Around Tappan Square
Gunnar Kwakye, associate professor of neuroscience, with students in his lab.
Oberlin to Launch Integrative Concentration in Global Health College aims to prepare the next generation of global health professionals for influential careers and leadership oberlin will launch an integrative concentration in global health in fall 2021, recognizing that worldwide threats to mental and physical wellness are most successfully addressed with the holistic, interdisciplinary approach that is the core of a liberal arts education. ‘‘The world needs professionals who understand the multifaceted reality of 8
human well-being,’’ says Professor of Biology Mary Garvin, a lead architect of the new integrative concentration. ‘‘We need passionate, ethical, problem-solving minds, broadly trained students of the liberal arts who understand that solutions require collaboration, a sense of humility, empathy, and openmindedness. “Part of what I love about this concentration is that it gives students a strong sense of how we must break down the silos of the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences and see knowledge as a continuum—a flow among these somewhat artificial divisions of knowledge,’’ she adds. The integrative concentration is part of the college’s One Oberlin strategy, an ambitious plan to build on Oberlin’s legacy and ensure the institution’s reach and relevancy for its third century and beyond. The new concentration joins other new integrative programs in
journalism and arts administration; a business concentration is due to begin next fall. ‘‘This integrative concentration will educate students on the ethics of global health and teach them to conceptualize the process of applying moral value to health issues,’’ says Associate Professor of Neuroscience Gunnar Kwakye. ‘‘They will address issues of colonialism and neocolonialism in order to promote the decolonization of global health. By highlighting the relevance of statistical reasoning and methods to address, analyze, and solve problems in global health through biostatistics, students will develop effective ways to address and overcome the inequities and racial barriers to global health parity. They also will learn the importance of developing cultural sensitivity as global health practitioners and volunteers.’’ See oberlin.edu/news to learn more about the integrative concentration in global health.
MIKE CRUPI
ACADEMICS