Keisha Love named Vice Provost for Faculty Advancement and Academic Inclusion

Early on, Keisha Love’s, PhD, passion and interests within higher education focused on diversity and inclusion. She began her career as a full-time faculty member at the University of Kentucky. Her research focused on the protective factors, from a psychological perspective, that contributed to the well-being of Black and Brown students attending predominately white schools. 

“I looked at how we psychologically take care of underrepresented students when we know they are going to experience microaggressions,” says Love. “In particular, I studied what we need to do to equip students to be successful despite these unfortunate experiences they are having.”

Love says her research helped inform her teaching so that it was always conducted through a diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I) lens. Her work eventually transitioned from the student experience to the faculty experience. She began to look at women of color in leadership positions, and the correlating promotion and tenure rates, which then turned the focus of her work toward the professional development of faculty.

“Keisha understands the additional barriers some faculty, staff and students face,” adds Ferme. 

Both Ferme and Love believe DE&I must flow through the education and professional development of faculty, which is also a primary focus of Love’s new role. 

“A large part of my work will involve taking the DE&I priorities of the Office of the Provost and aligning them with the four pillars of DE&I (accountability, agency, sense of belonging, and cultural competence) established by Bleuzette Marshall, vice president for equity, inclusion and community impact and then filtering the work through the colleges to ensure we have a comprehensive plan.”