Different colored paint chips

A Note on DEI From the Interim Chair

Kevin Weinfurt, PhDKevin Weinfurt, PhD

The Department of Population Health Sciences is committed to realizing the goals of diversity, equity, and inclusion in our research, teaching, and interactions with each other and our community. We recognize the detrimental impact of systemic racism, the prolonged oppression of individuals based on their identity and color, and the harmful consequences of health disparities. We understand that we have the opportunity and responsibility to make things better. Further, as an academic department, we recognize that our work flourishes when we encourage pluralism of ideas and experiences and cooperation among diverse scholars to positively impact the health of all.

With the help of the department's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee, we continually review our work environment and processes to identify new opportunities to promote fundamental DEI principles. We develop transparent, standardized hiring procedures to reduce the role of bias in decisions about who joins our community. We promote inclusive excellence in our classrooms and support underrepresented students through mentorship, training, and financial support to foster a more diverse and innovative research community.

To achieve meaningful change, we must all commit to sustained effort and be transparent about our progress. On these pages, we will update our progress toward realizing a rich, inclusive, respectful, and pluralistic community of learners and researchers.

Read Duke University's Institutional Commitment to Diversity and Inclusion

A Note on DEI from the Vice-Chair for DEI

Dr. Tomi Akinyemiju

Tomi Akinyemiju, PhD

As faculty, staff, and trainees in the Department of Population Health Sciences, our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion is ironclad and unwavering. We are firmly invested in creating an environment where every member of our department, and everything that we do, reflect this commitment. We welcome and celebrate the diversity of backgrounds and cultures that makes us strong, unique, innovative, and impactful. We create practices, policies, and processes to promote an equitable environment where everybody is empowered to thrive at their highest potential, and we intentionally address barriers to success among our diverse team members. Diversity, equity, and inclusion practices are integrated into the fabric of all that we do, and we systematically evaluate our progress in achieving this goal. We believe that the current challenges we face globally in advancing population health and health equity require teams that are diverse and inclusive; we are poised to meet these challenges and measurably improve the health of the communities we serve, locally, nationally, and globally