UK Happenings

UK to host Women's History Month speaker Lynae Vanee

Photo of Lynae Vanee.
Lynae Vanee will speak to the campus community March 23.

LEXINGTON, Ky. (March 21, 2023) — The Martin Luther King (MLK) Center, in collaboration with the Office of LGBTQ* Resources, the Center for Graduate and Professional Development and Underground Perspective, are hosting "An Evening With Lynae Vanee” in conjunction with this month’s women’s history celebration. 

The event will take place 5 p.m. Thursday, March 23, in Gatton Student Center Ballroom A.

NAACP Image Award nominee Lynae Vanee is a multifaceted performer, poet, influencer, writer and actress hailing from Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of Spelman College and Boston University with a master's degree in African American studies, Vanee uses her digital platforms to speak on racefeminism, politics and inclusivity. Vanee's viral videos have garnered over 20 million views across platforms and has garnered the attention of several celebrities, major networks and the general public.

Highlighted in the LA Times and Bustle, Vanee has built her brand on "keeping it Black but keeping it brief" offering critical context on today's issues in a succinct and stylized manner.

Vanee has collaborated with various brands such as Meta, TargetRevoltTommy Hilfiger and Netflix, to name a few. She has also been a featured guest on "The Cross Connection with Tiffany Cross" and appeared in the 2021 Amazon Prime television special "Yearly Departed."

Vanee will be speaking to the campus community about the importance of liberating all women and the talk will be followed by a moderated discussion with Kishonna Gray, associate professor in writing, rhetoric, and digital studies and Africana studies at UK. 

To RSVP to the event, 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.