Members of the DGH Community:

Events in the past academic year have demonstrated just how important it is to commit actively to social justice and anti-racism, given clear evidence of systemic racism, police brutality and injustice in our society and the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on Black people and other people of color. We recognize the experiences of students, colleagues and friends in our community who have been excluded, disregarded, undermined, denigrated, and falsely accused because of racism, police brutality and white supremacy.

We have an opportunity and obligation to recommit to working to end structural racism in our own Department. We must come together in collective and individual action to radically change the system that has perpetuated the long history of racism and injustice that threatens our community and our work.  Therefore, the Department of Global Health (DGH) leadership, in collaboration with the DGH Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion committee, is formulating short- and long-term actions we can take across all domains of the Department. 

Social justice and equity are core values of DGH. They are the cornerstone of universal health and wellbeing. We must do better to align our actions with our values. True change is not easy, but the reasons we committed ourselves to global health include the ability to tackle fundamental causes of inequity like structural racism.

In solidarity,

Judy Wasserheit, DGH Chair

Keshet Ronen, Co-Chair, DGH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

Susan Mello, Co-Chair, DGH Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee

Judd Walson, DGH Vice Chair

Pamela Collins, DGH Director of Faculty Development

Susan Graham, DGH Associate Chair for Academic Programs

Dana Panteleeff, DGH Director of Finance and Administration

Plug into diversity, equity, and inclusion work in DGH and beyond: The DGH DEI committee’s webpage has been updated to include antiracism resources and a new listserv for DGH members who are interested in receiving DEI updates or getting involved with DEI work.