UC College of Nursing hires Endowed Chair in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Gakumo holds a program of research focused on developing and testing literacy-based approaches to improve health disparities in African Americans living with HIV. She has been involved in multiple interdisciplinary research projects funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities, among others, as well as provided her expertise to nationally funded programs to identify strategies in teaching health literacy topics and linking patient-centered outcomes to medical and staff workforce education.

Gakumo’s endowed chair position is named for Glazer, the college’s dean emeritus. During her nine-year decanal tenure, which ended in June, Glazer strove to create an inclusive college environment, diversify the nursing workforce and address health inequities in the Greater Cincinnati region through innovative pipeline programs, admissions practices, research and faculty and staff initiatives. Gakumo will carry forward this spirit of inclusive excellence.

“Raising awareness of health inequities and having cultural humility is important, but the time is now to translate this into action and sustainable change,” Gakumo says. “It won’t happen overnight, but I’m in it for the long haul.”