Putting diversity, equity and inclusion into practice
Marlina Duncan shares her perspective
M
arlina Duncan, EdD, wants to normalize diversity, equity and inclusion practices. Incorporating them into policies and programs would become second nature, in her ideal, not viewed as something separate and optional. Dr. Duncan joined UMass Medical School at the end of 2020 as the vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion. As a member of the senior leadership team, Duncan oversees the Diversity and Inclusion Office and partners with diversity leaders across the three schools, business units, and academic and administrative departments to ensure that the goals outlined in the IMPACT 2025 Strategic Plan are met and that diversity, equity and inclusion remain at the forefront. She said when she arrived at UMass Medical School, she was encouraged to see so much diversity and inclusion activity going on. The missing link, to make those efforts more powerful, was bringing them together. “Everyone is doing great things in their silos, but how do we bring that 8 | SUMMER 2021
together and bring awareness to the community that we have individuals who are working hard to improve the culture of the institution?” Duncan said. And improving the culture means changing how people think of diversity, inclusion and equity— to normalize it. “The more you normalize things, it becomes a standard of what we talk about in our budget, a standard of what we all incorporate in our personal and professional development,” Duncan said. She compared diversity work to how we think about technology. “No one blinks an eye when you put in the budget that you need this amount of money for technology resources. If we could think about diversity, equity and inclusion in the same manner, it’s just what you do. And it’s an ongoing, evolving process.” Duncan, who is Black, described her professional journey as winding. Her role as vice chancellor is the culmination of previous experiences in teaching, program development and higher education administration, largely in the field of science.
Both of Duncan’s grandmothers were nurses, and as a child in Springfield, Massachusetts, she envisioned that she would become a doctor. She majored in biology and minored in chemistry at Westfield State University. She participated in a pipeline program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine in Cleveland, Ohio, where she shadowed a doctor and discovered that working with sick people wasn’t for her. Instead of medical school, Duncan decided to take a position after college teaching science at Doherty High School in Worcester. Teachers in the STEM fields—science, technology, engineering and math— were in high demand and were hired by schools even without formal teacher education training. Duncan soon wanted to learn more about the art and skill of teaching and dug into educational philosophy and best practices. Amidst her exploration of education, Duncan’s experiences as a student and as a teacher revealed another prevalent message: There was a misconception of who belonged and who didn’t.
