Fall 2022
THIS ISSUE

A commitment to equity

article summary

Ramsey-White oversees critical progress on the implementation of the Gillings School’s Inclusive Excellence Action Plan.

Since its adoption in 2019, our Inclusive Excellence Action Plan has guided significant changes to nearly every area of the school in pursuit of our vision of building, supporting and sustaining a diverse, equitable and inclusive anti-racist community, well-prepared to address 21st century health inequities.

Recent actions across six priority areas include:  

  • A venue for student feedback and inclusive excellence training programs, which have had 95% participation from faculty and staff and 45% participation from students,
  • New requirements for courses and a review process that acknowledges faculty members for facilitating discussions around equity issues in the classroom,
  • Improved approaches to communicating inclusive excellence, equity and anti-racism through our website, promotional materials, artwork and course syllabi,
  • Equitable funding for research assistantships, teaching assistantships and scholarships, which have positively impacted students across demographics,
  • Training for admissions committee members, removal of the GRE requirement for graduate programs, earlier communication of funding packages and the creation of a more welcoming culture at Gillings, which have resulted in a large increase in diversity of our student body, and
  • Increased funding for research related to health equity and a faculty award to acknowledge outstanding contributions to equity within a pressing public health issue.

Kim Ramsey-White, PhD, joined the Gillings School as associate dean for inclusive excellence in 2022. Her deep experience implementing diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, and a research portfolio focused on education reform initiatives, health disparities and social capital, ensure our school is in good hands and progress will continue on this core piece of our mission.

Gillings students chat outside of Rosenau Hall.

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