See our health equity goals:
- Recruit and retain diverse students, faculty and staff in all CHS programs.
- Continue to revise our curriculum to be responsive to racism and social inequalities in health in the communities we serve.
- Train and support our students to become healthcare professionals that possess cultural humility through education, community outreach, and multidisciplinary experiential learning opportunities.
- Integrate our students to the(ir) local and global communities to provide quality clinical and public health services.
- Empower our graduates with the knowledge, resources and tools to disrupt the structures and systems that perpetuate racism and health inequities in Black and other historically marginalized communities.
Campus Groups, Activities, and Events
Dean’s Professional Development Book Club
Faculty and staff are gathering to discuss the book, “Legacy: A Black Physician Reckons with Racism in Medicine” by Uché Blackstock, MD.
CHS Health Career Academy
Our Health Career Academy offers opportunities for youth to learn about health careers. The Summer Health Career Academy Camp specifically seeks to increase awareness of and interest in health professions among historically marginalized or minoritized youth. Diversity in the healthcare workforce increases patient access to care, bolsters patient satisfaction, and improves health outcomes and reduces disparities. Despite this knowledge, diversity, especially racial and ethnic diversity, is lacking and is often due to an absence of pathways, opportunities, and awareness of professions. By involving a team of students and professionals from various health disciplines – public health, physician assistant, nursing, and physical therapy – youth are exposed to understanding each profession’s role in improving the health of individuals and communities. This is a free week-long camp for middle school students working in partnership with schools with students of historically marginalized or minoritized backgrounds. The camp generally involves three days at Arcadia University and two days onsite at a partnering hospital and/or clinic. Learn more about last year’s camp. Information for the 2025 camp is coming soon!
PT Multicultural Leadership Alliance
The Physical Therapy Multicultural Leadership Alliance (PTMLA) mission is to create an environment of self-growth in regards to cultural competence amongst our students and promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the physical therapy profession.Prior events have included: Inclusive Language in Healthcare, and LGBTQIA+ Community and related health disparities.
Pro Bono Clinic
Arcadia University’s student-run Pro Bono Clinic offers no-cost physical therapy services to underinsured individuals.
Learn More About Pro Bono Clinic
Public Health Week
Arcadia’s annual celebration of National Public Health Week (NPHW) focuses on various topics, like events on addiction, climate change, resilience, and careers. The topics reflect the daily themes set each year by the American Public Health Association (APHA)
Cross-Curricular Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Event
Microaggressions in Medicine: A Neurosurgeon’s Personal Perspective was held November 1, 2024. Dr. Sabrina M. Heman-Ackah, MD, DPhil (Oxon), MSE discussed her achievements and challenges as a member of two underrepresented groups in medicine, offering insights into how systemic racism impacts healthcare from the perspectives of providers, patients, and academics. This event was funded by CASAA and supports the university’s CABR initiative focused on justice, respect, and responsibility in academia and healthcare.
This event was the inaugural event of a CHS-initiative to offer cross-curricular content across all CHS programs collaboratively and embedded in the curriculum. Each year, CHS holds collaborative events related to inclusive practice in health professions and is part of the CHS Adaptive Strategy, and specifically the focus on Health Justice.
PA Diversity Equity and Inclusion Committee
PA Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Committee, which includes program faculty and leadership, staff, students, and the CHS Dean, meets regularly to plan events according to the program’s DEI Goals and Action Plan that centers on the following goals:
- Develop and implement inclusive recruitment and retention strategies for students.
- Build awareness of the PA profession among students historically marginalized or minoritized.
- Foster an inclusive DEI-focused culture in the PA program.
- Enhance and engage in DEI-related training and education in the PA Program.
- Develop and implement inclusive recruitment and retention strategies for faculty and staff.
