ILS Inclusion statement
Please see below for communication sent to students and families regarding information for Fall 2020. This page will be updated as more information becomes available.
June 10, 2020 Email
Dear ILS community,
We join the university community today in renewing our commitment to address concerns about racism, social justice and the calls for a more equitable America and in standing in support of the many peaceful protests for justice across the United States. Communications from the Office of the President, President-designate Darryll Pines, and the Office of Diversity & Inclusion invite our participation as a step towards taking action.
Here at ILS, we would like to follow up with concrete steps that fall within our areas of skill and influence. We realize today that police violence should become an urgent public health priority, considering that legal and political action has failed. In addition, racial disparities in COVID-19 infection and lethality rates emphasize social and racial determinants of disease, and highlight inequities in work safety, housing, underlying medical conditions and access to care. ILS program components of education, research, and service are all spheres that have the power for fundamental change to dismantle racism in STEM and across society.
We have heard from some of you and welcome your offers for a range of thoughtful and considered perspectives and we look forward to your sustained contribution as we move forward from a community in mourning, to mobilizing.
As a start, we invite you to fill out a survey designed to capture your thoughts and invite you to take action: https://forms.gle/KcQKKJULNFbmuyE29.
With the help of some of you, we have assembled a list of resources for those who want to self-examine, read, take action, donate, or access on-campus services, etc.. Please let us know if you would like us to add an item to that list.
In the meantime, we are considering the following actions:
● Plan on holding a virtual town hall meeting for ILS students with public health experts
● Integrate topics on social and racial determinants of disease in more courses in our curriculum (We already have HLTH325H as an ILS class which focuses on health and poverty in the US)
● Expand service opportunities to highlight areas where you can work with groups whose social justice missions align with anti-racist values
● Expand lessons plans in HLSC100 that focus on equity and diversity
● Work with the rest of Honors College to allow more opportunities to learn about and have conversations about the many impacts of racism and opportunities to make change
We will continue to work with all of you to improve our program through keeping an open door policy and welcoming your ideas and critiques to make ILS a better program and to promote STEM as a more diverse and welcoming community. Our best assets are you, our students, and all the ideas you bring to the table.
Together with you, we should and can articulate a plan of action in response to those recent events that highlight the continued structural racism in our society that costs lives.
Sincerely yours,
The ILS leadership team
Dr. Najib M. El-Sayed, Professor and Director, ILS
Dr. Sabrina Kramer, Associate Director, ILS
Ms. Zabrina Anzyl, Assistant Director, ILS
