Alumni Spotlight: Kate Kirkham (BS '66, sociology)
Kate Kirkham at BYU
Dr. Kate Kirkham (BS ‘66, sociology) dedicated her 40+ year career as a professional and academic to helping organizations eliminate discrimination from the workplace. As a recent testament to her lifelong commitment to change, she generously established The Kate L. Kirkham Graduate Student Finish Line Endowed Fund in the university’s Department of Sociology.
Decades before the study of institutional racism became widespread, Kate and a small group of colleagues in the late 1960s developed innovative ideas about the systematic underpinnings of discrimination and how organizations can address it.
Dr. Kirkham decided to establish a scholarship endowment for graduate students in sociology because she has “a special place in her heart for the University of Utah and for sociology because that’s where her ideas began to gestate,” explained former colleague and friend, Dr. Marie Cornwall.
Kate’s endowment will support sociology Ph.D. candidates who have demonstrated academic merit, but exhausted their graduate funding. This is a crucial, yet often unrecognized need, as Sociology Department Chair Wade Cole explains, “Students in our Ph.D. program receive, at best, only five years of financial support, even though half of all doctoral students in sociology nationwide require more than eight years to complete their degrees.”
Kate Kirkham (back row, right) with
ASUU 1966 leaders
At first glance, Kate seems an unlikely person to be at the forefront of what we recognize today as equity, diversity and inclusion. A third-generation U alumna, she was born and raised in Salt Lake City, grew up in the Avenues, and attended East High.
As a student at the U, she served as an ASUU leader and chair of the Union Program Council, was vice president of Alpha Delta Pi sorority, and inducted into the prestigious Beehive Honor Society.
After graduating from the U, Kate ended up in Washington, D.C. at age 20, thanks to the flip of a coin. She got a job with the National Education Association (NEA) as a facilitator, and quickly built a bond with a small, diverse group of colleagues. She was especially influenced by Elsie Cross, who the Los Angeles Times called in 1992 “one of the most persuasive and potent ‘diversity consultants’ in this country.”
Dr. Kirkham’s association with these colleagues led to years of innovative diversity work for the NEA and through her consulting firm, Resources for Change. Kate and her associates helped organizations of all sizes address power imbalances and inequities, including the Girl Scouts of America, Corning Incorporated, and Bell Helicopter.
Kate’s curiosity and commitment led to her completing her masters at George Washington University and doctoral degree in organizational behavior at the Union Graduate School. In 1978, she joined Brigham Young University‘s Marriott School of Business as an associate professor of organizational leadership and strategy.
“Kate was always an original thinker. She had a rich academic background, but she paid attention to group processes and how people behaved in certain circumstances. She was always reflecting on the situation and what you could learn from it,” said Dr. Cornwall.
Kate’s time at BYU was not without challenges. When she joined the faculty, Kate came with a wealth of practical experience, but was new to academia. She also was one of the business school’s first female faculty. And her research centered around racism, “a potentially controversial subject for any academic community, including BYU,” explained Kate. This meant she often felt out of step with her colleagues.
Perhaps because she faced many barriers herself, Kate wanted to help the next generation of scholars and professionals. Initially, she planned to make a legacy gift in her will. But thanks to the guidance of her financial advisor, she realized she could see the impact of the gift during her lifetime through a qualified charitable distribution from her individual retirement account.
This fall, Kate met the first recipient of her endowment, Ph.D. candidate Xuan Zhang, who goes by Karen. Kate and Karen share an interest in addressing social inequality, as well as the determination to overcome personal challenges.
Xuan (Karen) Zhang, inaugural recipient of the
Kate L. Kirkham Graduate Finish Line Fellowship
As Karen explained, “As a student, I am hardworking and dedicated to my studies. I love to learn new skills and things. I am also a determined person who tries hard to overcome difficulties and challenges in my life.”
When asked why she wanted to make this gift, Dr. Kirkham responded, “It's important to have in your life places of joy." Through Kate’s generosity, she has shared her joy with sociology students for years to come.
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