Latest News from ODEI
Four UAB faculty members have been selected to participate in the Summer 2022 Faculty Success Program hosted by the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) and sponsored by the UAB Office of the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion.
The selected members are Dwayne White, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Human Studies in the School of Education and Human Sciences; Benjamin L. Galatzan, PhD, RN, assistant professor in Family, Community and Health Systems in the School of Nursing; Ana Lucia Oliveira, DrPH, assistant professor in the Department of Clinical and Diagnostic Services in the School of Health Professions; and Samar Ashour, PhD, assistant professor in Accounting and Finance in the Collat School of Business.
The Faculty Success Program is a 12-week program for faculty of all ranks who are looking for empirically tested methods to improve research productivity through intense accountability, coaching, and peer support and to propel their work-life balance and personal growth. The program will take place from May 15 to August 6.
The NCFDD provides career development and mentoring resources for faculty at more than 450 colleges and universities. More than 475 faculty, postdocs, and graduate students at UAB have taken advantage of the university’s institutional membership. Membership includes access to the NCFDD’s Core Curriculum webinars, focused on skills necessary to “thrive in the academy”; interactive, online Guest Expert Webinars; multi-week courses on preparing tenure and promotion materials and manuscript revision; and 14-day writing challenges.
Statement By NADOHE President Paulette Granberry Russell
on Black History Month
Black History Month is our collective reminder to acknowledge and recognize the contributions of Black people to American history and culture. Annually, during this month, we celebrate the accomplishments of Black people while also reflecting on how systems of oppression and harm have often stood in the way of progress. As an organization, it is our duty to acknowledge those who forged the idea and saw the need for Black History Month including, of course, Harvard trained historian, Carter G. Woodson and Jesse E. Moorland, a prominent minister, who founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (ASNLH), known today as the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH). ASNLH sponsored a national Negro History week during the second week in February 1926. Kent State University is identified as having the first recorded celebration of Black History Month in 1970.
Today, it is important for us to recognize Black history as American history. And, the accomplishments, advancements, sacrifices, and struggles of Black Americans should not be ignored, misrepresented, or banned, and should be taught fully and truthfully in both secondary and postsecondary institutions.
Black Health and Wellness is the theme for this year’s national recognition. This theme is timely as it is urgently important to NADOHE’s mission. The pandemic has made evident health inequities among Black people in this country, and those inequities impact the physical and mental health and wellness of Black students, faculty, and staff within our colleges and universities. Eliminating health inequities is critical to the success of students and equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts across campuses. We cannot champion inclusive excellence if our students and colleagues don't feel safe or supported. Diverse representation in higher education — including enrollment, hiring, and promotion — must better represent our diverse populations, and equity, diversity, and more just and inclusive campuses and our larger world remains crucial work. As we continue our transformative efforts to advance inclusive excellence, we can not minimize how taxing this work can be, and how important it is to consider our own health and wellbeing as practitioners of this work, too.
We urge you to join our private LinkedIn group as a shared space where you can highlight your successes, best practices, and find community while also highlighting the realities of our very important and meaningful work.
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The National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) is the preeminent voice for chief diversity officers. As the leader of the national conversation on diversity, equity, and inclusion, it investigates, influences, and innovates to transform higher education so that inclusive excellence lives at its core.
The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Campus and Community Engagement (CACE) welcomes two new Keystone Fellows, Ashley Conoway and Maizonne Fields.
Founded in 2017, the Keystone Fellowship Program (KFP) aims to cultivate the next generation of engaged scholars whose doctoral program, research and career interests align with solving problems with direct implications on diversity, equity, and inclusion in higher education, our surrounding Birmingham communities, the nation, and the world. Specifically, the program seeks out students who have a demonstrated interest in developing and implementing innovative and sustainable approaches to address complex social needs affecting historically underserved and marginalized communities.
Ashley and Maizonne join the fellowship following the call for applications in Fall 2021. Congratulations to the newest fellows:
Ashley Conoway is working towards her PhD in Health Education and Health Promotion (HE/HP) within the Community Health and Human Services Program in the UAB School of Education and Human Sciences. Hailing from Greenwood, MS, she completed her undergraduate degree in Biology at Xavier University of Louisiana and has received her Master of Science in Basic Medical Science from UAB. Currently, she works as a researcher in the Department of Preventative Medicine on several projects concentrated on reducing chronic disease disparities in the Alabama Black Belt.
While studying in HE/HP, she worked on a health edutainment project with men at Donaldson State Prison where they wrote, performed, and published 2 seasons of the radio drama, Corrections, about health and wellness in the prison environment. Working with the incarcerated population inspired her to learn more about how people who have experienced incarceration in their formative years adjust and take care of themselves once they are released. Her current dissertation research is focused on how interactions with the criminal justice system affect self-care behaviors.
Maizonne Fields is currently a first year student in UAB’s Developmental Psychology PhD program. Broadly, her research interests focus on adult development and aging. This includes health disparities, dementia, and caregivers of those with dementia. More specifically, she is interested in 1) the impact of dementia diagnosis on caregiver identity and family system infrastructure that may lead to caregiver burnout; 2) the management of chronic disease with inadequate levels of support; 3) differences in access and utilization of healthcare and community services that may affect the caregiving experience in African American families; and 4) the role of advanced planning in disease management and reducing stress related to healthcare decisions.
Currently, Maizonne is working on the Caring for Adults with Difficulties (CFAD) research study that examines stressors of caregivers to aging adults, their social support networks, caregiving demands, and personal experiences. She also serves as the coordinator for the Community Outreach, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (CODI) core through UAB’s Alzheimer’s Research Disease Center.
The President and the Vice President for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at the University of Alabama at Birmingham are currently seeking nominations for the 2022 President’s Diversity Champion Award, an annual honor recognizing significant achievements of faculty, staff, students and student organizations toward developing a more culturally diverse and inclusive university community.
Awards will be given in each of five categories (faculty, staff, undergraduate, graduate/professional student, and student organization) for projects or activities that best reflect the implementation of unit and/or campus diversity goals. Nominees in each area must address the significance, implementation, and impact of the nominee’s action or project.
Any member of the UAB community can nominate a faculty member, staff member, student, or a student organization for the awards. A nomination packet should include a completed nomination form, nomination letter, letters of support (up to three) and supporting evidence of the nominee’s work.
The deadline for nominations is Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2021.
Recipients of the award will be selected by the President’s Diversity Champion Award Selection Committee.
Click here to read the full guidelines and complete nomination online.
Over 475 faculty, postdocs and graduate students at the University of Alabama at Birmingham say access to resources through the university’s membership with the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity (NCFDD) has improved their work habits and work-life balance, according to the latest survey conducted by the NCFDD.
UAB faculty, postdocs and graduate students participated in several NCFDD programs in 2020 including the Core Curriculum web series based on empirical research, guest expert webinars, a 14-day writing challenge and the Faculty Success Program, designed to help tenure-track and tenured faculty improve research productivity through coaching and peer support. Over 95-percent of Faculty Success Program participants report better work-life balance and 100-percent report improved writing productivity.
“Our goal for the university’s NCFDD membership has always been to see faculty members, postdocs and graduate students elevate their work and research by tapping into the unlimited resources available to them,” says Paulette Patterson Dilworth, Ph.D., UAB’s vice president for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. “We hope to see more instructors at all levels actively engage and participate.”
UAB is an institutional member of the organization that provides online career development and mentoring resources for faculty at all levels at over 450 colleges and universities. These resources, developed by the NCFDD or in conjunction with faculty and administrative partners, have the mission to support the career progression and transitions of faculty.
“We are pleased so many faculty members are utilizing the NCFDD resources and that tools are effective in helping participants find a healthy balance between their on-campus productivity and their prioritization of personal wellbeing,” said Pam Benoit, Ph.D., UAB’s senior vice president for Academic Affairs and provost. “This initial feedback from NCFDD participants is encouraging and we look forward to even more faculty participating in the future.”
To view the 2020 Engagement Report and get involved, visit https://www.uab.edu/dei/about/faculty-resources.