Category Archives: Make a Difference

Projects that are making a difference, improving lives, and building communities.

Authors A-H, Pandemic, Wellness

Diversity and Speech Part 14: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei

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Completing her second year as a pediatrics professor at the University of California, Riverside, Adwoa was focused on providing clinical training for her medical students.  A retired UCR history professor, Carlos had no way of imagining that he would soon be joining the staff of a medical school.  .

Then the UCR School of Medicine decided to establish a new required curricular thread on Health Equity, Social Justice, and Anti-Racism.  Shortly after that, the School asked Adwoa and Carlos to become co-directors of the thread in order to get it started.

It was decision time for the two of us.  Still at an early stage of her medical teaching career, Adwoa had numerous obligations.  Experienced in health care cultural competence training, Carlos had been giving annual workshops on that topic to UCR’s incoming medical students.  But establishing an entire curricular thread?  That was a challenge.  But also an opportunity.  We couldn’t turn it down.   Continue reading Diversity and Speech Part 14: Health Equity – by Carlos Cortés, Adwoa Osei →

Authors A-H, Neuro-diversity, Pandemic, Wellness

Neurodiversity: An Organizational Asset – by Maureen Dunne, Cathy Schwallie Farmer

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neurodiversityIntroduction

We make the case here that neurodivergent thinkers should be an important part of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies because every organization stands to benefit from the inclusion of different cognitive perspectives in creating the organization’s culture.

This argument can be made from several different angles. For example, it can be made from the standpoint of a single organization, competing with other organizations in a commercial or industrial pursuit. It can also be made from the standpoint of the larger society, which stands to benefit from more innovative and equitable organizations.

Wouldn’t we all prefer to live in a world that values individuals for the skills and talents each of us uniquely possesses? Wouldn’t we all prefer to live in a world where seeming misfit pieces of the puzzle find a suitable home in the tapestry of the larger machine that is a 21st century economy?

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Authors R-Z, Wellness

The Surrender of the Medical Superhero – by Vishnu Unnithan

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It was the first day of the new academic term and our batch was bubbling with excitement. Our surgery posting had finally dawned. Now was our chance to step into the operation theatre and watch first hand as surgeons washed up and dutifully, saved lives. When most medical students envision medicine as a career, prior to entering medical school, they more often than not dream about wearing scrubs and operating to the rhythmic beats of all the life support and monitoring machines. Without doubt, the first visit to the operation theatre is one of the most cherished memories of any medical student.

We were assigned to our units and were very warmly received by our senior consultants. Cases were allotted for observation and by rotation, we were even allowed to wash up and assist in the procedures. It was a thrilling experience as we got to take incisions and operate laparoscopic instruments under expert supervision and this led to the birth of an unextinguishable spark that caused many of my colleagues to decide upon surgery as a future career choice.

Continue reading The Surrender of the Medical Superhero – by Vishnu Unnithan →

Black-Jewish Dialogue, Pandemic, Wellness

Black-Jewish Dialogue October 2020

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Health, Healthcare and Equity

Presenters for this Black-Jewish Dialogue session included Beverly Coulter, Pastor William Hicks, and Dr. Frank Miller with facilitators: Rabbi Craig Lewis of Mizpah Congregation and Deborah Levine, ADR Editor. The discussion included descriptions of the healthcare challenges facing the African-American community and the Jewish community, as well as mutual challenges in the COVID-19 era.

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Authors I-Q, Pandemic, Wellness

Healthy Golden Years – by Milica Kostic

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Staying Healthy in Your Golden Years During COVID-19

Retirement is a part of our lives where we look forward to relaxing and enjoying the abundance of extra time.  We have a chance to explore the world, pursue hobbies, and spend time with our grandchildren.

But let’s not forget that the key aspect of having a vibrant and productive retirement means you have to keep your body and mind healthy.

Today, with the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping a high focus on our health is more important than ever. As our older loved ones follow all the necessary precautions to keep themselves safe and healthy, they can also include some additional activities in their routines to help keep their minds sharp and bodies fit.

Continue reading Healthy Golden Years – by Milica Kostic →

Authors A-H, Education

Reaching the Underserved in Gifted Education – by Holly Paul, Stacey Burt

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A Camel Through the Eye of a Needle

The National Association for Gifted Children (2020a) defines gifted children as those “who demonstrate outstanding levels of aptitude…or competence…in one or more domains.” Gifted programs exist to provide enrichment to the core curriculum and support these children in reaching their potential. Unfortunately, racial and ethnic minority students are regularly underrepresented in these programs, with the largest disparity being black students. It is both immoral and illegal not to educate a child on the low end of the special education spectrum. Why, then, do we not have the same moral imperative to help all intellectually gifted students reach their potential?

Continue reading Reaching the Underserved in Gifted Education – by Holly Paul, Stacey Burt →

Authors A-H, Education

Educate by Flipping the Eye – by Todd Cherches

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When I originally envisioned the cover design of my new book, VisuaLeadership: Leveraging the Power of Visual Thinking in Leadership and in Life, the image of the eye on the front cover was going to be blue. Not because I have blue eyes (mine are hazel) but, simply, because blue is my favorite color. And because it would align with the name and the brand of my leadership consulting company, BigBlueGumball. lens

 

However, just before officially committing to the blue eye, in the spirit of thinking outside the box I came up with the idea of, instead, using a rainbow-colored eye. This multicolored eye, I felt, better represented the concepts of diversity, inclusion, and belonging, as well as more colorfully foreshadowing the book’s emphasis on innovation and creativity.

Continue reading Educate by Flipping the Eye – by Todd Cherches →

Authors A-H, Education

Women and Higher Education Inequity – by Jaclyn Anderson, Margie Crowe 

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 Faculty and Leadership Positions, COVID-19, and Structural Disparities 

Where Are the Allies?

The structural disparities linger within higher education and are influenced by long-standing patriarchal practices and ideologies. These inequalities can lead to a lack of diversity and inclusion of single-parent households and women. The problem has become salient given the current pandemic of COVID-19., which disproportionately affects women and single-parent households. Inflexible thinking and leadership practices in higher education have led to barriers to full inclusion of women in higher education positions that are exacerbated when women must choose between their career and their families. Current higher education leadership practices often disallow or acknowledge the right of women to exist in this space. Institutions are reluctant, and indeed refusing, to allow accommodations for staff, faculty, and students (allowing work from home, reducing attendance requirements, required on-campus hours). Administrations that are rife with patriarchal ideologies, with little or no understanding of the consequences of these archaic policies, seem to continue with business as usual.

Continue reading Women and Higher Education Inequity – by Jaclyn Anderson, Margie Crowe  →

Authors I-Q, Education, Holocaust

Our Fathers: Learning from Wounds – by Laszlo Petrovics

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Perhaps the past Century will not be known for the World Wars, for the atom bomb, for the rapid growth of scientific technology leading to IT, nor for even the Holocaust and a new awareness of crimes against humanity. In the long eye of history, perhaps the past Century will be known for fatherlessness. As such it will also be known for “Atyahiány”, Our Father’s absence, a most bitter and embittering fatherlessness: For Hitler was fatherless, Stalin was fatherless, Sceuicescu, the tyrant of Romania, was a bastard, Sadam Hussein of Iraq had no father, the ruler of Libya, Khadaffi was fatherless, Castro was a bastard.

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Authors A-H, Education

Diversity & Speech Part 13: Education and Equity – by Carlos E. Cortés

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Education, particularly higher education, has become ground zero for the clash of inclusive diversity and robust speech.  Many administrators and professors proclaim their support of both.  So do I.  Yes, they can co-exist.  But there will be clashes, inevitably.  Which means decisions, tough decisions, will have to be made.

In the wake of the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd, those decisions became more complex and more contentious.  College leaders throughout the country proclaimed their horror about that Minneapolis event and vowed that their campuses would not only continue to support diversity, equity, and inclusion, but would also assert leadership in anti-racism.

Such anti-racist proclamations are needed.  But what does that mean when it comes to action?  What should college leaders do if members of their campus communities use their robust speech to express anti-equity ideas, particularly ones that are deemed to be racist?

Continue reading Diversity & Speech Part 13: Education and Equity – by Carlos E. Cortés →