News

UK TO DEVELOP MASTER PLAN FOR MORE DIVERSE, EQUITABLE CAMPUS

How can the look and layout of a campus make a community more diverse, just and equitable? That’s the central question being grappled with by a multidisciplinary project team that is part of the UK Diversity, Equity and Inclusion effort — a comprehensive campus-wide initiative, designed to foster a community at UK committed to acceptance and belonging.

“Our history, our art, our landscapes and, yes, our barriers to navigation — all of these things contribute to creating the type of community we are,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “The challenge now is to understand how all these things can, collectively, be positioned to be the community we aspire to be.”

A project team for several months — led by Vice President for Facilities Management Mary Vosevich and Interim Assistant Vice President for Auxiliary Services Andrew Smith — has been working to identify existing areas of concern on the campus relative to institutional history, art, sculpture and civic landscapes, accessibility and other barriers to inclusion within buildings across the campus.

The idea is to create a DEI master plan to complement the institution’s overall master plan, which was completed in 2020. A campus master plan is designed to contemplate and envision ongoing and future development of the campus — from the placement of roadways to the creation of additional greenspace.

As part of the creation of the DEI master plan, the university has embraced best-in-class consulting firm Sasaki to engage stakeholders from around the university collaboratively. Sasaki will, among other initiatives, complete: • A listening tour and deep discussions with stakeholders across the campus. • A campus survey on the issues involved. • An inventory of campus art, sculptures and civic landscapes. • Presentations to campus constituencies regarding key findings. • The development of opportunities for transformation and change on the campus in response to the issues and concerns identified by the campus community as well as the opportunities and recommendations noted. • A recommended DEI master vision and plan by July 2021. ■

Representatives from UK, the Woodbury Corp., and state and local officials broke ground on what will soon become a home for early stage, high-tech companies from across Kentucky. The new $15 million development on the Coldstream Research Campus will offer these early-stage companies office and laboratory space in an environment where they can further develop and commercialize their products and services.

“When we think about strengthening our economy — particularly following the challenges we’ve faced over the past year — we believe that partnership with the city and the business community is the best way to move forward,” said UK President Eli Capilouto. “This space will create new opportunities for businesses to establish themselves here in Kentucky, create jobs and contribute to economic growth. We look forward to continuing in our role as the University of, for and with Kentucky.”

The new facility will be named “The Core — Collaboration. Research. Entrepreneurship,” and is designed to be the first stop for companies looking to locate on the research campus. The project will add much needed wet lab space in Central Kentucky, as well as working space near the interstates for companies and individuals that need to travel quickly to regional facilities.

Kentucky Technology Inc. (KTI), a subsidiary of the UK Research Foundation, will master lease 20,000 square feet of the building’s estimated 40,000 square feet. KTI plans to sublease its space to appropriate high-tech companies. The facility will bring in not only startup companies being incubated at UK, but other companies moving into the Commonwealth.

The Core was made possible through a public-private partnership with the Woodbury Corp., the company developing the facility.

Construction is expected to be completed in early 2022. ■

UK, PARTNERS BREAK GROUND ON NEW COLDSTREAM RESEARCH LAB

DAVIS NAMED DEAN OF ROSENBERG COLLEGE OF LAW

The UK Board of Trustees approved the naming of Mary J. Davis as full-time dean of the J. David Rosenberg College of Law. Davis, the Ashland, Inc.-Spears Distinguished Research Professor of Law at UK, had been serving as interim dean. She will become the first woman to serve in the role of permanent dean at the college.

“In addition to her university service, Mary has made contributions to the profession at the state, regional, national, and international levels through scholarly activities, including service as a visiting professor at four law schools and authoring a leading casebook on product liability. She is passionate about continuing to enhance the college’s strong reputation,” said Provost David W. Blackwell.

Davis has served on the faculty since 1991. She began a tenure as interim dean on July 1, 2019, as the college transitioned from its two-year temporary location into a $56 million rebuild on its original site. Prior to becoming interim dean, Davis served as chairwoman of the college’s building committee. In this role, she was instrumental, from design through construction, in the College of Law having a facility to provide a 21st century legal education through teaching, learning, research, practical skills training and co-curricular programming.

During her tenure as interim dean, the UK College of Law also became the UK J. David Rosenberg College of Law in December 2019, following a generous gift from alumnus J. David Rosenberg and his wife, Dianne.

Davis succeeded David A. Brennen, who was the first African-American dean of the college, serving from 2009-2020.

In spring 2020, Davis led the college through unprecedented challenges in teaching and learning when the university quickly transitioned all classes online due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and she has been instrumental as the law school continues to adapt and thrive through the health crisis.

“When I received an offer to teach law at the University of Kentucky in 1991, I thought that I had won the lottery,” Davis said. “I have been honored to serve this institution as a member of a faculty of first-rate scholars and educators and to teach the exceptional students who attend the UK Rosenberg College of Law. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve this institution as its dean. I was excited in 1991 for the future, and I remain excited for what the future holds for the UK Rosenberg College of Law.”

Davis joined the law faculty at UK after spending six years in products liability litigation defense practice for the law firms of Womble, Carlyle, Sandridge & Rice in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, and McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe in Richmond, Virginia. Her practice experience involved management of nationwide litigation and she is a leading scholar in the nation in the field of products liability.

Davis is a 1985 magna cum laude graduate of the Wake Forest University School of Law and a 1979 cum laude graduate of the University of Virginia. ■

UK HEALTHCARE, KING’S DAUGHTERS ANNOUNCE SIGNIFICANT PARTNERSHIP

King’s Daughters Health System (KDHS) and UK HealthCare, the clinical health care system of the University of Kentucky, announced their intent to enter into a significant partnership that will create new opportunities for both organizations to better serve patients throughout Kentucky, southern Ohio and West Virginia.

A new governing group will be formed for the proposed joint venture with equal representation of both UK and KDHS, but no additional changes in management, compensation, benefits or job responsibilities are anticipated at either UK HealthCare or KDHS.

It’s anticipated that the final operational details of the partnership will be announced in early April.

The partnership will provide expanded access to tertiary-level services for residents of Eastern Kentucky and southern Ohio, including access to UK HealthCare’s solid organ transplantation program, bone marrow transplantation and expand on the existing relationship between the UK Markey Cancer Center and King’s Daughters. ■

UK HONORS DECEMBER 2020 GRADUATES WITH VIRTUAL CEREMONY

UK celebrated its fall 2020 graduates with a virtual Commencement ceremony Dec. 4. The UK Board of Trustees approved conferral of 1,854 degrees for December 2020 graduates. This total included 1,321 undergraduate, 512 graduate (encompassing master and doctoral degrees), and 21 professional degrees. These numbers reflect degree candidates, not individual graduates (some graduates earn more than one degree, thereby being counted as a degree candidate multiple times).

The Board of Trustees also conferred 641 degrees for August 2020. Those graduates had the opportunity to participate virtually in this ceremony alongside December graduates. ■

STUDIO GANG TO TRANSFORM FORMER REYNOLDS BUILDING FOR COLLEGE OF DESIGN

Artist Rendering

The UK College of Design has unveiled Studio Gang’s design for the reinvented Reynolds Building. Working in collaboration with Louisville-based architect of record K. Norman Berry Associates, Studio Gang will transform the century-old tobacco warehouse into a vibrant and interactive learning space for design students.

The college has waited 50 years for a building opportunity that will allow its programs to grow, diversify and cross-pollinate. The Reynolds Building, situated at one of the most prominent entries into the city of Lexington, is set to serve as a nimble artifact that teaches students about architecture, interiors, historic preservation, landscape architecture, urban design, product design and biomedical engineering — all in a 21st-century, polycultural learning environment.

The design builds on Reynolds’ existing qualities, including open floorplates and a repetitive structural grid, to maximize interaction among people and disciplines and expand opportunities for making and experimentation.

Open studio spaces leverage the timber column grid to flexibly demarcate each studio, reinforced by mobile pin-up walls and custom furniture designed and fabricated by the college’s students. Existing level changes in the building are used to create clerestories, skylights, and a flexible, double-height lecture hall. In certain areas, the existing structure is strategically cut away to create new gathering spaces, sightlines, abundant daylight and vertical circulation. A new, steel stair is inserted into the center of the building, surrounded by shared spaces and amenities — including the fabrication lab, café and lecture hall — that encourage students, faculty and visitors to gather and mix.

Outside, a new fabrication dock creates space for large-scale making and displays these explorations to the wider university. New trees and a structural canopy provide shade and contribute to passive cooling inside the building. Geothermal wells and other green strategies contribute to the sensible deployment of environmentally conscious elements that fit within the university’s defined project construction budget. ■

Frazee Hall is currently under renovation, eventually providing 22,081 square feet of space — including a new connector. The $15 million modernization will revitalize the facility with a total renovation of the existing building, enhancements to the building envelope, a new elevator, two new stair towers and the construction of a connector to the Gatton Student Center.

The connector will provide ADA accessibility via vertical circulation and address floor elevations between buildings. The interior space will be configured to facilitate today’s educational needs while remaining flexible to allow future change. Upgrades to the existing mechanical, electrical and other building systems are included in the scope of work.

Upon completion in July 2022, the building will be occupied by the Center for Support and Intervention; Fraternity and Sorority Life; Family Programs and K Week; Office of Student Conduct; Residence Life; Dean of Students; and Equity, Inclusion and Social Justice (formerly known as Bias Incident Support Services). ■

UK SOCIAL WORK LAUNCHES SUPPORT GROUP FOR ADOPTED KENTUCKY TEENS

In Kentucky there are nearly 10,000 young people in foster care, of which nearly one-third are waiting for their “forever” adoptive home. That’s why the College of Social Work remains committed to supporting adoptive and foster families and recently launched Adoption Support for Kentucky-Teens — a statewide, virtual support group for adopted teens ages 14-17.

“Having been in out-of-home care myself, I can certainly appreciate the complexities facing foster and adoptive families,” Jay Miller, dean of the college, said. “Our college is focused on actualizing a commitment to those families through cutting-edge programming, and we are able to do so in a way that is innovative, intentional and impactful.”

Melissa Segress, director of the College of Social Work’s centers and labs, said, “ASK-Teens is a vital first step in engaging youth who have experienced adoption with the purpose of listening to their perspectives, learning from their experiences and offering a platform for constructive peer and professional support.”

ASK-Teens offers real connections through Adoption Support for Kentucky (ASK). The award-winning peer support program has been serving adoptive, foster and kinship families for more than two decades. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all ASK support groups and trainings are being offered virtually.

ASK-Teens harnesses technology to organize virtual meetings through a secure online platform. Group sessions will occur twice a month and will be led by an experienced behavioral health clinician. For more information about ASK-Teens, call 859-2576650 or text ASKKY to 31996. ■

FRAZEE HALL UNDERGOES RENOVATION