DrPH:  Doctor of Public Health
GRA:  Graduate Research Assistant
MPH:  Master of Public Health
PPE:  Personal Protective Equipment
PTI:  Part-Time Instructor
SPH:  School of Public Health

I. Identify and review available assessment data and information for our school’s current levels of diversity among faculty, staff, and students. Review should include an assessment of hires/admittance, as well as our sustainment of a diverse workforce (i.e. tenure and promotion rates) and student body (graduation rates from all programs).

II. Make recommendations for the implementation of policies, practices and procedures to our admissions and advisor practices for students and our searches and sustainment for employees that reinforce the training.

a. Review data in SPH Self-Study to closely examine current faculty, staff, and student diversity and identify areas of need.

b. Review SPH marketing materials and current strategies for recruitment of our workforce and student body. Explore best practices for attracting the most diverse and qualified pools of applicants to our school workforce and academic programs. Make recommendations for changes to our existing practices.

i. Are there things we want to document or pilot immediately to help inform and understand our existing practices? (i.e. MPH admissions, current faculty hires—lessons learned from the recent Epidemiology searches could be applied to the DrPH search).

c. Identify trainings on the recruitment and retention of our constituents (students, staff, and faculty). Once identified, ensure that individuals working in key areas participate in trainings (i.e. those working on search committees, those serving on admissions committees for our academic programs).

i. There have already been some workshops and seminars at Georgia State University and the School of Public Health related to diversity and inclusion.

d. Examine ways to build an infrastructure that supports and reinforces the best practices and procedures learned from identified training. i. May include a resource/reference guide on student recruitment and faculty/staff recruitment and hiring.

i. May include a resource/reference guide on student recruitment and faculty/staff recruitment and hiring.
ii. Consider storage of guidance/best practices, most likely an online location/portal.

I. Enhance community building efforts in the school

II. Identify Mentoring Models for faculty, staff and students

III. Measure climate for part-time instructors (PTIs)

IV. Measure and document various models of mentoring in SPH

a. Create survey based on existing school and university surveys that includes additional questions focused on diversity, equity and inclusion.

b. Summarize the survey results to inform suggested action items, the SPH dean search, and the development of the school’s strategic plan.

c. Identify how part-time instructors are being supported and how we might understand their needs and engagement with SPH more broadly.

d. Support initial SPH Organizational Assessment Action Plan steps for building community by having at least one member from each of the Diversity Council subcommittees involved in the two new committees.

e. Invite faculty, staff, and students to share thoughts on mentoring in small group discussion.

I. To address issues of inclusivity and cultural competency in SPH curriculums and syllabi

II. To contribute to the design of the School of Public Health’s Diversity Statement

III. To conduct survey study on faculty and student’s research/service-learning opportunities

a. Identify inclusive training and resources related to curricula and syllabi reviews that challenge cisnormativity and promote decolonization.

b. Facilitate faculty and staff training on above mentioned resources.

c. Review course descriptions for all courses across all academic programs.

d. Consider development of a new course on anti-racist and inclusive attitudes and norms necessary for career and life readiness.

e. Review and contribute to the draft diversity statement currently under consideration.

f. Collaborate with other sub-committees on survey development.

I. Create a Diversity Statement Representative of the School of Public Health

II. Assist with the development of a 2-year action plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

III. Assess the institutional and financial priorities of the school regarding investment in faculty, students and staff via training, scholarship, academic support, etc.

IV. Develop assessment tools and metrics for the overall action plan to assess progress and challenges

a. Finalize Diversity Statement to be prepared for community review.

b. Continue to consult with subcommittees and Dean for institutional/school level actions needed to execute the action plan.

c. Confer with the Chief Administrative Officer and the Dean to assess funding resources, including:

ii. The amount of funding that current goes to GRAs and the compositional profile of that funding.
iii. The compositional profile of the students who are publishing with faculty.
iv. Determine if investment in a community liaison is appropriate for this time.

d. Develop diversity assessment tools to monitor progress and accountability.

I. Create a Diversity Statement Representative of the School of Public Health

II. Assist with the development of a 2-year action plan for Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

III. Assess the institutional and financial priorities of the school regarding investment in faculty, students and staff via training, scholarship, academic support, etc.

IV. Develop assessment tools and metrics for the overall action plan to assess progress and challenges

a. Provide opportunities for sensitivity training and increased awareness of issues related to racism, privilege, discrimination, and equity—i.e. recognizing structural racism, microaggressions, approaches for addressing and reducing marginalizing or offensive language, awareness of social inequities, etc.

b. Develop semi-annual webinar series around topics that bring a public health lens to current events and issues related to systemic racism, racial inequities, police violence, education, etc.

c. Speak to the broader Atlanta community on the need for a health equity consideration for justice reform (mass incarceration) during the pandemic (vaccines and PPE) and beyond (nutrition, mental health, epidemiology, internal medicine).