Undergraduate student Edison Pleasants听is part of the Society of Porter Scholars and Muhammad Ali Scholar Program and said she appreciates how the new space enhances cross-cultural interactions and educational opportunities.

鈥淎s president of a student organization, we have a lot of incoming freshman trying to make connections on campus, and I always tell them to go to events held in the cultural center because they can meet lifelong friends,鈥� she said.

Students challenged university leadership to create a centralized home for the diversity centers. That challenge was met as plans included space within the new Belknap Residence Hall, which opened in August. Located on the first floor of the building, the Cultural and Equity Center provides a unified environment for the diversity centers, previously scattered throughout campus.

UofL President Neeli Bendapudi said the center represents one concrete action leading to change on campus as the university strives to become anti-racist and more inclusive and welcoming for the entire Cardinal community.

鈥淭he Cultural and Equity Center will help Cardinals build community across identities and provide programming that creates a sense of belonging 鈥� a key factor in eliminating bias and creating an appreciation for everyone because of our unique differences, rather than in spite of them,鈥� she said.

The university鈥檚 first vice provost for diversity, Mordean Taylor-Archer, was a driving force to make the center a reality. Her work continued following retirement in 2019 through the Office of Diversity and Equity, under the leadership of V. Faye Jones, interim senior associate vice president.

鈥淭he Cultural and Equity Center is not only key to graduating students who are engaged citizens prepared for a diverse and global society, but it also is crucial to ensure social justice and fairness across identities,鈥� Jones said.听

The diversity centers together help fulfill the university鈥檚 diversity, equity and inclusion strategic goals through many intentional initiatives. The efforts include unconscious bias training, coaching and mentoring, along with other services that support academic, personal and professional development for students and cultural experiences for employees.

鈥淪ince UofL is predominately a white institution, it is important that students know of resources available through this center,鈥� Pleasants said. 鈥淒iversity is essential for enhancing the college experience, and preparing students to engage with the world around them both now and in the future.鈥�

听Take a virtual tour of the Cultural and Equity Center .

Reporting directly to President Neeli Bendapudi, Gonzalez works closely with deans, vice presidents听 to advance the teaching, research and service missions of the university.听听

Gonzalez is focused on听getting university members back on campus, safely,听over the summer and by the fall as the pandemic lingers.听She also听wants to听help the听campus community听rebuild听its sense of belonging.听

“The human connection is part of the fabric of a听university.听You know, it鈥檚 in those moments听you’re walking to the library, you’re going to get a cup of coffee and you see someone that you haven’t seen in a while and you catch up.听I think being detached (during the pandemic)听increased everyone鈥檚 anxiety. I know it did mine.听So听any problems become a huge problem. Feelings get hurt more quickly. There鈥檚 something about sitting face-to-face with people,鈥� she said.

For the long-term, Gonzalez wants听to partner with the campus community on deciding how we will define and measure being a premier metropolitan university.听

鈥淭here鈥檚 no set of criteria that would say you听are听a premier, metropolitan university. There are tons of听metrics out there听you can do, so how are we going to define that?听How are we going to measure and operationalize what that will mean for UofL? And becoming a premier, anti-racist campus goes hand in hand with that,” she said. “What is听it going to mean to听show we’re moving closer and closer to being an anti-racist campus? At the end of the day, how will we听know that we鈥檝e moved the needle on both of those things?鈥澨�听

UofL News had a chance to sit down with the new provost, originally from a small town in eastern Kentucky,听to get听to know more about her听personal and professional听background, as well as her goals as provost.听

UofL News: What motivated you to work in higher education?听
Gonzalez:听I’m a speech-language pathologist by education and early on in my career I was invited to do a series of continuing education activities for other speech听pathologists听and听I realized I loved teaching.听But the real reason, I think, is my father. He was a graduate of Berea College, he was the first in our family to go to college and education was always talked about in my house. He encouraged people in our little town to get a degree and at his funeral, I remember somebody saying, 鈥業’m a nurse because your dad told me I could be.鈥櫶齀 was听just听inculcated with the notion that education is a transformative experience. You can transform a person, a family, a community and really our world. That鈥檚 my ‘why.‘

UofL News: Did you have a favorite course in college that you remember? A favorite professor?听
Gonzalez:听Yes.听I took a course in phonology听with my professor,听Alice Dyson, who later became my mentor in my doctoral program.听Studying听phonology is听working out the puzzle of a child’s speech when no one can understand them. They have their own rules.听I started unlocking the puzzle of听children鈥檚听speech听and that course set me on a career path of wanting to untangle challenges. When听someone comes to my office听with听a real need and it鈥檚 a tricky situation, it’s a puzzle听and I听have to听find the pieces. Sometimes it’s money. Sometimes it鈥檚 a听barrier. Sometimes it’s connecting someone to someone else. But it’s all a puzzle that you can solve.

UofL News:听Do you have a听favorite thing听yet听about UofL?听听
Gonzalez:听The warm, welcoming people.听I鈥檝e been astounded by it.听Even from the time it was announced that I would assume the position, people reached out to me and were so welcoming.听I haven鈥檛 been able to interact a lot听with large groups of students, faculty or staff, but I think it’s a spirit here that is recognizable.

UofL News:听What is your favorite quote or best piece of advice you鈥檝e received?听
Gonzalez:听It’s a proverb:听fall down听seven times, get up eight. It’s all about resilience. When somebody stumbles, sometimes they think that a failure is going to derail them forever. But what you do is, you get yourself up, dust off and then you go forward. You reflect on what happened, but听you just get up every time, every time, every time.

UofL News: How do you like to spend your free time?听
Gonzalez:听I鈥檓 a听baker. I like to bake. It鈥檚 one of the reasons听I’ll听be听glad to get back into an office, so I can bring baked goods in!听I read a lot.听I also听like to walk. My husband and I, we walk every day when we’re together.听We听also听enjoy renovating homes.听We like to get a house that needs a little听love and put听our own stamp on it. We’ve done that three times.

UofL News: What do you want our students, faculty and staff to know about you?听听
Gonzalez:听听I would want everyone to know that I see academics as our core mission. It is why we are here. So, we听have to听be a听student-first campus focused听on听how听they can be successful as students and as engaged citizens upon graduation.听But we cannot do that without dedicated, engaged faculty and staff. I’m committed to making sure that our students are successful and supporting and developing our faculty and staff. It’s this synergy we get when we all听have the goal of creating the next generation of engaged leaders,听the听next generation of health care professionals,听poets, musicians, etc.听As we do all those things together, it is, as we say in the Cardinal Principles, our Noble Purpose.听