New Members

Owned by Jennifer Goins
Last updated: Sept 20, 2016 by Michelle Arlotto
4 min read
Whether you join us by your own volition or because you were volun-told, we wish to extend you a warm welcome and promise to be a safe place to learn and grow.  We are all learners, no matter how long we've been involved on this council or the number of years our careers have involved diversity and inclusion matters.  Our hope is that this community will be where you begin to feel comfortable being uncomfortable. 
The council was formed and launched through the Office of Diversity & Inclusion in August 2014 as an initiative by Dean Nancy Andrews.  Its mission is to serve in an advisory role to leadership and for the members to be ambassadors of change in their respective areas within Duke School of Medicine.  The Office of Diversity & Inclusion, under the leadership of Judy Seidenstein, was birthed in the early years of Dean Andrews' leadership because it is a priority goal for the Dean's legacy.  

Meetings and Membership Terms:  

  • Membership terms are generally two years on a rotating basis with an option to extend/renew as needed/desired.
  • members are expected to attend 70% of monthly meetings, other attendance arrangements can be considered on a case by case basis.
  • Members are also expected to attend the 2-day annual symposium.  This year's dates are October 6-7.  Location TBD.

Council demographics:  There are 51 council members consisting of 21 staff (41%), 3 students (6%) and 27 faculty (53%).  A council goal is to increase basic science and student participation.  Current council members have suggested adding PDC and hospital representation as well as patience population.

 

Howard J. Ross has been working in the field of diversity and inclusion over 25 years. He is founder of Cook Ross Inc.,  a consulting firm whose mission is to provide powerful solutions to organizations around the world in the areas of diversity, inclusion, cultural competency, leadership development, and organizational change management. He is the author of two books, Reinventing Diversity and Everyday Bias.

During Howard's career he has served as an influential business consultant in professional services corporations, Fortune 500 companies, and retail, health care, media, and government institutions. Cook Ross clients include: Sodexo, The Washington Post, National Geographic, Bon Secours Health System, National Public Radio, Coca-Cola Company, AT&T, KPMG, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, INOVA Health System, Gannett, GEICO, American Red Cross, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Georgetown University, Howard University, the Ojibwa Indian Reservation, and DC Public Schools.

A former teacher, school administrator, rock and roll musician, and college professor, and a father of four sons and grandfather of four granddaughters, Howard is a thought leader in building cultural competency and a vigorous advocate for personal and public renewal.

 

Interviews and presentations by Howard Ross:

 

Project Implicit and the implicit bias test:  Project Implicit is a non-profit organization and international collaboration between researchers who are interested in implicit social cognition - thoughts and feelings outside of conscious awareness and control. The goal of the organization is to educate the public about hidden biases and to provide a “virtual laboratory” for collecting data on the Internet.

Project Implicit was founded in 1998 by three scientists – Tony Greenwald (University of Washington), Mahzarin Banaji (Harvard University), and Brian Nosek (University of Virginia). Project Implicit Mental Health launched in 2011, led by Bethany Teachman and Matt Nock. Project Implicit also provides consulting, education, and training services on implicit bias, diversity and inclusion, leadership, applying science to practice, and innovation.

People don’t always say what’s on their minds. One reason is that they are unwilling. For example, someone might report smoking a pack of cigarettes per day because they are embarrassed to admit that they smoke two. Another reason is that they are unable. A smoker might truly believe that she smokes a pack a day, or might not keep track at all. The difference between being unwilling and unable is the difference between purposely hiding something from someone and unknowingly hiding something from yourself.

The Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures attitudes and beliefs that people may be unwilling or unable to report. The IAT may be especially interesting if it shows that you have an implicit attitude that you did not know about. For example, you may believe that women and men should be equally associated with science, but your automatic associations could show that you (like many others) associate men with science more than you associate women with science.

To take the test:  https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/takeatest.html.  The requires a considerable time commitment (50 minutes) to complete all of the parts.  Please plan accordingly.