News from the School of Public Health

Jocelyn R. Smith Lee, PhD ‘13, who is assistant professor of human development and family studies at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, has been awarded a $100,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation for her project “Disrupting Dehumanizing Narratives of Black Men in Poverty.” 

The faculty, staff, and students of the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health (MIAEH) are present in solidarity with people of color around the world as we witness the culmination of centuries of injustice and discrimination. We have seen the disproportionate impacts on persons of color from the recent novel coronavirus pandemic. We have also witnessed the injustices and horrific racial violence against historically disadvantaged and minority communities.

We, the faculty of the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, stand in solidarity with Black students, faculty, and staff to end long-standing racial injustice and stop the dehumanization of Black people. We insist that Black lives matter. We condemn the ongoing racism and violence against Black people and communities, and stand by our students and colleagues who are grieving and angry right now in response to the brutal killings of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Tony McDade, Breonna Taylor, McKinsley Lincoln, Nina Pop, and so many others.

We, the faculty, staff, and students of the University of Maryland Department of Behavioral and Community Health, strongly condemn anti-black violence that has resulted in the recent murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Sean Reed, and many others. We extend our thoughts, anguish, and sympathies to their families, friends, and the broader black community. Unequivocally, we stand against the persistent and systemic racism that continues to disproportionately impact black people.

Three new Maryland laws passed this year will strengthen the ability of law enforcement to prosecute the perpetrators of human trafficking and increase protections and enhance human services that support the victims of sex and labor trafficking. The UMD Support, Advocacy, Freedom and Empowerment (SAFE) Center for Human Trafficking Survivors supported and advocated for the three anti-trafficking bills passed by the Maryland General Assembly during the 2019 legislative session and signed into law by Governor Larry Hogan in May.

Dennis Vacante is an instructor for the Department of Kinesiology and coordinator for the Children’s Development Clinic at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.