Campus News

Graduate and professional students, staff and faculty invited to Ubuntu Orientation

student working in lab
Mark Cornelison | UK Photo.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Aug. 22, 2022) — Ubuntu is a Nguni Bantu term meaning “humanity” and is often translated as “I am because we are.” In that spirit, the University of Kentucky Center for Graduate and Professional Diversity Initiatives and the UK Graduate School’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion invites graduate and professional students, staff and faculty to the sixth annual Ubuntu Orientation Celebration 5-8 p.m. Friday, Aug. 26, in The Cornerstone Esports Lounge. One of the primary goals of Ubuntu is to connect diverse graduate and professional students (new and current) with university resources and support networks.  

Students will have opportunities to network with faculty, staff, administrators and other students, as well as hear a powerful message from the keynote speaker Danelle Stevens-Watkins, Ph.D., vice president for research in diversity and inclusion and director of UNITE (United in True Equity) Research Initiative. In addition to building a strong sense of community and belonging, Ubuntu aims to equip diverse students with the resources and contacts to ease their transition into the University of Kentucky, the city of Lexington and life as graduate and professional students. This event is free, and spouses and children are welcome!

The schedule for the event is as follows: 

  • 5-6:30 p.m.: Food, resource fair and networking 
  • 6:30-6:50 p.m.: Keynote speaker: Danelle Stevens-Watkins 
  • 6:50-7p.m.: Q&A with Stevens-Watkins
  • 7-8 p.m.: Ice cream social and games

To register for the year's Ubuntu Orientation Celebration, 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.