UIC SPH Strives To Increase Student Diversity

Initially, it may have been her encounter with one of the most devastating natural disasters in history that brought Imani Lewis to the University of Illinois at Chicago. But it was her experience with the UIC School of Public Health that made her stay.

“I was so comfortable and so warmly welcomed at the school that I did not want to leave,” Lewis said.

Lewis was slated to begin the Master of Public Health program at Tulane University in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina hit on the day she was to attend the school’s orientation. Like thousands of other residents there, she evacuated the city for what she thought would be a temporary move. Once she realized she would be unable to immediately return to New Orleans, she moved in with her family in Chicago and enrolled at UIC SPH for one semester.

Lewis quickly acclimated to her new home after learning of the loss of her apartment in the hurricane. “I was able to recover some clothing and accessories from my apartment before it was ransacked,” she said.

Lewis, whose mother is an alumna of the UIC SPH class of 1987, has since been active at the school. As a minority student, she has participated in student minority groups and events, and spoken at diversity conferences, while working on completing her Master of Public Health degree in epidemiology and biostatistics.

Last month, she spoke at the Bi-Annual Conference on Career Opportunities for Minorities in Public Health hosted by the Urban Health and Diversity Program. The conference, attended by over 100 prospective students and held in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was designed to engage underrepresented minorities and inform them about programs at the school.

Guest speaker Adedeji S. Adefuye, assistant dean for the program and director of the HIV/AIDS Research and Policy Institute touched on the disproportionate incidences of diseases such as HIV/AIDS within minority populations, most notably the African American community.

Increasing numbers of underrepresented individuals in the field of public health could change the way such diseases are handled within communities, Adefuye said.

Michael Toney, executive director of the Urban Health Program, agreed, saying that the underrepresented students who graduate from the school will be more likely to establish the programs and practices in the communities that are in the most need – the communities in which they grew up.

Toney cited the nearly 4500 healthcare professionals from underrepresented groups that have so far graduated from the school. Nearly 70 percent of minority healthcare professionals in the Chicago-land area are alumni of the university, according to Toney, and, more specifically, the Urban Health Program. But this amount of representation, he said, is not enough.

“Massive discrepancies in the field of public health are still present, with minorities representing less than 10 percent of healthcare professionals in a given field,” he said.

The conference highlighted efforts being made by the school and the Health Careers Opportunity Program to recruit and retain minority students.

Shafdeen Amuwo, associate dean for the Urban Health and Diversity Program, often says that introducing public health to students takes much time and energy.

Iman Martin, a current UIC SPH student and presenter at the conference, said the commitment is essential.

“We need to have our varied perspectives informing the designs and priorities of research and interventions in public health,” Martin said. “Minorities will soon be the majority. Depending on how you look at it, we already are [the majority].”

While Hurricane Katrina took most of Lewis’ belongings, it didn’t take away her enthusiasm to help prevent death and disease and to raise awareness among other minority students on the importance of studying public health.

“With the minority population on a constant rise, it is important that we have minority public health representatives passionate about addressing the health risks and leading health concerns of minorities, as well as the elimination of racial and ethnic disparities in health care,” Lewis said.

On not returning to Tulane to finish her public health studies, she said, “I have no regrets.”

-- Tina Daniel