The Public Health Student Alliance, Project EXPORT Fellows, and the Global Health Alliance of the Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health were collectively awarded the 2007 Peter W. Likins Inclusive Excellence Student Recipient Prize at an awards ceremony October 2, 2007, held in the University of Arizona Student Union Kiva Room (click photo for larger image).

The Inclusive Excellence Awards were established to recognize individuals or groups who through their inclusive programs or leadership enhance the UA’s academic distinction. Award nominees must demonstrate a significant contribution toward creating a diverse and inclusive community through one or more of the following: recruitment and retention of an excellent and diverse faculty, staff, or student body; fostering equality of opportunity within our campus community; encouraging diverse perspectives on our campus; creating a welcoming and supportive campus climate through efforts such as visibility, communication and education; other areas critical to establishing inclusive excellence at the University of Arizona.

Through their community service and social justice efforts, MEZCOPH students demonstrated dedication to increasing cultural knowledge and awareness by organizing at least three events this past year.

In the Diversity Fashion Show, faculty, staff and students worked together to create an engaging event that would help showcase and celebrate the cultural diversity of the College. Public Health Student Alliance organizers of this event included Ada Dieke, Gail Bradford and Lubna Shaikh.

More than 150 people attended the Social Justice Symposium, which helped participants gain a deeper understanding of social and racial inequities and their relationships to health outcomes. It also created an opportunity to discuss the need for and benefits of a more inclusive research agenda. Key EXPORT Fellow coordinators of the Symposium were Selena Ortiz, Jerry Simmons, MPH Candidates and Rachel Rivera Paz, a MS candidate.

The Border Deaths Conference, a symposium to recognize border deaths at the U.S.-Mexico border as a major   public health crisis, was organized by Global Health Student Alliance members Anne Hill, Bryna Koch, Terry Marsh. The conference brought together a diverse panel of experts, faculty, and students gathered to discuss the hazards of border crossing and the impact of border deaths on individuals, families, and communities. As a result, the GHA crafted guidelines to be shared with other public health institutions, colleges, and community-serving organizations to develop their own policy statements regarding border deaths.

Accepting the awards - Philabaum eggs mounted on glass plaques - for the three groups were Ada Dieke, Selena Ortiz, and Bryna Koch.