First, I want to thank Drs Cook and Stuart for a fantastic D&I Grand Rounds, entitled “Neuropsychology normative standards: Where we’ve been, where we’re going, and why it matters.” If you missed this informative look into race-norming neuropsych testing, you can check it out here.
This was the third of our three D&I Grand Rounds for the year. The D&I Committee is in the process of lining up 3 more D&I-themed talks for next year. We also plan to introduce a new annual lecture series where we bring in a guest speaker from the neuroscience department of our HBCU neighbor, NCCU.
In addition, as part of our “Community” theme for the year, we are looking to build other bridges with NCCU, including providing students an opportunity to work in our labs, shadow in our clinics, and attend panel discussions about careers in neuroscience and neurology. Faculty recently received a survey to help us gauge their interest in participating, and the response was overwhelmingly positive. We will continue working with NCCU to set up these opportunities. Thank you to Ashley Moore for helping to coordinate with them.
Next, I would like to thank Cerica Phelps and all of you who participated in the focus groups that she held recently in response to data collected from the Duke Presidential Survey. Your feedback is very important to helping us set an agenda to improve inclusion going forward.
You may have seen emails about April being Celebrate Diversity Month. I’ll take this opportunity to remind us about one of the many reasons why diversity matters.
Diversity makes us better at what we do. We are better at research when we have diversity of thought, asking new questions or interpreting data in a new way. We are better at education when educators use different strategies that resonate with multiple learning styles, and we have educators who can relate to different students.
We can provide better patient care when patients can find a provider with whom they feel comfortable, which means providing a diversity of provider options. And we are best when we have an array of providers with different clinical interests to cover the broad spectrum of neurologic diseases.
The cognitive diversity we need comes from having members of the department who have had a variety of life experiences. We use identity markers (race, gender, immigration status, etc.) as proxies for having had those different life experiences.
We need people who have experienced life as being part of a racial minority and people from a racial majority; people who have experienced life as sexual or gender minority and those who are part of the sexual or gender majority; people who experienced life with economic privilege and those who were raised with economic deprivation. These experiences shape who we are and thus what we have to offer as members of the department.
When we completed the departmental census two years ago, we found that Duke Neurology was very diverse in some ways and not so diverse in others. Our efforts to build a stronger department through diversity are ongoing. In the meantime, we continue to work on inclusion and equity, as the benefits of diversity cannot be realized if anyone in the department is marginalized or treated unfairly. This is why the D&I Committee exists, and we’re always happy for new members to join us in working toward these goals.
Finally, I was incredibly honored to be awarded this year’s Michelle Winn Award by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion. This award is a testament to the efforts of the whole department to make Duke Neurology a model for other departments across the country.
Dr. O’Brien and J.T. Solomon set the tone from the top and make diversity and inclusion a departmental priority. You might not know this, but Dr. O’Brien was a member of the School of Medicine Inclusion Council before I even knew it existed. He created the role of diversity officer before it was mandated by the School of Medicine because he knew it was important.
He elevated the diversity officer position to a vice chair level to make sure diversity and inclusion was represented at leadership meetings. And he provided protected time for the role along with a budget, putting the department’s money where its mouth is. My diversity officer colleagues are jealous when I brag about how supportive my chair is.
A major reason our department’s diversity and inclusion work is being recognized is because he created the environment to succeed and supported the work every step of the way. I must also share credit with Will Alexander who works tirelessly on D&I issues both at the department level and more broadly in the SOM. He is an invaluable asset to our D&I efforts. And for those of you who have been here long enough, you’ll remember Dr. Kenny Railey as our first Director of Diversity and Inclusion. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing mentor and friend, and he really set the stage for our work over the past 4 years.
Our D&I Committee has grown to over 50 members. I am sure that’s one of the largest, if not the largest, in the school and possibly the country. No diversity officers I have spoken with have gotten that level of commitment from their department. You’re all outstanding, and I’m honored to work with you. Thank you for all you’re doing to make Duke Neurology a model of inclusive excellence.
Reminders:
Our D&I theme for the year is “Community,” and what better way for our department to support our community than through helping a family get into a home of their own? Please donate to the Habitat for Humanity house.