Dr. Tomarra Adams, Bellarmine’s chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer, announced two Bellarmine professors have been selected as Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Faculty Fellows for 2022-2023 academic year. Drs. Kaitlyn J. Selman and Ta’Neka Lindsay will serve as fellows for the second year of the program.
The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Faculty Fellows program began under the leadership of Dr. Donald “DJ” Mitchell, Jr. in 2021. Mitchell said DEI faculty fellow programs have been successful at various institutions. Bellarmine’s president, Dr. Susan M. Donovan, had the idea to bring this kind of program to Bellarmine, and, together, Mitchell, Donovan, and Dr. Paul Gore, vice president for academic affairs and provost, developed the program to increase the DEI visibility at Bellarmine, which is a focal point for further growth.
Each of the Fellows were selected by a committee of faculty, staff and students. The fellows proposed research and/or projects that could transform campus by operationalizing Bellarmine's strategic goals for DEI and fostering a culture of lifelong learning.
“We are proud to present these faculty members serving as role models and resources to our Bellarmine community as the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Fellows,” Adams said. “We look forward to a year of continued engagement, courageous conversations and personal and professional development.”
Dr. Kaitlyn J. Selman is an Assistant Professor in Criminal Justice Studies at Bellarmine, holding both a BA from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, a MA in Sociology from University of South Florida and a Ph.D. in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Old Dominion University. She completed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate at Bellarmine University and is a member of the American society of Criminology with a focus on social justice.
Dr. Selman’s research unearths the ways in which the racial capitalist forces of differentiation and dispossession work to reproduce oppressive conditions for young people, as well as the strategies of opposition and transformation that marginalized youth have developed in response. She cares deeply about challenging policies, practices and institutions that reinforce structural inequality, and forging transformative pathways in her communities.
Dr. Ta’Neka Lindsay is a dually certified Nurse Practitioner of Women's Health and Adult Gerontology Primary Care and an Assistant Professor of Nursing at Bellarmine holding a BSN from the University of Louisville, a MSN from Vanderbilt University and a DNP from the University of Kentucky.
Dr. Lindsay has worked and trained in many areas including Internal Medicine, OB/GYN, Renal/Med-Surgery, Cardiac Telemetry and Emergency Medicine. She is certified by the National Certification Corporation and the American Nurses Credentialing Center. As an active community leader, Dr. Lindsay is involved in many health-oriented organizations such as KYANNA Black Nurses Association (chapter of the NBNA), Kentucky Nurses Association, Kentucky Association of Nurse Practitioners and Nurse Midwives and American Nurses Association. Her research will center on the recruitment of retention of minority nursing students using an evidence-based approach to examine the strategies implemented to foster student success.