By Deb Weis

“These distinguished speakers will address critical questions such as, ‘Can we afford not to diversify?’ and ‘Can we be academically competitive without diversification?’”

Fitzgerald Bramwell, UK’s vice president of Research and Graduate Studies

“These distinguished speakers will address critical questions such as, ‘Can we afford not to diversify?’ and ‘Can we be academically competitive without diversification?’” said Fitzgerald Bramwell, UK’s vice president of Research and Graduate Studies.

Williams, a visiting scholar at Tulane University’s Payson Center for International Development and Technology Transfer, will speak on “Graduate Education from a National Perspective.” Kirwan’s talk will be titled “Graduate Education at a Research I Land-Grant University.”  Three UK faculty members will respond to the two presentations: J. John Harris III, a professor in the College of Education; Deneese Jones, associate dean of the Graduate School; and Mike Nietzel, dean of the Graduate School.

The symposium, titled “The Shape of the Kentucky River” parallels the premise for undergraduate education found in “The Shape of the River: Long-Term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions” by former Princeton University president William G. Bowen and former Harvard University president Derek Bok.  The book uses the Mark Twain metaphor to argue that informed judgment on race-sensitive admissions requires a detailed understanding of college careers and the subsequent lives of students.

The symposium is sponsored by UK Research and Graduate Studies and is part of the university’s commemoration of 50 Years of the UK African-American Legacy.