Dear SPH Community,

I am writing to let you know that Caroline Kuo has decided to complete her term as Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion, effective June 30. After four years in her role, she will transition to more actively advance her research portfolio on health equity and resilience among young people – a field that may be more critical than ever. I am happy that she will remain a vital member of our Behavioral and Social Sciences faculty and has also agreed to stay on as Senior Advisor to the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion to help support the handoff to her eventual successor.

Caroline made a huge impact in just a short time as the inaugural Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion. She launched the School’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion, conceptualizing and building a suite of programming, training, and events that we see at the School today. As a result of her tireless work, the School has made substantive, beneficial changes to recruitment, retention, and climate strategies, and we are now extremely well-positioned to provide our community with outstanding training to enhance inclusive teaching and to develop skills to combat racial and gender bias, microaggressions, and more.

Under Caroline’s leadership, we have seen over a 100% increase in graduate applications from historically underrepresented groups and over a 60% increase in matriculations. Just a few of her other accomplishments include spearheading the School’s Plan to Confront Anti-Black Racism, expanding recruitment strategies and venues to identify a new generation of diverse leaders, and establishing the School’s first Staff Advisory Committee and an active SPH Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In fact, Brown specifically cited SPH as “a model academic unit for supporting diversity and inclusion” thanks to Caroline’s successes.

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Caroline. She has consistently partnered with many within the School and across the University to advance equity and inclusion and is a respected colleague and mentor to many in our community. She has also helped to calmly and effectively guide the School through a difficult and complex time of confronting anti-Black racism and racial injustice during my transition.

I look forward to continuing to work with Caroline in her new role as Senior Advisor to the Dean for Diversity and Inclusion.

More to come next week on future plans for the SPH Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Please join me in thanking her for her exemplary service and congratulating her on such an accomplished term as associate dean.

Warm regards,

Ashish K. Jha, MD, MPH
Dean, School of Public Health
Professor of Health Services, Policy & Practice