Sharing our IDARE Action Plan

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff,

As the past week’s events have reminded us, racism, sexism, xenophobia, bias, hate, and discrimination continue to threaten our future both here at home and around the world. Even with some emerging relief from the COVID-19 pandemic, we cannot forget the ongoing health inequities that continue to create barriers to vaccine access, healthcare services, and overall wellness. Creating change for a more socially just world requires action at the interpersonal, institutional, and system levels. As a School, we remain committed to facing these societal challenges through our scholarship, education, practice, and advocacy, grounded in empathy and action.  

With this commitment in mind, we are pleased to share the first public-facing school-wide Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity (IDARE) Action Plan for the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The Action Plan expands upon and complements the existing “Power of Public Health'' Strategic Plan goals of enhancing the IDARE climate at the School. The Action Plan identifies strategies for creating an environment where we fuel our creativity and excellence by cultivating a more equitable, inclusive, anti-racist, and socially-just community.

The development of the Action Plan was guided by the IDARE Action Plan Task Force, a committee consisting of members from diverse and strategic perspectives from across our School community. The Task Force helped to frame the Action Plan by conducting listening sessions, focus groups, and surveys. The resultant input from our colleagues about their experiences, challenges, and ideas for change to positively impact our School and the work we do was invaluable. Additionally, feedback from a School-wide public comment period was incorporated into the Action Plan. This “chorus” of voices became the basis for the framework, goals, and actions set forth in the Action Plan. We would like to thank the members of the Task Force, the deans and department chairs, and all of those who participated in the planning process and assisted in developing this Action Plan.

Though the process of writing the IDARE Action Plan is complete, the work to effect change is only beginning. It is gratifying to see that departments, offices, institutes, and centers throughout the School have already started to incorporate the thread of IDARE into the fabric of their work. The School has established and is resourcing the Office of IDARE to continue to guide our efforts. We will also continue to work closely with the University to share insights, experiences, and feedback, while ensuring alignment with the JHU Roadmap on Diversity and Inclusion as it is updated. We encourage each one of you to review the Action Plan and challenge you to infuse the IDARE framework and goals into your own work.

To ensure accountability and transparency, we will routinely share updates with the School, including an annual report that highlights our progress towards these goals. The Committee for Equity, Diversity, and Civility (CEDC) and the Assistant Dean for IDARE will establish annual priorities, set benchmarks, incorporate emerging needs, and establish timelines for achieving our goals.

The IDARE Action Plan will help us in our ongoing journey to more fully live the values we hold as a School community. Our collective journey is collective work, and can only be achieved if together we dedicate ourselves to creating an inclusive, diverse, anti-racist, and equitable future.

Sincerely,


Ellen J. MacKenzie, PhD ’79, ScM ’75
Dean
Bloomberg Distinguished Professor

Joel I. Bolling, MA
Assistant Dean for Inclusion, Diversity, Anti-Racism, and Equity

Katherine Parris Frey
Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives
Assistant Scientist, Health Policy and Management

Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Johns Hopkins University