“Higher education positively affects social mobility, meaning students from all backgrounds – white, Black, Hispanic, from eastern Kentucky, western Kentucky, the suburbs, the inner cities, small towns, rural areas — become empowered to enhance the quality of life for themselves and their families, while increasing the talent dividend for the state of Kentucky,” Gill said.

In the spirit of oneness, Gill has restructured DEI work at the Health Sciences Center and Belknap campuses under one umbrella: UofL’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Establishing a new university-wide Inclusion and Equity Council represents another step. Chaired by Gill and the provost, the council includes one representative from every UofL college and vice-presidential unit, along with several community organizations including the NAACP, Americana World Community Center, Asia Institute Crane House, La Casita Center and the Louisville Urban League. The new 30 person-plus council meets quarterly for the purpose of information sharing, resource collaboration and solution development.��

“It is important that we not work in silos. Through collaboration, we will become more efficient and make a greater impact,” he said.

Gill also is working with the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equity (CODRE) to prioritize the numerous recommendations made in the Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda (CARA) report that will help move the university’s DEI efforts forward. Additionally, the DEI division has created new positions and repurposed several existing roles to help in the effort.

The charge to the team is to launch new diversity training modules for faculty and staff utilizing the (IDI) and . This innovative diversity training strategy will be led by Marian Vasser, assistant vice president for inclusive excellence, and 15 individuals from throughout UofL who will become certified trainers in the IDI model. This fall, the President’s Cabinet and the Council of Academic Officers will participate in diversity training exercises with one of the nation’s leading experts in strategic diversity leadership,

The DEI division also is ramping up efforts to reach both current and future students. Through the new Inclusive Excellence Scholars program, Gill is engaging with UofL alumni from various disciplines who will participate in week-long mentoring with students, offering expertise on the global competencies that are needed for workplace success. Similarly, a newly formed Corporate Chief Diversity Officer Advisory Board includes chief diversity officers from several regional and national companies to connect with students for mentorship, internships and co-ops.

Other efforts to impact future Cardinals involves a partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) to host the Explore Pathways event this fall, providing more than 1,000 JCPS students, many of whom are Pell Grant eligible, an opportunity to explore education and career options. The one-day event at Cardinal Stadium will provide youth a chance to visit with UofL colleges and unit representatives.

Among the most intensive DEI effort will be the new Cardinals Rising initiative, a program open to all, that will reach young men of color in grades 7-12. Organized by Brandyn Bailey and Daquarius Mahone in the DEI office, Cardinals Rising collaborates with local middle and high schools. Counselors from each of the schools will help identify youth who would benefit from this program.

“The earlier we can reach young people, the more impact we can have. These are bright students, but their energies may be misapplied. We want to invest, pour into them and help them understand they can be anything they dream to become,” Gill said.

The program aims to bring youth to campus, introducing them to the college-going culture, along with involvement of their parent or guardian who also will have opportunities to learn about financial literacy and financial wellness, educational advancement and careers. Parents and guardians will sign an agreement, committing to help their child succeed by encouraging their studies and building life skills, along with becoming immersed themselves in the Cardinals Rising program. The DEI division is in process of seeking grant funding to help support this initiative.

“Cardinals Rising will change the lives of the students and create a ripple effect that will impact the entire family toward generational wealth. UofL will be a leader in graduating first–generation, Pell-eligible students,” Gill said.

UofL News: You are a first-generation immigrant from Jordan. Tell us about your heritage and how you came to the United States, and ultimately the University of Louisville.

I was eager to participate in a lot of national speaking contests. I’d only arrived in America from my native Jordan three years prior, after being well-known for that kind of talent, but of course, in Arabic.��When my family left, I was just on the verge of becoming a television star. I have been on the radio, and I went to��‘Arabs Got Talent,’ as my��Mother would tell people she meets.

After moving to Louisville, I first attended the Newcomer Academy, a school for students who speak English as a second language. After one year, I was ready to move on to Fern Creek High School.

Jordan is a safe place, however, college education there is expensive. Here it’s expensive, too, but there are more opportunities to go to college because of scholarships. Jordan is a beautiful country, with a mix of the ancient Roman world, and the beauty of the modern world all in one place.��

UofL News: Explain your passion for activism and social justice. What type of activism, specifically, are you involved in?

As a Muslim woman, I promote an understanding of Islam primarily through education and outreach. I have spoken at numerous events in school, my local community, in competitions and in festivals.

My biggest accomplishment was winning the 2018 and being featured on the online section, and New York Times Print, where teachers around the nation use my statement and picture to make lesson plans for their students.

My statement reads:�� “In this terrible moment, all I want is to be a plain old American teenager. Who can simply mourn without fear. Who doesn’t share last names with a suicide bomber. Who goes to dances and can talk to her parents about anything and can walk around without always being anxious. And who isn’t a presumed terrorist first and an American second.”

Just last year, I also have seen the same statement and my picture featured on 11 other national websites, as well as in discussions around the 2020 elections.��

UofL News: You have given speeches at both the national and international levels, correct? Talk about your message and who you hope to influence through your words.

My message is simple: it is to end explicit racism toward minorities, especially Arabs and Muslims.

Every day, I receive emails from students and teachers around the nation who implemented my statement and picture in their school lessons, and they tell me about the impact I made changing their perspective.

When I won the New York Times Generation Z competition, everyone at my school knew of my story, especially my principal, who encouraged students to talk about these types of issues and changed things around in our school. We have a diversity festival at our school where we celebrate and talk about diversity. I also was invited to speak at the Louisville festival of faith, local events, including my mosque, KUNA, and numerous events at my school, where people support me and tell me that I inspire them.

UofL News: You were selected as a top 20 under 20 from the Arab American Foundation. Tell us about this honor.

is a celebration of accomplished young Arab Americans. The program spotlights students (16–20 years old) who achieved spectacular success in academics, work/internships, community service, extracurricular activities (such as clubs, sports, music, arts and writing). Also, the award acknowledges achievements demonstrating, but not limited to, outstanding leadership, dedication to a career path, new initiatives, and commitment to Arab American heritage and culture.

UofL News: Anything else you’d like to share with us?

I have published my own children’s book, From Lina to the World: Inspired by true events. It’s a form of activism for health minorities and what they face during the Covid-19 pandemic.��I also give free English conversational lessons to more than eight-thousand students around the globe for Arabic speakers.

To guide us toward this goal, UofL has launched the Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda. The agenda entails a phased process, soliciting input from the university community, creating a committee to organize and identify priorities from that input, and seeking approval from the Board of Trustees to get this important, intentional work started.

This goal is an iteration of UofL’s mission of being the “premier, nationally-recognized metropolitan research university,” established in 1997 with the passage of HB1 – the Postsecondary ����ֱ��al Improvement Act. As part of that initial mission, UofL was obligated to serve the needs of a diverse population, including many ethnic minorities and place-bound, part-time, nontraditional students.

Indeed, in the 23 years since the passage of that legislation, UofL has transformed itself from an urban commuter college to a world-class research university. We serve a more racially and socio-economically diverse student population than most research universities in the country, and we have a unique and pervasive relationship with the City of Louisville. We are proud of our progress and of our standing.

However, times have changed, and it is appropriate as a higher education institution to change with them in an effort to achieve the highest ideals of society. It is incumbent upon us to explore and to grow for the purpose of being a model for the communities we serve. That is why we have created this Cardinal Anti-Racism Agenda.

Actions will define who we really are and what we truly believe as a community and there is no better time than now – – to stand on the right side of history.

As Martin Luther King Jr. said, “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice … Each of us who works for social change is part of the mosaic of all who work for justice; together we can accomplish multitudes.”

There is no doubt this work will take time and it will take all of us. Our first step is to harness our collective wisdom to lay the groundwork. We have already established a few key commitments, including the recruitment and retention of more Black employees and students, building intentionally anti-racism curriculum across all disciplines, ensuring diverse representation on boards and committees, developing budgets that reflect the priority of diversity and equity and more.��

In the coming weeks and months, the Commission on Diversity and Racial Equality (CODRE), in partnership with the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, will lead the charge to engage our community for more potential items to add to our agenda. We will regularly remind our community to to craft an appropriately robust agenda, which will be put in front of the Board of Trustees at the Sept. 24 meeting.

Upon approval from the board, we will put the ball in motion to become a national model of anti-racism, proving that race will not negatively impact anyone’s experience at the University of Louisville.

We’ve made bold steps before. In 1951, for example, UofL integrated our student body several years before most of our Kentucky peers were willing to do the same. Our Department of Pan-African studies is one of the oldest of its kind in the country. We are that provide equal access for Black and Latinx students.

Those bold steps will be the foundation of our new objective. We will continue to lead the way here. We will become the country’s premier anti-racist university. .��

Check out President Bendapudi’s introduction of our Anti-Racism agenda:��