Welcome back to campus and to the CNHS community! I trust you had a chance to recharge during your break. I am so glad we made it together into January 2025 and I hope we will thrive and make it successfully to the end of the year. Welcome to our January 2025 Newsletter. As you read this, imagine we’re having a conversation about Inclusive Excellence (IE). I have three questions I’d like you to reflect on:
What are you or your department planning for Spring 2025 in relation to IE?
Looking ahead, what stands out to you about IE on campus this Spring?
How can I, as the Director of Inclusive Excellence, or the University Inclusive Excellence Council (UIEC) support you and your team?
I’d love to hear your thoughts over the coming months as you discuss these questions in your groups.
Personally, earlier this month, I came across an article that expanded on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s quote: “Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.” This sparked something in me, and I decided to embark on a journey to “go to unknown places” and leave my own trail. To guide this journey, I set three simple goals, and I would like to share them with you in case you would like to journey with me as a person or a group. As they say in the proverb in my language, “Knowledge is like a baobab tree; no one can encompass it with their hands.” My goals are:
To explore new knowledge, concepts, and traditions.
To share and harmonize this knowledge with like-minded people.
To practice G.R.I.T. (Great Resilience in Time), as defined by my friend Dr. India White.
As part of my first goal, I attended a transformative 2-day faculty development workshop on Debriefing in healthcare simulation. This workshop was centered around enhancing knowledge of healthcare simulation principles, applying educational principles to interprofessional simulation, and promoting interprofessional collaboration and awareness in simulation activities. Beyond building strong connections with my team, the experience deepened our understanding of the medical system and highlighted areas where we can improve health equity and inclusion. I am deeply grateful to Sarah, Cate, Seth, and the entire simulation team for their dedication and their commitment to making meaningful changes.
(Photos above: 1. Sefakor with some of the debriefing team members. 2. Cat and Sefakor getting ready to work with our simulated patient.)
This brings me to my second goal: harmonizing my new knowledge with like-minded individuals like you to foster growth at CNHS. For me, this process is deeply meaningful, as I integrate this experience into my teaching, service, research, and daily life. My goal is to connect with others in a shared commitment to collective care.
Currently, I’m focused on my third goal: practicing GRIT as we pursue Inclusive Excellence at CNHS. This means building resilience and reminding ourselves—and our students—to carry grit with them through their journeys on campus and beyond. As Dr. White suggests, we need to help students stay responsible and persistent, teaching them coping strategies to handle setbacks. For example, I had the privilege of joining the New American Youth on the Rise (NAYR) this month as their "Mentor in Highlight." I shared my story with them, aligning it with their monthly theme of Emotional Regulation from their Social Emotional Learning (SEL) program. We encouraged the girls to reflect on their emotions, learn from failures, and develop resilience through difficult moments.
Finally, as the IE/teacher in me, I encourage you—faculty, staff, and students—to reflect on these questions as you set your goals for personal and collective growth:
Can this collective care strategy deepen engagement and include those who might not participate in other forms of action?
Will this goal transform how people view their capacity and identity in providing and receiving support?
How could the goal shift individual and community consciousness, and how can collective care connect with broader strategies for social change?
I encourage you to consider these questions when setting your goals. They may help guide us all toward a successful end to the Spring semester. Thank you for your dedication—this will be an exciting semester!
With my best wishes,
Sefakor G.M.A. Komabu-Pomeyie (Ph.D.)
Director of IE/Lecturer.
What Has Been Done
The biggest thing in January, thanks to your support, was organizing the first MLK Event for CNHS: Narratives from the Biracial Deaf Community in the Health System and a Story of the Black Deaf. The two events had over 100 people both in-person and virtually.
The first ever Annual Report on the University’s Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan was released.
(Photos below: 1. Sefakor with Kate Adams-Silva and her husband. 2. Sefakor with Kate Adams-Silva and Dean Anderson.)
CIE Section: A Message from the Chair
The Committee on Inclusive Excellence has been meeting monthly to discuss progress related to initiatives on CNHS’s Comprehensive Inclusive Excellence Action Plan. If you have interest in attending or working with our committee, please join us this semester for one of our meetings the last Wednesday of the month at 1 p.m. in Rowell.
We have made progress on several activities including student involvement (see below). As we prioritize our assets and our needs, we would love to hear from as many voices from our UVM community as possible! Thank you for your support and continued involvement in diversity, equity, and inclusion, making sure that everyone in our CNHS community can thrive.
In solidarity,
Noah Barclay-Derman
(Photo above: Sefakor with Communication Sciences and Disorders faculty and staff.)
Faculty Corner
I was so honored to join our own Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Faculty meeting this year to discuss some practical actions that they can take intentionally to incorporate IE practices in their everyday life (teaching, research, service). One major consensus they had was to highlight just one CSD CIE connection for this newsletter as they deemed it a unique opportunity and perspective. Below you can find their IE commitment this month.
Breaking Down Ageism: CSD Faculty and Student Book Club
The Communication Sciences and Disorders (CSD) Department is proud to highlight the innovative efforts of faculty member and Senior Lecturer Professor Julia Walberg in breaking down ageism and fostering dialogue across the age spectrum. Partnering with the Center on Aging, Julia has launched a new Faculty and Student Book Club, creating a unique space for reflection and conversation about aging.
This initiative exemplifies inclusive excellence by encouraging participants to challenge misconceptions about aging and embrace a more positive mindset. The spring semester discussions will center on selections from the Breaking Age Code by Dr. Becca Levy, a groundbreaking book that explores the impact of societal attitudes on aging.
Join this engaging effort to reframe how we think and talk about aging. Discussions will take place on Thursday, February 20, and Thursday, April 10, at 4 PM in the Williams Family Room, Davis Center 403. Let’s work together to cultivate a more age-inclusive community!
Student Corner
We welcome the Spring 2025 semester with a lot of questions regarding the state of inclusion. Within hours of being elected, the President signed executive orders that laid off hundreds of diversity and inclusion officials in the Federal Government.This comes after months of threatening to defund schools and universities that offer services similar to those who were fired. It is times like these where it's important to remember that diversity does not only include race. Promoting diversity also means not discriminating against people based on their gender, sexuality, or disability. My friend with ALS can access almost any building or service that I can because of diversity initiatives. As we move forward, we must remember that inclusion is not just a policy—it is a commitment to ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or circumstances, has the opportunity to thrive. These challenges remind us that the fight for equity is ongoing and requires vigilance, compassion, and collaboration. CNHS's diversity student union Kaleidoscope will continue meeting in Rowell 301 this semester with the main goal of adding their voices to the Inclusive Excellence Action plan for the college. Reach out to Sefakor or I if you would like to participate!
By: Dylan Rhymaun (He/Him)
Kaleidoscope meets on Mondays at 2-3 PM in 301 Rowell Building.
The summer 2025 internship applications to both the Burlington and D.C. offices are now open and are due by the end of the day on Monday, March 24th at 11:59 pm. More information about both internship opportunities and how to apply can be found at Internships | Senator Welch (senate.gov). For questions about the state office internship, they can contact me directly or send an email to Interns_Welch@welch.senate.gov. Questions about the D.C. office internships can be sent to either the intern mailbox or to Cora_Smith@welch.senate.gov.
Submit Black History Month events to Mosaic Center centralized calendar
The Campus Climate Survey will begin very soon (next couple weeks?). It’s very important to get a high response rate.
Inclusive Excellence Symposium will be in March; information is at go.uvm.edu/ies
Register for the 1/28/25 The New Adverse Effect Rule on January 28 @ 1:00 pm - 2:00 pm. Free on Zoom. This workshop will be online using the Zoom meeting platform. If you are unable to attend the live presentation, you can still register, and we’ll send you a link to the recording of the workshop which you can watch on your own time. This session will review the State’s new Adverse Effect rule and its impact on eligibility evaluations for disability identification, as well as the provision of special education and related services. Presenter: Ernie Wheeler – Educational Consultant at the Vermont Agency of Education.
Faculty and Student Book Club: Communication Sciences and Disorders Department is partnering with the Center on Aging to host a new Faculty and Student Book Club. Our goal is to create a supportive space for reflection on how we think and talk about aging, cultivating a more positive mindset toward aging in our community. Please join us for two discussions to explore selections fromBreaking the Age Code by Dr. Becca Levy: Thursday, February 20th and Thursday, April 10th at 4 PM in the Williams Family Room/Davis Center 403.
Please RSVP hereto receive scanned copies of the chapters we’ll be reading in advance. During our first gathering, we‘ll be talking about chapters 1-5. For a preview of what to expect, here is a 22-minute NPR interview with the author.
Everybody’s Work Screening by Katie Boston-Leary, PhD MBA MHA NEA-BC: Feb. 5 at UVMMC's Davis Auditorium. Reception: 4:30-5 p.m.; Screening and Panel Discussion: 5-7 p.m. Katie Boston-Leary is the Director of Nursing Programs at the American Nurses Association overseeing the Nursing Practice and Work Environment Division and Healthy Nurse Healthy Nation. She is also the Co-Lead for Project Firstline, a multi-million-dollar grant collaborative with the CDC for training on Infection Prevention and Control. She is also an Adjunct Faculty member and an Advisory Board Member with the Nurse Leadership Institute at the University of Maryland School of Nursing.
