Speaking at the UMass Chan virtual event, Quinsigamond Community College President Luis Pedraja, PhD, brought Hispanic Heritage Month to a close with his talk, “The Other Pandemic: Systemic Racism and the Latinx Community.”

On Oct. 14, the UMass Chan Medical School community will join the nation in celebration of “Esperanza: A Celebration of Hispanic Heritage and Hope.” Quinsigamond Community College President Luis Pedraja, PhD, will deliver the keynote.

As president of UMass Chan Medical School’s chapter of the Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science, PhD candidate Daniel Hidalgo provides cultural training and advocates for diversity in STEM fields.

In its efforts to create intentional spaces to support faculty and staff of color at UMass Chan Medical School, the Diversity and Inclusion Office has formed two affinity groups.

UMass Chan Medical School Registrar Michael Baker, MA, has been named to the 2021 Biomedical Science Careers Program Honor Roll in recognition of his efforts to diversify research and health professions.

J. Nwando Olayiwola, MD, MPH, FAAFP, delivered this year’s annual Putterman Lecture, “Moving Towards Health Equity: Why Anti-racism Must Be a Core Value in Medicine.”

UMass Chan Medical School’s Diversity and Inclusion Office facilitated the first of its “Centering the Margins” series on Wednesday, Sept. 15, with a discussion focused on a land acknowledgement for the Nipmuc Nation.

Vice Chancellor for Diversity and Inclusion Marlina Duncan, EdD, welcomed participants and said it was important to introduce students to the various support structures and resources available to them while at UMass Medical School.

UMass Medical School welcomed two cohorts of college students to its annual Summer Enrichment Program and Summer Undergraduate Research Program for high-achieving undergraduates from backgrounds underrepresented in science and medicine.

The Diversity Research Supplement Award Jillian M. Richmond, PhD, has received from the Dermatology Foundation covers the stipend for medical student researcher Jadé Olayinka.

UMass Medical School family medicine resident Stephany Giraldo Eierle, DO, MPH, is a Latina first-generation American completing her first year as a physician at the Family Health Center of Worcester, and becoming a vocal advocate for diversity in medicine and public health.

The UMass Memorial Health Care and UMass Medical School communities stand in solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander colleagues, supporting the families and communities directly affected by the shooting deaths of eight people, six of whom were Asian Americans, in Atlanta.

The GSBS Diversity Interest Group is “centered on sharing the voices of our fellow trainees and having their stories and experiences heard.”

School of Medicine student Kassandra Jean-Marie, SOM ’24, credits the UMass Baccalaureate MD Pathway Program for helping her pursue a medical degree and increase diversity within the medical field.

The 2020 Chancellor’s Award for Advancing Institutional Excellence in Diversity and Inclusion was presented to Linda Long-Bellil, JD, PhD, at the 33rd annual tribute to Martin Luther King Jr. MLK Semester of Service Awards and the inaugural Equity in Action Student Award was also presented.

The 33rd Annual community celebration will take place virtually. This year’s theme is “Disrupting Inequity through Structural Change: How the crises of 2020, the pandemic and social injustice brought forth the best in the UMMS community.”

The 2021 Martin Luther King Jr. Semester of Service Award student projects address health disparities, including some worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UMass Medical School administration, faculty, staff and student leaders came together Thursday, Nov. 12 for Diversity Summit V, a two-hour virtual conference assessing the state of diversity, equity and inclusion efforts at UMMS and outlining plans for future work.

Marlina Duncan, EdD, will serve as the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion at UMass Medical School, beginning Dec. 28, according to an announcement from Chancellor Michael F. Collins.

The book, How to Be an Antiracist, by Ibram X. Kendi, PhD, was the subject of a campus read discussion on Thursday, Nov. 5.

The UMass Medical School Campus Conversation on Faculty Diversity, moderated by Vice Provost for Health Equity Milagros Rosal, PhD, provided an opportunity to learn about and provide input to improve efforts to increase recruitment and retention of diverse faculty.

LGBTQ health equity was the focus of a Diversity and Inclusion Campus Conversation. Also, Chancellor Michael F. Collins announced the establishment of a scholarship program and named School of Medicine students Theo Eldore and Patricia Giunta the inaugural recipients.

As the UMass Medical School community addresses diversity and advocacy through a virtual campus conversation series this fall, students took the lead on Wednesday, Oct. 28, in a discussion about diversifying the face of science and medicine.

Members of the UMass Medical School community discussed over Zoom ideas for eliminating health disparities at the individual, institutional and community levels during the second in a series of campus conversations on diversity and inclusion.

What makes an organization committed to fully inclusive gender equity? Gayle Capozzalo, executive director of The Equity Collaborative, discussed the purpose and goals of the collaborative and UMass Medical School’s involvement in a virtual campus conversation.

A new diversity and inclusion program at UMass Medical School called Project Civility aims to provide in-depth opportunities for students to explore diversity and inclusion, build personal skills, enhance learning outcomes and foster community and connections among the three schools.

Brian Lewis, PhD, was recognized in the Evening of Hope 2020 Honor Roll during the Biomedical Science Careers Program’s annual fundraising ceremony. He was honored for his commitment to the organization’s mission of closing the equity gap and increasing diversity in science professions.

Maira Castañeda Avila, PhD candidate in the Clinical & Population Health Research Program, received a Ruth L. Kirschstein National Research Service Individual Predoctoral Fellowship to Promote Diversity in Health-Related Research, funded by the National Cancer Institute.

UMass Medical School will hold a series of events this fall to help align and anchor diversity and inclusion programming.

The Diversity & Inclusion Office and the International Committee relaunched the storytelling series “UMass Immigrant Stories” on Tuesday, Sept. 29, with Raúl Padrón and Francis Wanjau sharing their stories over Zoom.

An initiative to encourage bias-free learning environments across UMass Medical School is moving forward with faculty workshops, online tools and department grand rounds presentations.

UMMS joined the nation in recognizing the many contributions of Hispanic and Latino Americans to the country and the medical school community with a live, online panel discussion in which students and faculty panel took on questions of diversity and inclusion.

Milagros C. Rosal, PhD, has been appointed to the newly created position of vice provost for health equity at UMass Medical School. Dr. Rosal will also be named the inaugural recipient of the newest endowed faculty position created specifically to support the faculty member who serves as vice provost for health equity.

Mary Munson, PhD, is co-directing a first-of-its-kind national program to enhance diversity in the academic biomedical workforce, funded by a $1.3 million, five-year grant from the National Institutes of Health.

In the new role, Maria Garcia, MD, MPH, will continue to develop educational programs that respect the diverse educational goals of learners from different educational, personal and cultural backgrounds in order to enhance career development for students in all three schools.

In a memo to the UMass Medical School community, Chancellor Michael F. Collins and Dean Terence R. Flotte say racism is a public health crisis and outline changes underway at UMMS.

Students, faculty and staff from UMass Medical School and UMass Memorial Medical Center, wearing masks and standing six feet apart, took part in a silent vigil for George Floyd on Friday, June 5, on the campus green at UMass Medical School.