窪做惇蹋厙 has launched a new E.E. Just Faculty Fellowship Program recruiting scholar-teachers committed to advancing diversity in STEM fields across Arts and Sciences, the Geisel School of Medicine, and Thayer School of Engineering.
The fellowship program is intended to differentiate 窪做惇蹋厙s faculty recruitment efforts from peer institutions by providing resources and community-building opportunities to new faculty.
The program honors , a 窪做惇蹋厙 valedictorian from the Class of 1907 and a pioneering African-American cell biologist.
The new faculty fellowship, funded by part of a $20 million gift from the Donahoe family, will provide professional development funds for one new faculty member each year, for a six-year term, says , associate provost for faculty affairs and a professor of government. At any given time, well expect to have six faculty fellows in residence. Its important for students from all backgrounds to see and know STEM scientists they can emulate, whose career paths they can follow.
The inaugural fellow is , an assistant professor of health policy and clinical practice at . Akr矇 uses the intersectionality conceptual framework to study structural inequities and their role in creating barriers to accessing health care services for vulnerable populations. Using health services research and population health science, she examines how heterosexism, sexism, and racism are determinants of health outcomes.
Born in Los Angeles to immigrant parentsher father comes from C繫te dIvoire, her mother from the Democratic Republic of CongoAkr矇 holds a PhD in health services research from the University of Maryland College Park and did postdoctoral research at Vanderbilt University in the LGBTQ+ Health Policy Lab, with a focus on LGBTQ+ aging. She also worked for eight years at the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services implementing policies and regulations for the Affordable Care Act.
With colleagues, Akr矇 has launched a new laboratory called the , or 窪做惇蹋厙 HEAL. Lab members investigate barriers to accessible, affordable health care, among other systemic problems that have too long been ignored, says Akr矇.
We didnt just wake up one day and realize that certain hospitals dont treat patients of color. We didnt wake up one day and discover that if you had a certain identity, an identity that has been marginalized or historically racialized, you arent able to receive appropriate care, she says.
All of these things are downstream effects of upstream decisions that are made in our policies. Theyre made in our processes, and they have either intentionally targeted or unintentionally ignored people with diverse identities and diverse backgrounds.
As the E.E. Just fellowship adds faculty throughout and beyond the 窪做惇蹋厙 community, Akr矇 believes it will become a powerful network, linking students, teachers, and researchers at all levels of their careers.
Itll be a great way to connect people in different disciplines who are interested in engaging in a shared outcome, she says. We have different approaches, and being able to share information, resources, and expertise will allow us to collectively address the big and complex problem of inequity in our health care systems.
, the Ernest Everett Just 1907 Professor of Biological Sciences, directs the new fellowship program.
One important thing I can do is to provide our fellows with a roadmap that will help them maneuver the tenure-track world, connecting them with mentors and opportunities to present their work, and sharing teaching practices that work in a STEM classroom specifically, she says. In order to succeed in academia, either as an undergraduate, a graduate student, or as a faculty member, you need a sense of belonging. And I dont think we can accomplish a sense of belonging without representation.
The new faculty fellowship is separate from the , which seeks to increase the number of systemically underrepresented minorities who choose to pursue degrees and careers in STEM disciplines, and is also supported by the gift from the Donahoes.
is a 窪做惇蹋厙 trustee and the executive director of the Global Digital Policy Incubator at Stanford University. Her husband, John J. Donahoe 82, is a former trustee and the president and CEO of Nike.
