05/07/2008
Two A&S Faculty Honored as Recipients of the 2008 President's Awards for Diversity
The 2008 President's Awards for Diversity recently honored this year's recipients, which included two A&S faculty members.
Karl Raitz has taught at the University for almost 40 years, and has been Chair of the Department of Geography in the College of Arts and Sciences since 1996. In his capacity as Chair, he has demonstrated an ongoing and deep commitment to diversity. Under his leadership, the Department has made major strides in the inclusion of women and minorities as faculty, students and postdoctoral fellows. The department’s five women faculty and an African American associate professor have all been hired under the leadership of Professor Raitz. He is deeply supportive of recruitment efforts aimed at minority applicants, resulting to four students receiving the Lyman T. Johnson fellowships. In a white, male-dominated department, these kind of changes do not happen without supportive, committed, and skilled chairs such as Professor Raitz.
Joan Callahan has been a member of the College of Arts & Sciences faculty for 22 years. She is full professor in the Department of Philosophy, and is the former Director of Gender and Women’s Studies. Professor Callahan’s commitment to equity, inclusion and diversity has been widely demonstrated throughout her work. She single-handedly advocated for a new academic department of Gender and Women Studies and succeeded. She is tirelessly supportive of women, gender minorities, ethnic and cultural minorities, and persons with disabilities. Her commitment to building diverse communities rests solidly on her dedication to social justice and her compassion for people. She understands acutely that a learning community and academic excellence necessitates the inclusion of multiple perspectives. Professor Callahan’s work has had a lasting impact on diversifying the University of Kentucky.
The new 2006-2009 Strategic Plan of the University of Kentucky recognizes the importance of institutional diversity and has established a definitive goal for the University to embrace and nurture diversity of thought, culture, gender and ethnicity. In recognition of this important objective, the University has established the President's Award for Diversity in honor and appreciation to those who have demonstrated outstanding efforts toward advancing the University's mission of embracing diversity while maintaining academic excellence.