Employee Affinity Groups
An Affinity Group is a group of faculty and staff linked by a common purpose, ideology, or interest. Affinity Groups play a vital role in insuring an inclusive environment where all are valued, included, and empowered to succeed. They can provide a collective voice for faculty and staff with common interests.
Objectives
Build and Create a Sense of Community
- Develop a community and support network that nurtures faculty and staff as a visible and vibrant part of the UK environment and leadership
- Provide professional and personal support to faculty and staff
- Give voice to the concerns of faculty and staff on campus
- Help to maintain a positive work environment for faculty and staff
Advocate for, and Support the Recruitment, Retention
and Advancement of Faculty and Staff
- Support the growth and professional development of faculty and staff
- Work with UK administration on issues relating to faculty and staff recruitment, retention and advancement
- Assist UK in the area of recruiting, engaging and retaining employees
- Promote and celebrate UK faculty and staff contributions and achievements
- Provide mentoring to faculty and staff
Advocate for, and Support the Recruitment, Retention and Graduation of Students
- Support the UK’s initiative for the recruitment and retention of students
- Promote and celebrate UK student contributions and achievements
- Support and mentor cultural organizations
Network and Collaborate
- Network and collaborate with other Faculty and staff affinity groups in Kentucky
- Support campus community engagement by developing and strengthening collaborative relationships with the community
- Provide opportunities for social and professional networking between faculty, staff, students, and establishments in Kentucky.
Anti-Asian Racism and Stereotyping
The co-chairs of the Asian and Asian American Affinity Group have compiled a document entitled "Resources for the Asian and Asian American Community at UK and Beyond" that is meant to be a helpful guide related to racism during the COVID-19 pandemic. To access this document please click here.
African American, African and Native American Affinity Group
Under the direction of the Vice President of Institutional Diversity, Dr. Sonja Feist Price and the Office of Institutional Diversity, a number of Affinity Groups have been created at UK, including the African American, African, and Native American group for faculty and staff as one collective group.
Asian and Asian American Affinity Group
Keiko Tanaka
Associate Professor of Rural Sociology
Department of Leadership & Community Engagement
Sujin Kim
Associate Professor
Biomedical Informatics
College of Public Health
Department of Internal Medicine
College of Medicine
Hispanic/Latinx Affinity Group
Cristina Alcalde
Associate Dean of Inclusion and Internationalization
Marie Rich Endowed Professor and
Associate Professor of Gender & Women's Studies
Ruth Gonzalez Jimenez
Latino Student Community Specialist
LGBTQ* Affinity Group
Kristen Mark, Ph.D., MPH
Department of Health Promotion and Kinesiology (Education)
Lance Poston, Ph.D.
Institutional Diversity and Department of Gender and Women's Studies (Arts and Sciences)
Ellen Riggle, Ph.D.,
Department of Gender and Women's Studies and Department of Political Science (Arts and Sciences)
Muslim Affinity Group
Dr. Syed Ali
Assistant Professor and Director of Quality Assurance and Quality Improvement
Department of Anesthesiology
College of Medicine
Dr. Zaki-Udin Hassan
Professor of Anesthesiology and Surgery
Enterprise Director of Simulation, University of Kentucky/ UK Healthcare
Director of the UK Healthcare Comprehensive Simulation Center
Director of Liver Transplant Anesthesiology
College of Medicine
Veterans Affinity Group
Tony Dotson
Director, Veteran's Resource Center
Phil Kraemer
Chellgren Chair for Undergraduate Excellence & Professor of Psychology