Chancellor Gary S. May recently presented his annual , praising the recipients for their talent, tenacity and commitment to amplifying unique voices.
“It is about expanding the range of experiences, ideas, opinions and perceptions,” May said of the seven individual and four group recipients of the honors. “The greater the diversity, the more likely we will make discoveries and solve problems, which are the hallmarks of academic excellence. It also means intentionally creating inclusive environments so that each of us has an opportunity to thrive.”
The awards presentation took place Feb. 26 during a reception at the Chancellor’s Residence.
Awards are presented annually in individual and team categories. Here are the recipients:
Individual awards
Academic Senate: Frederick Meyers, who holds the Arline Miller Rolkin Professorship in Clinical Effectiveness in the School of Medicine, and serves as the director for the Center for Precision Medicine and Data Sciences — He’s nationally known for leading training programs for physicians and fellows, and was one of the principal investigators for a Howard Hughes Medical Institute training grant to increase diversity in science by bringing medical, engineering and other life science trainees together under a common theme to reduce perceived barriers.
Academic Federation: Hendry Ton, associate vice chancellor for Health Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, and clinical professor of psychiatry and behavioral science — While at the Center for Reducing Health Disparities, he developed a training program to teach health care leaders how to make culturally and linguistically appropriate system changes. Ton also served as founding medical director of Transcultural Wellness Center of Asian Pacific Community Counseling, a community clinic that provides mental health counseling to Sacramento’s Asian and Pacific Islander communities.
Undergraduate Student: Joel Gutierrez, senior, double major in American studies, and gender, sexuality and women’s studies — As community coordinator at the LGBTQIA Resource Center, he founded the Davis LGBTQ Youth Group to connect, educate and support local middle- and high-schoolers in understanding their identities and developing their advocacy and leadership skills. Gutierrez has also served as a presenter on LGBTQIA allyship to campus departments and has presented to the chancellor about the need for gender-neutral restrooms on campus.
Graduate Student: Jasmin McInerney, Ph.D. candidate in civil and environmental engineering — When she came to ٺƵ in 2016, McInerney noticed a lack of graduate student participation in the campus chapter of the Society of Women Engineers. She convinced the group to create a graduate student board position, and was elected to hold it. The number of graduate students participating in the group’s mentorship program has since increased from five to 35.
Postdoctoral: Arielle Gire-Dumas, a chief resident in obstetrics and gynecology, ٺƵ Health — She has advanced diversity and inclusion within the obstetrics and gynecology department, adding information on the topic to its website and creating a committee focused on it. She also volunteers time to community clinics for underserved populations, and created a program to provide sexual health training and information about careers in medicine to high-schoolers in Rio Vista.
Staff: Blake Flaugher, health promotion specialist for sexual well-being, Student Health and Counseling Services — He led the campaign to earn LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Leader status for Student Health and Counseling Services, an award given by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation, by identifying places where ٺƵ stood out, listening to feedback from students and getting tips from ٺƵ Health. He also led the effort to create new, more inclusive previsit questionnaires on sexually transmitted infections and HIV. Flaugher is currently serving a term as chair of the American College Health Association’s Sexual Health Promotion and Clinical Care Coalition.
Community: Alecia Eugene-Chasten, founder and CEO of Urban Advocates and Achievers — She advocates for underserved students and students with disabilities to make sure they receive the services they need to succeed in school, and connects their families to resources to help address housing, food, employment and other areas of need. She also helped create a local chapter of the National Society of Black Engineers Jr., a group designed to get middle- and high-schoolers interested in science, technology, engineering and math.
Team awards
Academic Affairs — It has offered an increasing range of professional development opportunities to its staff, promoted an inclusive workplace climate and worked closely with the office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Pictured, from left: Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Reed and Chancellor May; Binnie Singh, assistant vice provost of Academic Affairs; Phil Kass, vice provost of Academic Affairs; and Vice Chancellor Tull.
Department of Emergency Medicine — Among the steps it has taken to develop a more diverse faculty, several faculty members have become preceptors for Latinx undergraduate and community college students through the Prep Médico program. Members of the department have also recruited students from a historically black college’s medical school and created a diversity committee that led a five-hour training session for the entire department. Pictured, from left: Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Reed and Chancellor May; Tiffani Johnson, assistant professor; Nate Kuppermann, professor and chair; Kara Toles, assistant clinical professor and director of equity and inclusion for the department; and Vice Chancellor Tull.
Human Resources — It created an ambassador program to bring together people who are involved with staff diversity constituent groups and employee resource groups and can talk to potential employees about those resources and the campus environment. The department also has increased community outreach to recruit staff and conducts exit surveys to find better ways to retain diversity among staff. The department also offers work force diversity consultation to departments. Pictured, from left: Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Reed and Chancellor May; Karmen Fittes, executive director of talent and rewards; Lyndon Huling, interim lead of leadership recruitment and diversity services; Fredna Karneges, manager of Disability Management Services; Ellen Jordan, senior talent acquisition partner in leadership recruitment and diversity services; Mario Eguizabal, senior talent acquisition partner; Sandy Batchelor, WorkLife manager; and Vice Chancellor Tull.
ٺƵ Health Information and Technology — Advancing diversity and inclusion isn’t a new goal for this division, which has offered training to its entire staff for the past four years. Recent additions to the course offerings include “Understanding Diversity” and “Understanding and Mitigating Bias.” Managers and supervisors participate in the training courses, and the courses “all help to improve communication, teamwork and employee engagement,” according to nomination documents. Pictured, from left: Associate Executive Vice Chancellor Reed and Chancellor May; Stefan Toma, project manager; Charron Andrus, manager (holding plaque); Molly Greek, previously director of enterprise applications and now deputy chief information officer at the UC Office of the President (in rear); Sylvie Ngoyi, technical project manager; and Vice Chancellor Tull.
Photos by Karin Higgins/ٺƵ