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Gray-Little talks climate and mental health care
LARA KORTE @Lara_Korte
Over the past semester, the University has faced issues surrounding race, diversity, mental health and state funding. The Kansan sat down with Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little on Monday morning to take a look back at the year so far and to hear where administration is going.
At the Nov. 11 town hall meeting, many students and faculty voiced concerns about lack of diversity and inclusion at the University. Gray-Little said she has seen a continuation of these conversations in different areas on campus.
Campus climate
In response to the concerns expressed at the town hall meeting, the administration created the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Advisory Board. Gray-Little said this board is going to look at how to improve the experience of minorities on campus.
"I wanted a way to have a different group looking at what are we doing, how well are we doing it, and are we achieving the effects that we want," Gray-Little said. "That's really the reason for creating that group."
"Certainly there have been more conversations about diversity and individuals and groups expressing their views both in the forum and in notes they have written to me," Gray-Little said. "So I would say there's a change — more conversation and more awareness of this topic and the topics that people are dealing with."
As far as the effects of the advisory group, Gray-Little said she hopes it can give all students on campus a sense that "this is a place that is welcoming, inclusive and that values individual and group differences."
One of the 15 demands presented by the group Rock Chalk Invisible Hawk at the town hall meeting included mandatory, intense inclusion and belonging training for all levels of students, staff, faculty and administration. Although Gray-Little said that is something that is possible for the University, she wants the conversation to continue outside of training programs because it would be a one-time experience rather than a continued conversation. She said she believes conversations like those facilitated at several recent department forums are helpful when solving problems around diversity and inclusion.
"I think most of the things we do in mandatory training are usually time-limited and set," Gray-Little said. "I think it's an ongoing conversation — where you don't get to a point and say, 'Well I've done the training: Everything is fine now.' Where you have continuing conversation. I think over a period of time that will be very helpful."
"I want to be clear that I am not in favor of allowing concealed carry on university campuses," Gray-Little said in the release. "But again, unless legislators change state law
Gray-Little said the issues the administration are looking at include the other items listed by the student group. Gray-Little said that how the University prioritizes the demands depends on feasibility, staff and resources.
"As the [advisory board] is working, it may be there will be some areas that say we have this in place. Others will say we don't have it in place, but we can have it done in this amount of time," Gray-Little said.
Gray-Little said she does not agree with the law but would find ways to comply with it.
- which is unlikely given the wide margin by which it was passed - we must be ready to comply with it."
Gray-Little released a statement on Kansas' policy allowing gun owners to carry concealed weapons on campus. The policy is scheduled to go into effect July 1, 2017.
Guns on campus
The state legislature passed a bill allowing concealed carry in public buildings in 2013. Universities were granted a four-year exemption, which will expire in July 2017.
Gray-Little said the University expects the Kansas Board of Regents to present a modified firearms policy by next month.
"To prepare for the change, the Kansas Board of Regents has been working with universities to amend the Regents' weapons policy, which applies to all Regents institutions but allows each one to determine some of the specifics of how to implement the policy on their campuses," Gray-Little said.
CAROINE FISS/KANSAN
The University Senate's information session on the firearms policy will be held in Budig 120 from 2:30-4:30 p.m. on Tuesday. The session will be live streamed for those not able to attend in person, according to the University Governance website.
"It's kind of expected that anytime after four or five years, someone would be in the process of looking for that," Gray-Little said.
Gray-Little said she does not feel the administrative turnover comes as a surprise, and that she feels the number of resignations are a normal amount. In the case of a provost, she said, it's not unusual.
Recently, the University has seen several administrators leave, including the dean of Arts and Sciences, dean of Libraries, dean of the School of Social Welfare and, more recently, Provost Jeffrey Vitter, who is leaving the University in January.
As for other resignations, Gray-Little said it's simply because the University has talented administrators.
Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little meets with a reporter to discuss the latest issues affecting the University.
Turnovers in administration
"That's always the challenge if you get people who are doing really good and do a really great job," Gray-Little said. "They're going to get all types of opportunity."
State budget
"We fortunately also had some contributions, especially toward scholarships and facilities from gifts, and so fundraising becomes more and more important," Gray-Little said.
As state funding for higher education continues to dwindle in the state of Kansas, there has been concern and speculation about the future of publicly funded institutions like the University of Kansas.
Gray-Little said the University is currently facing a dilemma of how to continue to provide services to students while keeping tuition affordable. Gray-Little said that with any budget cut, the administration has to look critically at what services are essential to the University.
To compensate for lack of public funding, Gray-Little said the University has received alternative funding from private sources.
Gray-Little said the state's budget is in "a kind of unclear, unstable place right now". In the last few years, as funding and resources have decreased, Gray-Little said tuition has gone up, but there is a limit on how high the University can raise it. She said there is a certain point where students cannot afford the tuition.
"How do we have the kind of offerings we have at a price that a larger percentage of students can afford?" Gray-Little said. "That's the question we're all trying to address."
Mental health
Gray-Little said administration is looking at how to increase staff and decrease wait time for mental health care appointments in addition to providing staff members who are representative of student identities.
"It is not possible to guarantee that when a student goes there, they will find a person of their gender and ethnic background waiting there to see them," Gray-Little said. "But I think we can work toward having staff diversity, which would change the tenor of the place and I think make students feel that the staff in general are aware of the diversity of the campus. And that's the goal that we want."
Several students have raised concerns that the University does not provide adequate resources for students with severe
mental illnesses, like bipolar disorders.
Gray-Little said that, to some degree there's always going to be a level of health service, whether it be mental or physical, that the University will not be able to offer.
"There's always going to be a time that for either mental health or other health services, there's a level of services that is not going to be offered at the University, and for which a student will have to be referred to someone or to some place that has more extensive facilities or expertise," Gray-Little said.
Gray-Little said she believes there needs to be a clear conversation about exactly what services the University offers in order to prevent frustration when a student is in need.
"I think we have to have that conversation about what is a reasonable expectation for a University's mental health offerings," Gray-Little said.
James Hoyt contributed to this report.