First DEIB vice provost candidate to present Sept. 20


LAWRENCE – The first candidate for the University of Kansas Office of Diversity, Equity Inclusion & Belonging (DEIB) vice provost position will give her public presentation from 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, in the Kansas Union Big 12 Room.

Makini King

The presentation will be livestreamed, and the passcode is 921666.

Makini King is one of four candidates who will present their philosophy on the role diversity and inclusion play in higher education in the United States and how their philosophy would advance Realizing Intersectional Standards of Excellence (RISE) on KU’s Lawrence and Edwards campuses and further KU’s mission considering current challenges and trends in higher education.

King is a licensed psychologist who currently serves as the assistant vice chancellor for the Division of Diversity and Inclusion at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). She's been in the position since March 2021.

Each candidate will be announced approximately two business days before their scheduled presentation. Public presentations for each of the candidates are scheduled for the following dates:

  • Makini King: 2:30-3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 20, Kansas Union Big 12 Room
  • Candidate 2, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23, Kansas Union Woodruff Auditorium
  • Candidate 3, 2-3 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 28, The Forum at Marvin Hall
  • Candidate 4, 2:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 3, Kansas Union Big 12 Room

Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to offer their impressions and observations of each candidate online. There will be a limited-time feedback survey where members of the KU community will have the chance to share their opinion of each candidate. Feedback on King’s presentation is due by 5 p.m. Friday, Sept. 23. A recording of her presentation will be available the morning after the presentation on the search website until the survey closes.

During their campus visit, each candidate will meet with Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Barbara A. Bichelmeyer, campus-wide DEIB leaders and DEIB office staff, vice provosts, deans, KU Athletics, faculty-staff affinity groups, university governance and a representative from the chancellor’s office. 

In her current position, King leads and supports faculty and staff initiatives and programs in alignment with UMKC’s strategic plan for diversity and inclusion. Additionally, King facilitates inclusive excellence planning and reporting for the university and cultivates strategic partnerships between the division and the community. She served as the director of diversity and inclusion initiatives at UMKC from 2016 until June 2022.

King received the Living Values Award in 2020 and the Excellence in Multiculturalism, Globalism, Diversity and Inclusion Staff Award in 2022, both from UMKC.

King currently serves on the boards of the Economic Development Corporation of Kansas City, Central City Economic Development and the Greater Kansas City Psychological Association. She is a former board member of Community Counseling and Assessment Services and the Urban Neighborhood Initiative of Greater Kansas City.

King earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology with a Spanish minor from Emory University in Atlanta. She then attended UMKC, where she earned a master’s degree and a doctorate in counseling psychology.

After completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the Kansas City Veterans Health Administration, she worked as a behavioral health consultant at the Kansas City Care Clinic. She is adjunct faculty for the counseling psychology department at UMKC and has provided clinical supervision for students. She has presented and published articles and chapters on topics related to diversity in secondary and higher education and social media.

Fri, 09/16/2022

author

Evan Riggs

Media Contacts

Evan Riggs

Office of the Provost

785-864-1085