It is a pandemic!

We’ve got a pandemic on our hands and we need to collectively wage the fight against it! I’m not talking about COVID-19. I’m talking about the pandemic of inequality.

If it wasn’t clear before, it is abundantly clear now, after weeks of uprisings in response to the death of George Floyd and others, and the clear disparities in health and socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 on people of color, that gaps in inequality are wide, unacceptable and have existed for far too long.

Systemic changes are needed in nearly every facet of 21st century life – health, education, justice, economics. As I mentioned before, Edson College of Nursing and Health Innovation will change. We will make fighting the pandemic of inequality a priority.

Beginning this fall semester, diversity and inclusion will figure prominently in our goals to create safe places for students, staff and faculty of color and also a safe place for people to have dialogue and disagree. The college is hiring a diversity, inclusion and equity lead whose job is to help hold us accountable for achieving tangible outcomes.

We are responding to the horror of what is going on in the nation in terms of racial and social justice. We are working to adjust our attitudes and our focus with regards to the significance of diversity and inclusion. We will be intentional in design and action about addressing a pandemic that has caused far too much harm to individuals and society and threatens the health of our communities!

If you have ideas about what’s needed to address inequality in the college, please share them with me – we can only do these things together.