Making sustainable, fundamental changes to mitigate systematic racism and its effects within the Duke University School of Medicine will require participation from all of its members. To set priorities, identify obstacles and opportunities, and propose solutions, the School of Medicine created and empowered four committees representing all stakeholders within the School: health professions students, graduate students and postdocs, staff, and faculty.
These groups made recommendations for School-wide change to our Oversight Committee, which synthesized and evaluated the final recommendations of the other four committees and proposed a plan based on those results.
Goals
Our anti-racism committees' goals were to:
- Enhance racial diversity, equity, and belonging for all members of the School of Medicine
- Train an intentionally anti-racist healthcare and biomedical research workforce
- Foster educational and career development and satisfaction for all students, faculty, and staff.
- Incorporate teaching racism and racial inequities through our teaching, research, and clinical missions
- Develop and deploy solutions for our local, regional, and national communities.
- Establish the School of Medicine as an educational and research leader and agent of change towards an anti-racist culture.
- Advance careers in science and technology along with Duke University and our community partners
Committees
- Oversight Anti-Racism Committee
- Graduate Students and Postdoc Anti-Racism Committee
- Faculty Anti-Racism Committee
- Health Professions Students Anti-Racism Committee
- Staff Anti-Racism Committee
Members
Members
Briana Davis
PhD student, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Emma Dolan
PhD student, Pharmacology & Cancer Biology
Susan Gallagher
Director of Communications, Duke Department of Psychiatry
Gilberto Padilla
PhD student, Molecular Genetics and Microbiology
Melissa Segal
Senior Business Manager, Duke Neurobiology
Faculty Anti-Racism Committee
The Faculty Anti-racism Committee worked to uncover the School of Medicine's priorities and best opportunities related to enhancing racial diversity and equity amongst our faculty and enhancing the career development and satisfaction of the School's underrepresented in medicine faculty.
Co-Chairs
Members
Health Professions Students Anti-Racism Committee
The Health Professions Students Steering Committee held many meetings with its 65-member task force as well as its 12-person steering committee, which included student, faculty and staff representatives from multiple health professions programs.
The Health Professions Students Committee divided into five subcommittees covering assessment and evaluation, health professions curricula, health professions faculty training, micro/macroaggression reporting and professionalism, and student affairs.
Co-chairs
Members
Jacqueline S. Barnett, DHSc, MSHS, PA-C
Program Director, Duke Physician Assistant Program
Associate Professor of Family Medicine and Community Health
Maureen Cullins, AM
Co-Director, Multicultural Resource Center
Vikki Grossman
Administrative Assistant
Office of Graduate Affairs
Tori Hall
Director of Communications, Duke Eye Center
Tiffany Hilton, PhD
Associate Professor, Director of Curriculum Doctor of Physical Therapy Program
Kirsten Simmons
4th-year medical student
Read "My White Coat Feels Heavy," an essay Kirsten wrote about her experience as a medical student in an era of police brutality and injustice here.
Marcus Taylor
Doctor of Physical Therapy Student
Kevin Thomas, MD
Associate Professor of Medicine
Edward Buckley, MD (Ex-officio member)
Vice Dean for Education
Chair, Department of Ophthalmology
Aditee Narayan, MD (Ex-officio member)
Professor of Pediatrics
Members
Will Alexander, MA
Director of Communications, Neurology Department
Ceci Chamorro
Information Systems Manager, Duke Office of Clinical Research
Jeanine Holland, MBTA
Operations and Outreach Coordinator