Black History Month

Dear IHPME Community Members,

As we are closing out Black History Month, we are inspired to learn more about, honour, and celebrate the many significant contributions of those in the health research field and beyond who identify as Black. This should not, however, be limited to just one month in the year. I encourage all of us to take time to learn and do more, and to recognize the impact of structural racism on our community – both historically and in the present – and the ways in which each of us can contribute to a supportive and intellectually rich learning, training and working environment for all our students, staff, and faculty colleagues.

IHPME is home to many scholars who are currently working on Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI)-related research. Please visit our faculty directory and search by topic to learn more about their important work.

Our EDI Committee works in collaboration with the EDI Office of the DLSPH to ensure that we continue to maintain an inclusive and positive space for all members of our community. We are pleased to continue offering the IHPME Opportunity Scholarship, which is to be “awarded to incoming MSc and PhD graduate students at the Institute of Health Policy, Management and Evaluation who self-identify as Black or Indigenous (First Nations, Métis or Inuit). The successful candidates will demonstrate academic excellence and evidence of engagement in community service or volunteer activities or scholarly activities or leadership activities.” If you would like to volunteer or learn more about our EDI Committee, please visit their webpage or contact ihpme.edi@utoronto.ca.

I had the pleasure of attending some of our terrific Black History Month events in the School, and I urge those who couldn’t attend, to plan on doing so next year. For those who may be interested, there is an event tonight from 7:30pm – 9pm hosted by ARCDO, Hart House, and the Multi-Faith Centre called ‘Nation Building Through Poetry: A Poetry Laureate Cypher’ event. Learn more about the event and register here.

“Change will not come if we wait for some other person or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” ~ President Barack Obama

Warmly,

Audrey