A longtime proponent of diversity efforts at HSPH, at the University, and in state government as former Massachusetts commissioner of public health, Professor Deborah Prothrow-Stith has been named to the new position of Associate Dean for Diversity at the School. The appointment, as well as the creation of a new Office of Diversity (OD), was announced to a round of applause at the annual State of the School Address (SOSA) on October 11, 2007.
Dean for Academic Affairs James Ware said that he and his colleagues have worked to make progress on the important issue of diversity. "Those of us who have been involved in this effort believe that we can raise this to another level of impact and success, and so all of us who have been involved in these activities intend to stand shoulder to shoulder with Deborah and to help her achieve a noticeable impact in this area," he said.
Said Dean Barry Bloom: "I am delighted that someone who has unique experience and demonstrated dynamic leadership has agreed to take on this major administrative role. This new position is indicative of the high priority that the School places on providing opportunities for the broadest diversity of students and faculty."
At present, approximately 29 percent of students and 36 percent of researchers at HSPH come from minority populations, according to statistics presented at SOSA. Minority faculty comprise approximately 25 percent of total ladder faculty at HSPH (19.3 percent from Asian/Pacific Islander populations; two percent from Hispanic populations; 3.3 percent from Black, non-Hispanic populations). These statistics are reported in the 2007 End of Year Report from Harvard's Office of the Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity. Ladder faculty include faculty designated as tenured or tenure-track.
According to the End of Year Report, HSPH has the highest percentage of minority ladder faculty among Harvard-affiliated institutions; Medical Quad; FAS Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Humanities; and the Harvard schools of Business, Law, Government, Design, Education, Divinity, and Dentistry.
"I am delighted that HSPH has taken the initiative to create an Office of Diversity and appoint Dr. Prothrow-Stith as the first Associate Dean for Diversity for the School," said Evelynn Hammonds, Senior Vice Provost for Faculty Development and Diversity at Harvard. "This action is particularly promising in light of the agenda set forth by President Faust and our plans in the Office of Faculty Development and Diversity. I have no doubt that this office under Dr. Prothrow-Stith's leadership will help to improve and sustain efforts already under way at HSPH to increase the diversity of the students and faculty. I look forward to working with Dr. Prothrow-Stith in this new capacity."
The goal of the new office is to support new and existing initiatives that increase campus diversity among the HSPH community, with an emphasis on faculty, fellows, and students. The OD will work to make the HSPH environment more culturally competent and to have a positive impact on the School's climate. Prothrow-Stith will add a Director of Diversity Programs and an Executive Assistant as the core staffing of the office. Currently the OD is operating out of her office at 841 Parker Street in Boston. After renovations are completed, the OD will be located on Wigglesworth Street across from the School.
"Diversity within an organization does not happen by accident," said Prothrow-Stith. "Rigorous, concerted efforts need to be undertaken, and I am thrilled that HSPH has established an Office of Diversity. As we know, diseases and other public health challenges respect no racial/ethnic, national, or gender boundaries. Public health researchers and practitioners must reflect the diversity of the populations served in order to be as effective as current complicated global problems require. We must attract excellence in our scholarship regardless of race, gender, ethnicity, religion, or nationality."
Prothrow-Stith worked with the School's senior administrators to identify four areas of responsibilities for the OD.
Enhancing Recruitment and Retention
Some programs supporting diversity are already in place at the School to support diversity, and Prothrow-Stith intends to work closely with them. These include the Yerby Postdoctoral Fellowship Program and the Yerby Visiting Professor Program. These efforts have seen experienced professionals such as Kenneth Olden, former chief of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, spend extended periods at the School. The current Yerby Visiting Professor is Shiriki Kumanyika, expert in nutrition from the University of Pennsylvania. (Look for the upcoming December 7, 2007, issue of HPH NOW for a profile.)
In her new role, Prothrow-Stith will also support and enhance the School's efforts to recruit diverse students and fellows. She will assist the Office of Faculty Affairs and individual departments with their efforts to develop and implement strategies to increase faculty diversity. Her office will provide informal mentoring and support for minority postdoctoral fellows and faculty members.
Already in existence is a web site about the Faculty Diversity Initiative. Prothrow-Stith will expand the site to include information geared towards students and postdoctoral fellows.
Representing HSPH Diversity Initiatives
Prothrow-Stith will continue to represent HSPH at the University level on the Committee on Faculty Development and Diversity. She plans to gather information from other universities and organizations to identify best practices used to recruit diverse students and faculty, and, in keeping with the School's scientific environment, she will assess those practices to determine what works well and what does not.
Promoting Cultural Competence
Through training activities and partnerships with current diversity activities, such as the Diversity Forum hosted every Monday at 12:30 p.m. by the Department of Biostatistics, the OD will work towards a more culturally competent environment. As an example, she notes that the map of the world in the Kresge atrium is a political map with the equator positioned two-thirds of the way down the map and not at the midpoint. In effect, she said, this exaggerates the size of the Northern Hemisphere. Cultural competence requires a more accurate portrayal of the world, said Prothrow-Stith.
Working with the HSPH ombudsperson, Prothrow-Stith will create an anonymous mechanism for reporting concerns about intolerance and will pursue strategies for preventing intolerance. Her office will co-host cross-cultural events and will determine and implement ways to highlight exemplary activity in support of diversity within the School.
Monitoring Efforts and Results
Prothrow-Stith is considering how to develop a brief annual School climate survey of students, staff, and faculty regarding diversity. She also will work with HSPH administrators to identify ways to measure student and faculty diversity.
In addition to a portfolio of work on youth violence prevention and racial and ethnic health disparities, Prothrow-Stith has a well-established career in the promotion of diversity interests. She has served as an advisor to the HSPH Program to Eliminate Health Disparities. She was appointed to the Margaret Heckler Task Force on Minority Health in 1983. In the 1980s, she served as the Public Health Commissioner for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, where she increased the gender and ethnic diversity of the senior management. In 1998, she was appointed as Associate Dean for Faculty Development at HSPH. In 2005, Dean Bloom appointed her to represent HSPH on the University Committee on Faculty Development.
Prothrow-Stith said, "In my 17 years at HSPH, I have been continuously involved in diversity issues, formally or informally. I am enthusiastic about this opportunity to create the Office of Diversity at HSPH. This investment of resources is fortuitously timed with the new era of President Faust and the dedicated work of Senior Vice Provost Hammonds."
Copyright, 2009, President and Fellows of Harvard College
