Institute for Global Health to Host Symposium on Achieving Global Equity through STEM Education

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The UMass Amherst Institute for Global Health (IGH) in collaboration with the STEM Ambassadors Program will host a symposium titled “Achieving Global Equity through STEM Education: Health, Environment & Policy” on Thursday, Nov. 21, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Old Chapel.

The daylong event will feature a keynote panel headlined by Carol O'Donnell, director of the Smithsonian Science Education Center. Additional panelists include Gary Toranzos, professor of microbiology at the University of Puerto Rico at Rio Piedras; Rupika Delgoda, professor of biochemical pharmacology, the University of the West Indies at Mona, Jamaica; Laurel Royer, managing scientist at Exponent; and Carolyn Gardner-Thomas, lecturer of math, Harvard University. The panel will be chaired by Jennie Ward-Robinson, CEO of the Alliance for Global Health Innovation.

The panelists will discuss some of the challenges facing communities and populations around the world in health, environment and policy, and the critical role that STEM education can play in reducing global inequalities.

IGH director Timothy Ford, who serves as chair and professor of environmental health sciences, will be among the IGH leadership to provide an introduction and welcome to the event.

“I see IGH as a catalyst for raising awareness among the UMass community and initiating large-scale multi-disciplinary programs of research and education to address global health challenges,” says Ford. “Only a truly interdisciplinary approach can begin to address our global health challenges. These challenges are complex, and require multiple perspectives to inform solutions. This extends beyond the STEM disciplines to include the cultural, economic and policy dimensions of global health.”

In addition to the keynote panel, the symposium will feature a student poster session from noon to 1:00 p.m., providing an opportunity for students, faculty and staff to interact more closely with the panelists. The program will conclude with a STEM AP Presentation (STEM Education through the Performing Arts).

Adds Ford, “My hope is that faculty, students and others will actively engage in the discussion and will contribute to the vision for IGH.”

The event is free and open to the public.