Message from Dean Whalen: Call to Action

The College of Allied Health Sciences has been working on many levels the past few weeks in response to the in response to the increasingly evident racial injustice that has shaken our society and CAHS community.  We stand firmly against racism in any form and we thank you for inspiring our call to action.    

One of the college’s Strategic Goals includes focused efforts around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

“Goal 5 – CAHS will foster a culture of inclusion and community to attract diverse students, faculty, and staff whose knowledge, skill and perspectives enhance their ability to provide health care, education and social services.” 

Our recent work seeks to not only reaffirm our commitment to the tenets of this goal, but also outlines next steps to the members of the CAHS community.  The following are some of the plans that are in progress at the college and departmental levels to continue to drive this aim at CAHS.  This is not an all-inclusive list but provides insight on some of the initiatives that are in progress in the College of Allied Health Sciences: 

• Each department is looking at additional opportunities to embed equity and inclusion topics into existing coursework and we are exploring the feasibility of offering an entire undergraduate course focused on the effect of health disparities and culturally competent care delivery.
• The college will restructure content in both Healthcare Ethics (HLTH 2011) and Research Methods (HLTH 3098) to include more equity and inclusion topics.
• The college will revise content in the Mid-Collegiate Touchpoint Conference (HLTH 3100) to discuss the effects of health care disparities. 

• We recognize the need for our faculty and staff to have additional resources and the opportunity to participate in additional training to feel more prepared to engage with students on these critical topics.  We have committed to provide a number of development opportunities throughout the year.  In Summer 2020: 
  • The college will offer several faculty/staff sessions facilitated by the Office of Equity and Inclusion called “Standing in Solidarity” for education and interactive conversations about race and racism.
  • The college will host a speaker at the annual all-college retreat to engage the entire faculty/staff on a topic related to equity and inclusion.  Additionally, we will share our intention to provide ongoing resources and training opportunities for faculty/staff development throughout the academic year. 

• Continue to elevate and communicate the current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion programming within CAHS and at UC. 
• The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisory Council (DEIAC) will work with CAHS student organizations to hold a collaborative meeting (once per semester) with a diversity, equity and inclusion focus. 
• Each program within the college will implement an orientation and/or welcome strategy for transition and transfer students to support their successful integration into the CAHS community.

The college will provide regular, ongoing communications on our efforts, progress, and opportunities in these strategic areas.

Thank you for inspiring our Call to Action. We are all in this together. 

Best regards,

Tina F. Whalen, PT, EdD, DPT, MPA, FNAP
Dean, Professor
College of Allied Health Sciences
University of Cincinnati
Email: whalentf@ucmail.uc.edu