[ Music ] Dr. McCree >> Thank you for joining us. We'll be getting started in about two minutes. [ Music ] Dr. McCree >> Thank you, again, for joining us. We'll be getting started with our program in about two minutes. [ Music ] Dr. McCree >> Now, good afternoon, and welcome to CDC's National HBCU week recognition program, a commitment to excellence and public health. This is the first recognition program designed to celebrate the nation's Historically Black Colleges. I'm Dr. Donna Hubbard McCree, and I served as the Associate Director for Health Equity in the National Center for HIV, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention. And importantly, I am a proud HBCU graduate, representing Howard University, graduating over 40 years ago. This program was intentionally planned to kick off national HBCU week, a presidential proclaimed celebration of HBCUs and the invaluable place they have in our past and also in our modern society. So, we are really thrilled to be joined by so many of our CDC staff and also a few of our partners. And at this time, and I see you're already doing it, but I'm going to ask that you please join me in sharing your alumna [inaudible] pride by putting the names of your HBCU in the chat. And we also know there are many HBCU alum represented at CDC. So, we also encourage you to complete the brief survey that is also included in the chat if you are an HBCU graduate. Next slide, please. So, before we begin, I'd like to share that this event is being recorded, and it will be posted on the event webpage in the near future. Today's program is intended to highlight the risk history and legacy of HBCUs, the impact of HBCUs and alum in STEM fields, including public health, and also to explore some current and future opportunities for CDC and HBCUs to partner. So, this afternoon, you will hear remarks from our director, Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky, followed by our distinguished keynote speaker, Dr. Dietra Trent. And finally, we will end with an engaging panel of HBCU leaders and students. And all of the bios of today's speakers are found on our event webpage. You can also find that link in the chat. Dr. Walensky sends her best remarks. And now we'll hear a brief welcome message from her, Dr. Walensky. Dr. Rochelle P. Walensky >> I'm honored to join you today to celebrate the legacy of our nation's Historically Black Colleges and Universities and their graduates. We recognize that HBCUs produce nearly 20% of all Black college graduates, and that 25% of those graduates earn degrees in STEM disciplines of science, technology, engineering, and math. Many of our CDC leaders come from the nation's HBCUs. They are leaders in public health and are running major programs at CDC as well as playing a pivotal role in ensuring health equity in our science and interventions. For example, Dr. Celeste Phillip is CDC's Deputy Director for Non-Infectious Diseases and received her bachelor's degree magna cum laude from Howard University. Dr. Gregory Crawford is a graduate of Wiley College and serves as Deputy Director for the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. And Dr. Hazel Dean, Editor-in-Chief of Public Health Reports, is a graduate of Spelman College. Dia Taylor is the agency's Deputy Chief Operating Officer and a graduate of Clark College, now Clark Atlanta University. And Tiffany Brown, the agency's Deputy Chief of Staff is a graduate of Spelman College. Jamila Jones, a graduate of death and State University is serving as the agency's Acting Deputy Associate Director for communications. They are all part of the generations of HBCU graduates who have been leaders and innovators in public health, whose contributions play a pivotal role in protecting health both domestically and globally. Building a diverse and equitable public health workforce requires reducing barriers to equal employment opportunities. At CDC, we want to lead in this effort, both in the work we do on behalf of the health of our nation and in the work we do internally as an organization. Those of you in the audience play an integral role in advancing our agency-wide commitment to our workplace environment and agency culture that foster inclusion, fairness, and equity. Partnership with HBCUs has never been more important, as the public health workforce needs highly skilled and diverse talent that reflects the communities in which it serves to meet the most critical public health challenges of the 21st Century and beyond. We recognize that diversity, equity, inclusion, and engagement of our workforce are imperative to ensuring health equity in our science and interventions and are committed to improving outreach to diverse communities to encourage participation in our agencies' programs, fellowships, and initiatives, and to make sure our science reflects the diversity of their experience. One way we're advancing health equity is through a new funding initiative providing two-year, non-research grants to address COVID-19 health disparities among high risk and underserved people, including racial and ethnic minority populations and rural communities. This is CDC's largest investment to date, focusing specifically on reducing health disparities related to COVID-19 and directly addressing those issues and the communities that need it most. Intentional and strategic partnerships between HBCUs and the field of public health are also needed to address long entrenched issues such as health disparities and to produce innovative public health interventions. As leaders in public health, I encourage you to consider how you can partner with one or more HBCUs. Let me take a moment to highlight a few CDC HBCU partnerships. The Tuskegee Public Health Ethics program supports public health ethics training of students attending HBCUs by providing learning opportunities in partnership with CDC. The success of this program has come from the collaboration among partners who share the mission of advancing ethical public health practice. CDC's prevention research centers, PRCs, are funded by CDC to understand and address chronic diseases at the community level. The Morehouse School of Medicine PRC is one of a network of 26 academic research centers. The Morehouse Center's core research project, Project Take Charge is a collaborative effort between minority-serving institutions and their surrounding communities to address the burdens of HIV AIDS, STIs, and substance use among African American adults ages 18 to 24. CDC's Undergraduate Public Health Scholars and its partnerships with Morehouse College's Project Imhotep is an 11-week summer internship designed to increase the knowledge and skills of underrepresented minority students in biostatistics, epidemiology, and occupational safety and health. In March '22, Congress chose to honor the legacy of the late Congressman John R. Lewis by renaming the undergraduate Public Health Scholars Program as the CDC John R. Lewis Undergraduate, Scholars, and Public Health Program, beginning with our next cohort of scholars. Today, you will hear from Dr. Dietra Trent, Executive Director of the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. We are all looking forward to hearing her thoughts on HBCUs, public health, STEM, and our collective path forward, specifically how we at CDC can strengthen our partnership with HBCUs throughout the country. Thank you for being here today. It's my honor to join you in celebrating HBCU week and recognizing the HBCU alumni who advance CDC's mission to make the nation and, indeed, the world a healthier place. Dr. McCree>> Thank you, Dr. Walensky. Next slide, please. And now Booker Daniels, Health Communications Team Lead in the Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention will introduce our keynote speaker, Dr. Dietra Trent. Booker Daniels >> Thank you so much, Dr. McCree, and thanks to all of you who've entered your alumni connections in the chat. It brings a smile to all of our faces to see family on the line. With that, it's my privilege and honor to introduce our keynote speaker, Dr. Dietra Trent. Dr. Dietra Trent earned a bachelor's degree in sociology and criminal justice from Hampton University and completed her master's and doctoral degrees in public administration and policy from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has over 25 years of experience working to advance the health equity for Virginia's most disadvantaged populations. Most recently, Dr. Trent has served in several leadership positions at George Mason University, including Chief of Staff and interim VP for Compliance, Diversity, and Ethics. In 2016, Dr. Trent was appointed as Virginia Secretary of Education. Having served in the administrations of over three former governors, as well as the Office of Congressman Bobby Scott, Dr. Trent brings a wealth of experience from the federal, state, and higher education perspectives. In her current role, Dr. Trent serves as the executive director for the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities. This critical White House initiative works closely with the Executive Office of the President on key administration priorities related to advancing educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity through HBCUs in partnership with HBCU leaders, representatives, students, and alumni. And now, as a fellow graduate of Hampton University, our home by the sea, it is my privilege and honor to introduce Dr. Dietra Trent. Dr. Trent? Dr. Dietra Trent >> hank you so much, Mr. Daniels. Good afternoon, everyone. It's great to be here. And I'm telling you, I am loving seeing all of these HBCUs coming through chat. I feel like I'm at home or at a homecoming, so keep them coming. I am really delighted to greet you and honored to serve as your keynote speaker for this inaugural event. In addition to Mr. Daniels, I'd like to also thank Hillary Polk for this invitation and for her patience as she worked with me to make this happen. And I also want to give a special shout out to her colleagues who assisted in pulling this event together. Dr. Jamila Jackson, who happens to be a Jackson State -- I'm sorry Jamila Jones, who happens to be a Jackson State alum, Victoria Pfeiffer, Howard alum, Booker Daniels from the real HU, Hampton University, Dr. Donna Hubbard McCree, Howard alum, and Melanie Dockwork [phonetic], Clark Atlanta. I just wanted to say to you all, thank you for using your talent to serve this country in such an impactful way. You represent the excellence within our HBCU family. And we are so fortunate to have you there protecting the health of our community. And finally, I want to thank the leadership of CDC and all the employees who join us on this platform today. As I think about your theme, a commitment to excellence in public health, I'm elated by the message it sends and opportunities it avails. It is no secret that the Black healthcare system in America is in crisis. And if the pandemic taught us anything, it taught us the importance of health equity, where everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain the highest level of care. Achieving this requires focus and ongoing efforts to address historical and contemporary injustices. I believe that if our entire healthcare system makes a similar commitment to excellence in public health, as the CDC has, our nation can go a long way to overcoming the healthcare obstacles that our community faces. I've been in this role now for just shy of six months. Time really does fly when you're having fun. This is that job for me that I would do even if I wasn't getting paid to do it. I'm incredibly honored to serve in this role, and no doubt it is the most rewarding experience of my entire career. It's particularly exciting to work for an administration who just gets it. As you are aware, last fall, President Biden signed Executive Order -- an executive order reestablishing the White House initiative on HBCUs, an action taken by every president since Jimmy Carter. During this 42-year span, over eight presidential administrations, each executive order primarily has the same goal, to increase opportunities for HBCUs and to eliminate barriers to federally sponsored programs. However, unlike the previous executive orders, the Biden-Harris Executive Order opens with a bold statement that reads, "It is the policy of this administration to advance educational equity, excellence, and economic opportunity in partnership with HBCUs. And to ensure that these vital institutions of higher learning have the resources and support they need to continue to thrive for generations to come." Other ways in which the Biden-Harris Executive Order differs from the previous EOs are, first, it places priority in the federal government -- it places priority on the federal government's accountability to HBCUs. And then it also builds on the Partners Act, which was signed into law in 2020. As you know, the Partners Act requires every federal agency to develop annual plans, outlining how you will increase opportunities for HBCUs in your grants, research, internships, and other federally sponsored programs. Combined, the 2021 EO and the Partners ACT, provide us with unique and powerful tools to gather current and historical data that serves as a baseline for our work ahead. No one like the CDC -- no one like the CDC knows the importance of timely and accurate data. Unfortunately, as I peruse recent data, I can only surmise our federal government has a long way to go towards providing equitable opportunities for our HBCUs. The National Science Foundation put out a report a couple of years ago showing that in 2018, the federal government spent $42 billion in R&D at institutions of higher education. And of that amount, a mere 400 million, or less than 1%, went to all 102 HBCUs combined. That same year, John Hopkins saw a $2.6 billion federal grant. Regrettably, there was no improvement in 2019. That year, the Feds spent $44.5 billion, of which HBCUs combined saw $371 million. If anyone ever wonders why the Biden-Harris Administration has placed so much attention and support around HBCUs, I encourage you to look at the data. We will use the Partners act and the executive order to strengthen the capacity and competitiveness of our HBCUs through enhanced research, internships, and other programmatic support. We will also use them to hold ourselves accountable by exposing and eliminating these indefensible barriers. As I continue to work with you and other agency partners, I'm looking for inclusive excellence in your plans. I'm looking for initiatives that create a culture of inclusion. Within these plans, I'm looking for initiatives that demonstrate the agency's recognition that their ability to successfully advance their mission is dependent upon the value they place on diversity and inclusion. In short, I'm looking to do what most people believe is the impossible and that is to change the culture of our federal government when it comes to advancing opportunities for our HBCUs. Impossible? Of course, it's not. Critically important? It is, of course. And I invite you to join me. Now, I'm under no illusion that we will fix over a century of systemic and historic discrimination. But I believe we have tools to build a more equitable and inclusive government. I believe they can provide a refresh on how our government partners with universities and how our universities partner with our federal agencies. It's a means to an end, one that I hope will have lasting impact beyond this administration. Another tool we have at our disposal is an administration that understands and appreciates HBCUs' significant contributions to this nation and the industries and communities in which we serve. I can honestly say without hesitation that the Biden-Harris Administration has invested more in HBCUs than any other administration in the history of this country. Many of you have heard the data. In the first 18 months of this administration, we have made a $6 billion cumulative investment in HBCUs. And the President's FY '23 budget proposes to continue this investment. You know, they say budgets are an expression of our values. And even the Scripture tells us, "Where one's treasure is, there his heart shall be also." President Biden's proposed budget reflects this administration's deep belief and the importance of education and the success and wellbeing of our nation's students. But if real change is to occur, the administration can't do it alone. It will take our federal partners like CDC to make a commitment to help America realize the true value of our HBCUs. HBCUs continue to make extraordinary contributions to our society and the prosperity of our nation. Despite being under resourced and undervalued, we continue to punch above our weight, generating nearly 15 billion in economic impact annually and over 134,000 jobs in the local and regional economies that we serve. HBCUs disproportionately take on the challenge of providing first generation, low income, minority, rural individuals like myself, and as -- when I was a student, and inner city students the opportunity to earn degrees. Yet historically, we continue to be overlooked as a resource to fill vital workforce shortages, none more important than healthcare. We comprise only 3% of nonprofit colleges and universities, yet we graduate nearly 20% of African Americans earning bachelor's degrees and 25% of Black STEM graduates. Seventy to 80% of our students are Pell eligible. Our endowments pale in comparison to predominantly white institutions, and our historic buildings are in desperate need of repair. Yet we continue to produce an overwhelming majority of Black leadership. It is no accident that HBCUs produce 80% of Black federal judges, 85% of Black PhDs, 50% of Black lawyers and engineers, 40% of Black members of Congress, 25% of Blacks in the STEM fields, and 100% of our nation's Black and female vice presidents. Without a doubt, we are the greatest return on our investment. In today's global economy, there's relentless competition for talent. Our overall competitiveness depends on how well we nurture, embrace, and optimize that talent. Our future demands that we bring everybody to the table, not out of a moral sense of obligation -- or not only out of a moral sense of obligation, but out of a deliberate sense of urgency. Our problems are too great. And we can no longer simply check the DEI box. This is particularly true when it comes to resolving our healthcare challenges. To remain competitive, we must invest in and support talent development, research, and innovation from every corner of our country. America cannot out compete, nor out innovate other countries without the inclusion of HBCUs. As a nation, we not only need our HBCUs to survive, we need them to thrive and to lead. HBCUs, I believe, are the solution to many of America's problems. Again, I want to thank you for inviting me. I wish you a very successful conference summit. And may God continue to bless each and every one of you. Thank you so much. Dr. McCree >> Thank you. Thank you, Dr. Trent, for those wonderful remarks. And thank you for your leadership and your commitment to HBCUs and to STEM education. We really appreciate it. And we look forward to you staying with us for the rest of the summit. Thank you again. Thank you. Before we continue to our panel discussion, I'd like to take a moment to announce our newly launched website, HBCU Excellence at CDC. Sit back and enjoy. [ Music ] Dr. McCree >> Wonderful. Next slide, please. And now I'd like to introduce our esteemed panel. First, we're joined by Dr. David M. Carlisle. He is the President and CEO of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, a historically Black graduate institution in Los Angeles, California. And we're also joined by two students. First is Kailande Cassamajor. She is a recent graduate of Howard University and current master's candidate studying data science at Columbia University in New York City. And then this Brandon Nabors, who is a doctoral candidate with a concentration in behavioral health promotion and education at Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi. Full bios of all of our panelists are found in our events webpage. And you can also if you check out the link. You'll find a link in the chat. We have a few questions we'd like to open with. But we also want to encourage all of you to submit questions using the Q&A function. And we will be monitoring the Q&A function throughout this webinar, and we'll take questions as you leave them for us. So, I want to thank you also to all of you who submitted questions in advance, and we'll start with a few of those. So, let me begin with this first question. Of course, again, to all of our panelists, we are very honored to have you serve as panelists with this inaugural national HBCU recognition program. So, we heard your bios and welcome an opportunity to learn more about you and your current role. So, I'm going to start with Kailande. HBCUs are the preferred choice for over 300,000 students across the country. So, what specifically made you decide to pursue your career education at an HBCU? Kailande Cassamajor >> Good afternoon. Yes, I really love this question. I remember being a high school student at Summer [inaudible] Maryland, and I grew up in a community called Tacoma Park, Maryland. And I knew that I wanted to have a college experience where people looked like me. I didn't have to do too much to like I guess like fit in. I wanted a home away from home. Like not just like within like a student body, but also with my professors, like people who were invested in my future and could see me for who I was and be invested in helping me grow throughout my college career. And that was a key part as to why I decided to go to the HBCU. Dr. McCree >> Outstanding, and I share that with you. And I think of some 40-something years ago, as I was thinking on, actually also looking at Howard University and, not only just the family perspective, but also the opportunity to engage with others and the rich cultural history that was there and what that would provide me. And an opportunity to prepare us what was -- for what we would face once we were out, you know, being able to engage with different populations. And so, thank you for sharing that with it with us today. All right, so now let me go to Dr. Carlisle. One goal of this program is to highlight and honor successes and contributions in STEM. And we are particularly highlighting also public health. So, why did you pursue a STEM career or education? What was the emphasis for that? Talk to us about that. Dr. Carlisle >> Well, Greetings everyone. And I just want to say on behalf of everyone at Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science, how proud I am to be here with you. It's an honor indeed. So, my interest in STEM goes all the way back to when I was a little kid. And I remember -- and I'm sure that's the same with many people here in the audience. I remember going to see the doctor. And our family doctor was a doctor in Alexandria, Virginia, not too far away from Silver Spring, etcetera. And I see in the waiting room, you know, dozens of people waiting to see the doctor. But I remember, it wasn't a stressful environment. Even that environment was a happy, nurturing environment, and you felt cared for and embraced. And that really kindled my interest in science, technology, engineering, and math, and propelled me toward where I am today. Dr. McCree >> Great. Outstanding. Brandon, thank you. We want to ask that question of you as well. So, why did you pursue a STEM career or education? Okay, I think we might be having a little bit of trouble with Brandon's mic. So, we're going to come on back to that. All right, so I'm going to go back. And let's ask this about your experience at an HBCU. Kailande, how has your experience at an HBCU contributed to your success? What would you say about your time there that actually sort of contributed to your success? And we know you're a graduate student now at Columbia. So, talk a little bit about that. Kailande Cassamajor >> I felt like my experience at Howard, in D.C., it helped foster -- it helped like build up my confidence. Like the community that I had among the students, faculty, members of the community, they're able to like pour into me and speak life to me during that time period. And just being surrounded by Black scientists, artists, public health professionals, engineers, mathematicians, it really helped me to see and to really think more broadly as to what's possible for me. So, like where I am right now is all because of the community that I had, the support that I had during classes, pursuing opportunities outside of school and within school, and the network that the HBCUs provide you as a student really helped -- attributed to my success now, like where I am right now with grad school. Dr. McCree >>Outstanding, and I concur with you. I'm thinking of leaving and doing my graduate work at Hopkins and realizing that the study habits and the nurturing that I received at Howard in my undergraduate days prepared me for the training there. And it was an important foundation. I think that's what we talk about, having that foundation really does give you an opportunity to propel to the next level. And you're able to represent, you're able to grow and you're able then to parlay back what you learned into public health service to others. So, I totally agree with you on that one. All right. So, Brandon, I see you're back with us now. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience at an HBCU? And how that contributed to your success? Brandon Nabors >> Good afternoon. I apologize. We were having issues with the virtual background. But I am here now. Dr. McCree >> Yes. Brandon Nabors >> I am currently DR PHD student in the school -- at the College of Health Sciences with Jackson State University. I'm currently working on my research study, which is entitled, "Are You Prepared: HIV Prevention, Conversations about Southern Culture, Men Who have Sex with Men and Prep Uptake". The issue of HIV is a major issue that is currently affecting the nation. Not only the nation, but the world as a whole. And the focus of my study is to increase [inaudible] uptake in the south and the eradication of HIV epidemic. And I am currently working with an amazing group of people, including Dr. Sho [phonetic], I know she's on here, who's also chairing my dissertation coming up pretty soon, hopefully. Dr. McCree >> Okay. Well, thank you. And we do know those data and about the disproportionate impacts among populations. And so, we applaud you for that work. And I'm sure that experience working in an HBCU will help to create some successes as you move forward. I want to go back to Dr. Carlisle now and ask these questions around partnerships and programs. Talk to us about some ways that CDC can work with Historically Black Colleges to recruit interested students, thinking about where you are at Charles R. Drew. What would be some ways that we could work in that arena? Dr. Carlisle >> Yes. And thank you, Dr. McCree for that question. You know, this is a really important consideration, given the international visibility and role of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And I do have several suggestions that are relevant to Historically Black Colleges and Universities. And I'm thinking about students with the first one. Students in STEM benefit from encouragement, and probably nothing is better than having something to do during summers between academic years. So, one thing I would encourage the CDC to do is create a summer program in STEM and science, specifically for students from HBCUs. You know, back in the day, a former college student, I really benefited from summer programs. They propelled me along academically. Number two, the Epidemiology Intelligence Service can recruit specifically from HBCUs. Those are wonderful careers, very important careers, and we should be part of the pipeline into those careers. I would say number three, we talk about disparities in healthcare, racial, ethnic disparities, racism in medicine. This is a public health issue, certainly, and it has been described as a public health crisis. The CDC can actually have a specific program or center specifically focusing on racial and ethnic health disparities. Where are those disparities exist, they're pulling down the health parameters of our entire country. And as such, they are a public health emergency. I would also say that we can have a separate program funding preventive medicine residency positions at our historically Black medical schools. Funding for graduate medical education at the federal level is not what it used to be. And if we want to focus on the preparation of individuals to go into public health careers and preventive medicine, the CDC could step up and fund those residency programs. So, those are just some of the ideas. Maybe one more. You know, I was once a junior faculty member struggling to get my research going and things like that. It really helps when you have a collection of mentors and people like you getting together periodically. I was a fortunate Robert Wood Johnson Foundation clinical scholar. The CDC could replicate a program like that for faculty members at HBCUs to really jumpstart the careers, give them peer mentoring and expert mentoring and propel their careers forward. So, those are just some of the ideas that I had, Dr. McCree. Thank you. Dr. McCree >> Thank you. Thank you for that great feedback. And I'm going to ask, Kailande, are you aware or were you aware of opportunities that CDC does offer for students at Historically Black Colleges during your tenure there at Howard. Or even now in terms of graduate programs, were you aware of those types of things? Kailande Cassamajor >> At the time, when I was at Howard, I kind of heard of, let's say, like more of like recruiting events, recruiting centered events that the CDC had for Howard students. But I wasn't too award as to like what specific programs at the time that the CDC had. So, now I'm more aware of some of the programs and partnerships that do exist for HBCUs at Howard with -- involving the CDC. But I also want to say that like, again, like Dr. Carlisle mentioned, like focusing on like students. These events and programs where students can really get involved and get more of an awareness as to what's happening at the CDC, how their ideas and their research interests, professional interests can be cultivated. And they can get mentorship, like these types of programs. When I was in undergrad, it was really helpful. It would be like really helpful to sort of get students in, get more awareness, and possibly be involved with the work that CDC is doing. Dr. McCree >> Great. Okay. And the reason I asked that is because CDC does have programs and career pathways for interested candidates from all stages in a career. And I will ask, maybe we could drop a link to that in our -- in the chat for those who might be interested. But your comment definitely came and made me think of a question. What's the best method we should use to communicate the information about these programs and career pathway? So, I'm going to ask Brandon, that question. And then I'll ask Dr. Carlisle too. What would be some of the best methods that we could use to communicate information about the programs that we have in the career pathways? What do you think of that? Brandon Nabors >> Well, I think one of the major barriers to minority students receiving information in regards to the CDC or anything of that nature is accessibility. I think accessibility is extremely important. And since 2020, you know, we've come to live in this virtual culture, basically. So, I think it's important for the CDC to embrace the virtual culture as a means of communication with publishing opportunities, as well as research opportunities, collaborative research, internships even or content, or have other panel discussions such as this one to reach out those to minority students. Because I know, well, I'm at Jackson State. And like I said, we have great staff, I'm going to keep rooting up our staff who make sure that we are knowledgeable in all the opportunities out there. But there are lesser known HBCUs where they don't have those opportunities. So-- Dr. McCree >> Okay. 739 00:42:45,586 --> 00:42:47,926 Brandon Nabors >> We're all -- like for this panel, for example, we have over 400 people logged in right now. So, this is a great way to continue to encourage and send those links, those pathways with the CDC. Dr. McCree >> Outstanding. Thank you. Dr. Carlisle, what -- can we hear-- Dr. Carlisle >> Yes, that was -- those are -- following up on Brandon's excellent suggestion, one thing that I would also add is social media is absolutely a great way, a vehicle for communication and dynamic, exciting, and, you know, very, very able to connect with students. So, obviously, one great pathway. Another suggestion that I would have is to identify an HBCU liaison officer for the CDC at every HBCU. And have the CDC directly communicate with that liaison officer, sending information, convening meetings, and things like this, giving briefings, virtual meetings, things like this. So, that person can then reach out to students at the institution to convey the information as well. A third thing, thinking of the kind of bidirectional method of communication, communication to the CDC, I believe that the director has an advisory council. And I would urge that a seat on that advisory council is set aside for a representative of HBCUs to directly convey information to the director and vice versa. Dr. McCree >> Yeah. Great. I hear what you're saying, having a seat at the table to be involved in the discussions. And then I hear Brandon saying making sure that we embrace the virtual world but understanding that some colleges may not have access. And finding ways to really work with those colleges so that we can provide access. I heard Kailande say the need also from mentors. Right? I mean, if you look at the number of people that are in our chat that talked about the Historically Black Colleges that they attended, it would be great to sort of have this kind of mentor relationship. Where you could reach out to undergraduates or graduate students at HBCUs from persons who are at CDC and sort of creating the formal or informal mentoring opportunities to assist with those types of things. And I hear you saying we need to get the word out about the many career paths that we do have and the fellowship opportunities that are available. So, those are excellent suggestions. And we really do appreciate that. Let me -- and just building on that, and I'm going to go back to Dr. Carlisle and then come back for Kailande, what tangible and substantive steps do you think should be taken to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with HBCUs? Like, what would be your recommendation on some tangible, substantive steps, and you talked about that, but for CDC to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with HBCUs? Dr. Carlisle >> Well, I think it's actually pretty elemental initially. And I did speak to this concept of the HBCU liaison officer, the CDC liaison officer. Having that formal, institutional contact would be a great thing to achieve and wouldn't necessarily require a lot of support to make that happen. So, it'd be very useful for students, especially for institutions that may not be as directly in touch with say the CDC. They could really benefit from that kind of information. And I would probably also think about having a, you know, a virtual mailing list to send email to every student who signs up to be on this list and other types of notifications. So, those are two big things. But yes, our students at our HBCUs are our future's resource in this area. And we should be cultivating this research resource as intentionally as possible. Dr. McCree >> Great. All right. Thanks. Kailande, would you like to add anything to that? Kailande Cassamajor >> Yes, I agree with what Dr. Carlisle mentioned. And he mentioned this list that students would be able to join and receive information from the CDC. What also came to mind was, like in terms of tangible, substantive steps that I'm thinking of like funding and sponsorship that supports research existing approach -- like existing programs at our HBCUs and advocacy efforts around public health initiatives. And that's kind of what comes to mind right now. Dr. McCree >> Okay. Brandon, did you want to add anything to that? Brandon Nabors >> Dr. Carlisle basically said exactly what I was going to say. And continue to make use of the virtual space and collaborative research and funding is extremely important. That's probably one of the most important things, funding grants, things of that nature. Dr. McCree >> Okay, great. I'm going to ask one more question around innovation and leadership. And then we're going to sort of go into the chat and the Q&A session. Please continue to put your questions in the Q&A, and we'll answer a couple of those. So, and I guess I'll go back to you, Kailande, and then to Dr. Carlisle. In what leadership role did you serve during your HBCU tenure? And how did being in those roles, if there were multiple ones, prepare you for your career? And I guess you are still preparing for your career, but as you think now about your time at Columbia, what, you know, what kinds of leadership roles did you have while at Howard? And how did those roles prepare you for the next step? Kailande Cassamajor >> So, while I was at Howard, I was involved in the D.C. Public Health Case Challenge. And that challenge aims to promote like interdisciplinary and problem-based learning around a particular public health issue. And so, every year, Howard is a consistent participant in that challenge. And I, along with five other students, have to come together and create a solution that tackles the Black maternal mortality rate issue within the seat. And that leadership experience, well, when I say leadership experience, it's not that I headed the project or anything, but more so being a leader alongside other students really helped me understand the true value of collaboration and when the -- and the value of having different students from different backgrounds. Because what was interesting about that experience was I, at that time, was a biology and psychology major, but we also had someone who's a mathematician, majoring in math, someone in computer science, and a student in grad school [inaudible] on getting their master's in business administration. And so, it was really nice seeing how these different backgrounds and perspectives would come together to really create a really innovative and new solution around this very pressing and sensitive issue that is affecting our communities. Another experience that I had at Howard was being involved in GlobeMed for a brief time when I was doing my freshman year. And also, having that experience of collaboration among students and learning that leadership was really being able to have an extensive, communicative relationship with the people around you and making sure everyone's voice is heard. And I've been able to bring this experience to my graduate experience now at Columbia and seeing where those skills are really important. Dr. McCree >> Great. Thank you. Dr. Carlisle? Dr. Carlisle >> Well, I just want to say what a honor and privilege it is to serve as the President of Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science. But I never finish preparing myself for enhancing my career and my performance in this leadership role. But I will say, my exposure to HBCUs began when I was 12 years old. And before that, when I learned at an early age that my mother was an alum of Howard University. And when we were 12 years old, we moved from Los Angeles to southwest Ohio, where my dad took a job at Central State University, right next door to Wilberforce University. So, shout out to Wilberforce Central State, almost took a job at Talladega College in Alabama. So, as with many of our students, I'm sure many of our alums, I first heard about HBCUs at a very young age. And the concept, the vision of an HBCU has stayed with me throughout all my elementary school, secondary school levels on into college. Because I knew how important they were for student empowerment. And that's why when I came to CBU for the first time, it was after my freshman year in college, 1973. The university had only been open, incorporated six years before. And our campus was just a set of bungalows at that time. But I realized, here in California, how important having an historically Black higher education institution was for our community. Because it's a source of community inspiration, empowerment, and leadership. And I know that this is true of every HBCU out there. And it's just an example of how our institutions are training the leaders, cultivating the leaders of tomorrow, which they had done so effectively for so many years and decades. Dr. McCree >> Yeah, thank you. Yes. And I'm remembering 1977, when I started, and thinking of the things that you just mentioned at the same time. All right, Brandon, anything you want to add to that? Brandon Nabors >> Yes, ma'am. As a part of our program at JSU, we are required to complete a practicum assignment over the course of three semesters. So, me and my team partner we worked with Alzheimer's of Mississippi to bring awareness to how Alzheimer's affects African American community as a whole, not only -- well, specifically in the state, but in the country as a whole. Also, the opportunity simply to be on here is an example of the leadership I was able to be a part of. I'm representing my school and the College of Health Sciences. We are the first program of our kind in the state of Mississippi and the only Accredited School of Public Health at a HBCU in the country. So, this is kind of a big deal. Dr. McCree >> Great. And how wonderful it is to do this sort of as a part of this inaugural [inaudible] to bring to the table these types of discussions and for you to share this with us at this time. So, thank you for that. I'm going to go through some of the things that are in the chat, just the Q&A, I'm sorry, just to see if there are questions here. There are some questions that are sort of internal, and we can answer some of those. We'll type the answers in. Thank you for your feedback about the website. We do hope you'll -- others will go and visit them. There's a wonderful discussion here about Tacoma Park that Kailande mentioned was her home. It's diverse, but it isn't a large Black population. So, wanting to hear more about that and thanking you for bringing it up. There was a question about a strategy to also expose and encourage careers in public health that are not statistics, EPI positions, other things that support public health, like finance, education, communication, data science, policy, graphic design, system design, event planning. And I mean, let me ask, Dr. Carlisle, your thoughts on that. What would be some of the strategies to -- that you use at your institution to expose and encourage careers in public health that may not be the traditional ones that we see? Dr. Carlisle >> Yes, that's a very, very good question. And I would say, we make an effort to let students know that there's more that the traditional career out there for them. That that even when you go into public health, you're just going through a door. And what is beyond the door is a whole world of possibility. Community health workers, for example, a new sort of career track but a very important one. So, public health is a wide ranging field that is totally embracing of a variety of steps. One thing that I'll -- and I'm quoting a health officer from California, because this perspective did totally reshape my perspective on public health. And he said, remember, public health is not part of medicine, which a lot of people think, especially physicians like me. Medicine is part of public health. Public health is the entirety of health and healthcare. And within that entirety, you can do a lot of things nutrition, education, media, etcetera, etcetera, all focusing on improving health, wellness, and wellbeing. Dr. McCree >> That's wonderful, and I like that quote. Well, that's something that we can think of, and we know that, but it's good to hear it. I think it gives voice to the real focus of public health and how comprehensive it really is. All right. Thank you, and another audience question. What are opportunities for CDC to collaborate with STEM-related departments and HBCUs to extend public health opportunities that are currently in place? So, we're looking at how can CDC really collaborate with, let's say, departments of science, education, etcetera, other STEM-related departments and HBCUs, so that we can really get the public health focus and, you know, [inaudible] place there. So, now, what are your thoughts about that, Kailande, thinking about to your experience at Howard? What would be some opportunities that CDC could use to collaborate with STEM related departments? And that follows on the question that we just had and Dr. Carlisle letting us know the comprehensive definition of what public health really is. Kailande Cassamajor >> What comes to mind as -- when I was an undergraduate student in biology, I think of partnerships involving like this general programming, like exposure programming to students like who are in bio but do not necessarily want to go into medicine or into dentistry. But wants to become a public health professional and like what options do exist. And actually, recently, I was reading that Howard recently kicked off a seven-year partnership with CDC that helped implement a series of different community health initiatives that are focused on serving the community and also mitigating health problems. And some of the issues that are that are tackled within this partnership are behavioral health, oral health, sickle cell disease, trauma, violence prevention, and women's health. And so, that is actually very new and a great place for the CDC to come in and join that partnership and offer support to the directors at Howard, who are either in medicine or in dentistry or in different -- in public health areas that are pushing out this initiative right now through like kickoff events for students. Or that could also look like summer or during a school year events in partnerships and plenary sessions for students so that you get information and really get involved with the rich community that is there. Dr. McCree >> Excellent. Thank you. Brandon, what about your thoughts, thinking of your time at Jackson State? Think we may be having a little bit of connection issue-- Brandon Nabors >>I think CDC who partnered with schools, helped develop a curriculum that is -- can you hear me now? Dr. McCree >> Yes, thank you. Brandon Nabors >> Okay. I'm sorry. What I was saying, I think the CDC can work with the schools in developing a curriculum that -- specific to those different areas, as well as continuous visibility. Because if you don't see it, you know, you can't believe it. So, to know that there are African Americans in those different levels of STEM, greatest opportunity that you know is a viable career for you as well. So, visibility is extremely important. You know, Dr. Carlisle is over at Charles Drew School of Medicine right now. So, you know, I'm speaking on a panel with them. So, I -- you know, that's a opportunity for me maybe one day. Dr. McCree >> Okay, wonderful. See, you just took this opportunity and parlayed it into something for the future. Dr. Carlisle, would you like to add anything to this? Brandon Nabors >> Exactly. Dr. Carlisle >> Well, you know, following up on these excellent points of Kailande and Brandon, I would say that the CDC probably has an opportunity to start cultivating these careers at a young age. Now I know physically in Atlanta, the physical reaches is concentrated right there. But that's good. At CU, we have a program called the Saturday Science Academy too. And it takes young people, as young as age four, and brings them onto our campus from our surrounding community. At the end, we have a junior white coat ceremony. And all these young people are called doctor, and you see the light going off in their eyes. Maybe I can become a doctor. Look, there are these doctors like me. Maybe this is a another program that the CDC could contemplate of bringing young people from the southeast from Georgia, from Atlanta, onto the campus at the CDC, and showing them scientists and researchers and staff and administrators who look like them, who are in positions in public health, to inspire these young people to consider as, you know, age four or five, careers in public health. You know? Yes, you can do it because here I am. Dr. McCree >> That's great. And there's been a lot of support for your comment in the chat of wonderful ideas. So, thank you so much for sharing that. And Brandon, there's a question for you. What can CDC do to encourage more Black male recruits into public health? Any thoughts? Brandon Nabors >> Like I said, visibility. Can you hear me? Dr. McCree >> Yes. Brandon Nabors >> Like I said, they could just make it more visible. CDC could have partner -- not partnering, but professors do visiting stints at the different HBCUs to know -- let you know that these career -- there are different career opportunities available with the CDC. There aren't a lot of males in the public health field now. So -- but public health is an issue that there are issues within public health that affect us all, male and female. So, it's, you know, it's one of those things I don't understand why there aren't as many. So, I think the visibility is, like I said, is extremely important. So, visiting professors, workshops, things of that nature to let it be known that these opportunities are available within the centers of -- I'm sorry, within the CDC. Dr. McCree >> Yes. Thank you. Great point, and you're getting some great sort of feedback in the chat as well. I'm going to close this out with some questions about health equity. And I'll start this one with Dr. Carlisle. How can CDC partner with HBCUs to improve the overall state of racial and ethnic equity in biomedical sciences? And that is a tall question there. Dr. Carlisle >> Yes, it is. And -- but it's a very, very appropriate and very important question because it's all about equity in healthcare. And it's something that we do need to focus on. I would say that one thing that the CDC really should contemplate is as fast tracking the institutional relationships between the CDC and our various HBCUs in the STEM areas, directing funding specifically to HBCUs, bringing programs to HBCUs. And keeping in mind the importance of the population that HBCUs serve, both in public health but also as a source of future leadership for our country. And I would just I would affirm -- I would urge the CDC to affirmatively cultivate and create and nurture those institutional relationships. Dr. McCree >> Thank you. Kailande, would you like to add to this? Kailande Cassamajor >> I am in full agreement with what Dr. Carlisle stated, especially the point on nurturing the relationships that HBCUs also particularly have to the people that they serve and also [inaudible] the local community to support, I guess, and also bring more awareness to the work that's being done within these communities and also in local organizations that are committed to doing work that addresses racial and ethnic equity. So, yeah, and also to support the surrounding local organizations when it comes to healthcare access. And there are also organizations around making sure that there is equity in housing because that also could be seen as a health issue, as well as intervention. Dr. McCree >> Great. Thanks. Brandon, did you want to add anything to that? Sort of looking at the equity piece or? Okay, I think we may be having some sort of connection issues there. Brandon Nabors >> Can you hear me? Dr. McCree >> Yes. Brandon Nabors >> Okay. I'm sorry about that. But as I was saying, the implementation of programs from the undergrad level directly into the graduate level, working with the CDC, surrounding ideas or research interests of those students, I think that will assist in creating opportunities as well as addressing the equity that's going on within the issues we're currently facing right now. Dr. McCree >> Okay. Yeah. And so, just kind of building on that and looking at advancing health equity and addressing health disparities. Dr. Carlisle, can you talk about the work of your institution or your personal experience in advancing equity, addressing health disparities as a physician? Dr. Carlisle >> Well, our institution, CBU, is really here specifically because of that mission, that agenda. We were founded after the Watts uprising of 1965, specifically to bring health equity to South Los Angeles. And most of our institutions share the same sort of mission. I know that I work -- we work collectively and cohesively with all the other historically Black medical schools. You know, shout out to Howard, [inaudible], and Morehouse. And we've been very effective, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, in pushing the agenda of equity. In fact, I think one thing that we should really speak to, and the CDC has a major role here, is the biggest problem with the American healthcare system is, in my mind, an absence of equity. And if we can improve equity in healthcare in this country, we can improve the level of health and wellbeing in this country dramatically. When I worked in state government in Sacramento, we did issue a health disparities report, two actually. And this really, I think, helps produce useful information for the state about disparities in health and healthcare that affected Californians. And I mentioned this before, but I would urge the CDC to do the same for the entire country on a regular repeated basis and monitor trends in these areas. Because lack of equity translates into lack of health, and this was a public health issue. Dr. McCree >> That's great. And I want to build sort of a little bit on that and talk about recruitment from HBCUs, which is great. We know we've done the recruitment. But how can we better promote federal funding opportunities for HBCUs so HBCUs can contribute to research? That's a question that was asked from the audience as well. For you Dr. Carlisle, following up on that question. Dr. Carlisle >> Yes, under the leadership and auspices of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities and the NIH, our minority serving health profession schools have had endowment programs created that have greatly augmented our ability to cultivate and grow our research infrastructure. The CDC could examine this closely and maybe seek to replicate it because these programs coming from the NIMHD have tremendously accelerated the institutional growth trajectories of our institutions and empowered our faculty members as individuals to excel and achieve. So, funding like this, specifically for infrastructure development and cultivation to HBCUs from the CDC, is one of those things that can be transformational for institutions. Dr. McCree >> Okay, great. Some wonderful questions. All right. So, I'm looking at the robust information that we have in the chat, which is excellent, some of the feedback on what we've talked about. We did drop some information about -- from questions about resources that were available. There's also information about our fellowship opportunities there. I definitely would encourage Kailande and Brandon to look at all of the feedback that you all are getting, and Dr. Carlisle, for your recommendations. Specifically, the one around, you know, piquing the imagination and aspiration of children during their formative years towards careers in public health because we know that it's so important. All right. So, as we begin to close out today's discussion, I'm going to ask you if you have any closing remarks or additional thoughts that you'd like to share. And I'm going to start with Kailande. We'll follow with Brandon and then Dr. Carlisle. Kailande Cassamajor >> I want to close out with just how powerful like our communities are. Here, there's over 300 people in this call from so many of our different ATC institutions. And there's so much that we can do together, so much that we can plan and implement in the near future so that students are able to be exposed and are able to come into these opportunities that the CDC wants to support along with our home institutions. And I also want to mention, I remember earlier, we were discussing the non-traditional public health path, like possible considerations for partnerships within the engineering departments at our schools, at the finance and in business schools that we have, really seeing public health outside of the traditional route that we often think about. But also seeing the entirety of our institutions as homes and places where public health can be bolstered and our students can really be involved and make changes within the local and our national community. So, it's really exciting. And I'm looking forward and thankful to be here on this call with you all. Dr. McCree >> Great. Brandon? Thank you, Kailande, too. Brandon Nabors >> Yes, ma'am, I think is important if you're interested in STEM to start early. I think a lot of young people assume they know what careers in public health are and what they entail. However, it's totally different once you're actually working in the career field. I think it's important that you find a mentor and know your research interests. Also, when I was inquiring and researching about the program at JSU, I was actually -- Dr. Bonner connected me with Dr. Sho very early. And we literally have cultivated my research topic from prior to me even joining the program to where I am now. So, I think it's important that you find a mentor, know your research interests. It doesn't make it easier, but it makes it a little more palatable as you're going through the process. Also, if anyone is interested in learning more about the College of Health Sciences and our DR PH Program at JSU, please go to www.jsums.edu. We'll be glad to have you in Jackson. Deion Sanders [assumed spelling] will be glad to have you in Jackson. We are two and Oh right now, game three is Saturday. Thank you again, Dr. McCree, for this opportunity. Dr. McCree >> Thank you. Thank you so much for the pride there. That was wonderful. All right, it's Dr. Carlisle. Dr. Carlisle >> I want to say, first of all, how happy I am and to be on this panel with my two wonderful co-panelists. Very proud of the messages that they're conveying. I can't say too much more than what we've already heard from Kailande and Brandon. What I will say is I would encourage people to pursue careers in public health. It may be an area where you don't really start to see everything that it can offer until you jump into it with both feet. And then you start to go, wow, there's a lot more to this than I realized. And there's a lot that I can contribute, ways -- a lot of ways that I can contribute. So, I would say embrace the public health perspective and pursue careers in public health, whether it's in practice, academia, research, whatever. And think about that as a way of improving the health of your community and even the world. I just want to thank the CDC for bringing the HBCU week to us as well. And thank, of course, Dr. McCree for excellent stewardship of this panel. Thank you. Dr. McCree >> Thank you. It is indeed an honor. And I would like to say, just so everyone knows, that Dr. Tyndall was -- from Morehouse was unable to join us, but there's a very good reason. Many of us in the Atlanta area know that the Atlanta Medical Center is going to be closing very soon. And he was called away to actually be a part of a discussion that's ongoing around that. So, we know how important that is. And it really does speak to being able to address the needs of communities at a short notice. That's how things come. So, we want to thank him in this absence and really be thinking about all of our Atlanta community as they go into those discussions around what will be next and how we will serve our communities. I just cannot thank all of you enough for the wonderful feedback. Want to thank our keynote speaker, Dr. Trent. We'll go to our last slide when I also thank the panelists, amazing group of panelists. Dr. Carlisle, Kailande, Brandon, thank you. Thanks all of our colleagues and our partners for really joining us today. We have such wonderful comments in the chat that we'll cherish, and we have some questions in the Q&A. Not many of them. Some were internal. And this is certainly something that we will take as a group and be able to respond that to you. They were very thoughtful questions. And we really do appreciate those. And we want to thank the responses from our presenters. We also asked -- we heard what you said. And we hear that we need to increase our visibility and make sure that maybe we also create more mentoring opportunities and make sure that our HBCUs know the opportunities that are available. Make sure we're able to reach out to HBCUs that may be smaller or where there are issues in terms of getting information. It is important for those of us who are HBCU alum to reach back and to give back, I always say, as you are climbing unless you bring another person along with you. The journey is not complete because you don't -- you'll get to an end and you will not have mentored the next generation. And whatever you've done will sort of come to an end. And that is not the work that we do. So, appreciative of Dr. Carlisle letting us know that medicine is a part of public health. And you talked about the umbrella of public health, which is so important. And I've always say to my postdocs, it's not that we do this work. We do this work so that we can enrich the lives of the communities that we serve. It's not the opposite of that. And Kailande and Brandon, thank you for your work towards being our future, and we will -- as we do need to invest in this. And this is just the first of an inaugural week of recognition of HBCUs and the values that they place, and we hope this will be a continuing effort. We also hope that you'll provide your feedback on today's program by completing a brief survey. You'll find that in the chat. You'll find a link to it in the chat, and you'll also see a QR code on the screen. And if you want to connect with us, please feel free to email us. There's a dedicated mailbox, hbcuoutreach@cdc.gov, hbcuoutreach@cdc.gov, or visit our new lips site www.cdc.gov/hbcu. I really do want to thank all of the organizers, and you've heard their names presented. As this has been a certainly a labor of love and one of need and one of recognition. So, we want to thank you all again for joining us. And we hope that you have a Happy National HBCU week. Thank you again.