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That equates to roughly $583 per minute for the “Keynote
Conversation with Dr. Ibram X. Kendi” hosted at the public
university.
A copy of the contract, provided to The College Fix upon request
by the school’s media affairs division, shows the deal also
funded up to $10,000 in travel expenses, including a first-class
airline ticket, hotel accommodations, and travel to and from the
event.
Kendi’s UICI appearance was the keynote aspect of “The
Chancellor’s Call to Action to Address Racism & Social Injustice
Research Symposium.” The event was part of a larger program at
the university addressing those topics.
The program “is a commitment by our university to put the need
to address systemic racism and generationally embedded racial
disparity into concrete action,” its website states.
It was created in July 2020, in the wake of George Floyd’s
death, when UIUC Chancellor Robert Jones announced a $2 million
annual commitment to fund the program, according to officials.
Last week’s symposium showcased 22 projects funded since the
program’s launch.
Currently the public university is applying an additional $2
million during the 2022-23 school year on another round of
critical race theory research, with topics such as “systemic
racism and social justice, “law enforcement and criminal justice
reform” and disparities in health and health care,” its website
states.
Sean Garrick, University of Illinois’ vice chancellor for
diversity, equity and inclusion, said Kendi’s appearance was
meant in part to help highlight the 22 critical race theory
research projects on display as part of the two-day symposium.
“My hope is that Dr. Kendi attracts a wide audience who are
there the next day, to see the work that our community has
invested in having done and to hear the outcomes of some of that
work,” said Garrick, according to the campus newspaper the Daily
Illini.
A video of the keynote Q&A has not been published by the public
university. The contract states the event was not allowed to be
recorded unless Kendi gave his permission.
For more on this story, visit The College Fix.
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