The 2021 DEI Facilities and Spaces Plan unfolded over a year-long effort. The equity-driven planning approach concentrated on how the campus setting has or had impacted communities—particularly marginalized communities—to reveal systemic challenges and improvement opportunities. This intentional focus on minority or marginalized communities enabled voices that are often ignored, sidelined, and removed in the decision-making process to be at the center of the plan. The plan differs from a university campus master plan by investigating how a range of experiences can occur within the same campus spaces and how underrepresented communities can be especially marginalized in these spaces.

Revealing the many histories of the university was critical to understanding how past decisions and local and national events continue to impact current experiences for students, faculty, staff, and Lexington residents. Histories related to the university’s foundation as a land-grant institution represent how the university’s land and wealth acquisitions have benefited from or contributed to systematic barriers to diversity, equity, and inclusion. The university’s expansion has displaced Lexington’s historic communities of color over the years.

The plan provides nine Big Ideas as physical strategies for the campus: (1) Establish a Multicultural Network—Build a multicultural center to affirm and celebrate identity groups; (2) Foster Equitable Learning Environments—Renovate classrooms to accommodate diverse learners; (3) Support Diverse Residential Experiences—Plan an Intergenerational Village for seniors, international families, and graduate students; (4) Extend Inclusive Infrastructure—Provide a network of basic needs through the campus with all-gender restrooms, lactation rooms, tutoring centers, dining options, and wellness areas; (5) Foster Greater Accessibility Across the Campus—Redesign corridors, landscapes, and entries with universal accessibility; (6) Celebrate Cultural Events Through Placemaking—Enhance open spaces as venues for campus-wide cultural events; (7) Cultivate Campus Art as a Learning Opportunity—Create a network of art installations and memorials to show greater diversity of contributors advancing academic and social ideas; (8) Create Welcoming Campus Edges—Reimagine land uses, connections, gateways, signage, and wayfinding; and (9) Reinforce Distinct Campus Districts—Cultivate a plural identity expression of the built environment through a variety of different architectures and landscape.