodiment can help support anti-racist practices for institutional and cultural transformation. This workshop is intended to be an interactive, multiracial, gender-inclusive, intergenerational space. Participants will be asked to name, disclose and wrestle with their racial identity at the intersection of a range of identifications. This is an advanced-level, two-part workshop and participants are expected to commit to both sessions and complete pre-work prior to each gathering.   If you are interested in participating in the pilot sessions for this workshop series, please fill out this form. This two-part pilot series will run during Dec. 6-17, 2021. If you are selected to participate, a Doodle scheduling poll will be sent in mid-September to determine the best time for participants to meet.

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.