Mission
The purpose of the WVU School of Public Health Diversity Task Force is to build, examine, review and contribute to an infrastructure that ensures diversity, equity and inclusion are incorporated as overarching foci in the School of Public Health. This approach is designed as a direct benefit to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, community stakeholders and colleagues by contributing to and leading oversight for actions and activities that foster a climate of inclusion.
We do this by embracing and championing inclusive pedagogy and culturally appropriate methods of inquiry, providing culturally relevant and appropriate messaging, highlighting best-practices to dismantle societal and systemic racism in academic public health, ensuring that practice and training reflect needs for a diverse 21st century population, and serving as a resource for continued professional growth in cultural competence education. The Diversity Task Force also serves as a conduit to explore relevant health and wellness solutions for historically marginalized and disenfranchised groups, through education, training, research and outreach.
The work of the Task Force will be guided by the following:
- The mission, goals and values of the WVU School of Public Health, WVU Health Sciences and WVU
- The mission, goals and values of the Association of Schools & Programs of Public Health (ASPPH) Task Force on Tolerance for Harassment, Discrimination, and Racism
- Values and goals statements from the WVU Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
- American Public Health Association (APHA) Advancing Racial Equity webinar series
Goals
Among the committee’s goals are launching a climate survey, developing an online training module on cultural competence in healthcare and social justice in public health, and creating a resource for best practices and innovations in schools of public health.