The Impact of Diversity Plans

Sign Up for Upcoming Teleconference on Race, Class and Health

Video Resources on Race

Six of New York City's seven public bus depots are located in Harlem, a largely working class, black community where cigarette ads are seemingly more plentiful than employment notices. Any wonder that Asthma among African Americans in Harlem is at epidemic proportions?

In a historic dialogue between higher education and leaders in public health, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) will host a National Town Meeting on "Race, Class and Health" to examine how America's racial legacies and other social determinants such as racism, poverty, and pollution are affecting the nation's health, especially among the poor and among racial and ethnic minorities. The teleconference will share insights, pertinent research, best community practices and innovative curricular programs that are helping campus leaders and health officials rethink popular notions about health in the United States, the reasons behind troubling health disparities and ways to improve the future health of the nation.

Scheduled for January 19, 2000 at 1:30 p.m. (EST), the event is a highlight of AAC&U's 85th Annual Meeting in Washington, DC and a follow-up to the highly successful PBS teleconference "Racial Legacies and Learning: How To Talk About Race" held at last year's meeting. AAC&U's Program for Health and Higher Education (PHHE), The George Washington University--which will serve as the host site--and the National Association of City and County Health Officials (NACCHO) have joined as partners in this program designed for campus leaders, student personnel administrators, faculty and students across disciplines, public health officials and individuals from schools of public health, service learning advocates and community partners working with educators to transform race relations and the quality of life for all in America.

A panel of national leaders in education and public health will facilitate the discussion on January 19th. Participants from institutions who register to down-link the program will receive a packet of background information and publications and will be able to participate in the conversation by calling, faxing, or e-mailing comments and questions. Confirmed panelists are: David Williams, Professor of Sociology and Faculty Associate in the African American Mental Health Research Center at the University of Michigan; Toni Plummer, Executive Director of Cherish Our Indian Children, a family agency in Kalispell, MT; Richard Keeling, M.D., Professor of Medicine, Director of University Health Services at the University of Wisconsin-Madison; Peggy Shepard, Director, West Harlem Environmental Action; Sandra Hernandez, Director of the San Francisco Foundation; and Vanessa Northington Gamble, M.D., Associate Professor for the Study of Race and Ethnicity in Medicine, History of Medicine and Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Pricing and registration information can be obtained from PBS Adult Learning Service
1320 Braddock Place
Alexandria, VA. 22314
Phone 1-800-257-2578 or fax 703-739-8471.

For updates, check out the PBS/AAC&U Racial Legacies and Learning Web site: http://www.pbs.org/adultlearning/als/race/

Video Resources on Race from AAC&U and PBS

"Racial Legacies and Learning: How To Talk About Race"

This program examines higher education's role in working with community partners to transform race relations in the United States. Originally aired as a live, interactive national town meeting from the campus of San Francisco State University, this program is designed to help faculty, students and staff facilitate meaningful conversations and take action in the classroom, on campus, and in local communities.

Questions guiding the discussion included: What is higher education's role in facilitating racial dialogues? Why do Americans find it difficult to talk honestly about race? What challenges will graduates face in corporate America, and how can they be prepared to meet them?

To order, contact PBS/ALS, 800/257-2578.

"Racial Legacies and Learning: Why Can't We Talk About Race?"

This 60 minute video features a New York City town hall meeting with participants from business, religion, education, and local and state politics and sponsored by City College-CUNY, Bloomfield College, SUNY-Stony Brook, and Wagner College. A panel and studio audience of about 30 people draw on research, personal experiences, campus initiatives, and institutional missions to explore the question: Why Can't We Talk Honestly About Race? Covering topics such as affirmative action, intergroup relations, and curricular change, the video can be used in classrooms or other campus-community forums to prompt discussions about campus diversity and student learning.

To order, contact AAC&U, 202/387-3760; pub_desk@aacu.nw.dc.us.