[Note: the Minority Health Conference pages on this website are an
historical archive. Click here for the
Conference's current website.]


Minority Student Caucus logo

Audience for the 8th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture
(more photos)

Video brochure

38th Annual Minority Health Conference, 2/24/2017

19th Annual William T. Small Jr. Keynote Lecture and broadcast 2/24/2017

Previous conferences

History of the Caucus and Conference, in video

Minority Student Caucus

About Dean William T. Small, Jr.

Dates of future conferences:  

 
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Gillings School of Global Public Health
Minority Student Caucus


Minority Health Conference

The Annual Minority Health Conference was launched by the Minority Student Caucus in 1977 and has been conducted nearly every year since then. Major objectives are to highlight health issues of concern to people of color and to attract students interested in minority health to the School. Initially the Conference was held in Rosenau Auditorium in the School of Public Health, but when attendance increased to 300-400 during the 1990's, the Conference moved to the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center.

Planning and implementation of the Conference are led by the School's Minority Student Caucus, which designates the chair of the Planning Committee each year. The Planning Committee includes representatives of the sponsoring organizations (the Caucus, Dean's Office, NC Institute of Public Health, Minority Health Project) and student volunteers. The Conference is co-sponsored by various organizations in and outside the University (see co-sponsors for each year's conference).

   
Dean William T. Small, Jr.
William T. Small Jr.
In 1999, Dean William Roper named the Keynote Lecture after William T. Small, Jr., Associate Dean and Senior Advisor for Multicultural Affairs, who for over a quarter of a century worked on behalf of and won the respect and affection of public health students - enrolled students, former students, and prospective students, and their families - as well as faculty, staff, and administrators. (Dr. Roper's remarks)

Also in 1999 the Minority Health Project (about) began organizing webcasts of the Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture, and in 2001 added a satellite broadcast with support from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Videotapes and/or DVDs of many broadcasts are distributed by the Public Health Foundation. In 2009 student organizations at five public health schools (see list) presented the broadcast of the annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture in conjunction with their own events. One of these partner conferences, the 1st Annual Minority Health in the Midwest Conference at the University of Illinois, Chicago, had over 200 participants.

In 2010, students at Tulane, UCLA, and UIC Chicago again held partner conferences and were joined by George Washington University students, In 2011, students at GWU, Tulane, UCLA, and UIC Chicago again held partner conferences and were joined by students at Harvard University. In 2012, students at Harvard, GWU, UCLA, and UIC Chicago were joined by students at the University of North Texas Health Science Center, the RWJF Center for Health Policy at Meharry Medical College, and the Department of Preventive Medicine at St. George's University in Grenada. Partner conferences were again held in 2013 and 2014. These "partner conferences" have become a regular feature of the annual Minority Health Conference, as students around the country join together to promote health equity and full inclusion.

In 2012 the conference co-chairs introduced a second keynote lecture, the annual Victor J. Schoenbach Health Disparities Keynote Lecture. The lecture is recorded and maintained on the web.


38th Annual Minority Health Conference:
February 24, 2017
(link)

Co-chairs for the 38th Annual Minority Health Conference:
Jani Radhakrishnan, Masters Student, Department of Health Behavior
Marisa Martini, Masters Student, Department of Health Behavior

Past conferences

2016 37th Annual Conference: In Solidarity: The Role of Public Health in Social Justice, February 26, 2016  
Conference co-chairs: Anna Dardick and Giuliana Morales
2015 36th Annual Conference: Reaching for the American Dream: Economic Mobility and Minority Health   (the conference was forced to cancel due to a snowstorm, but the William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture was webcast live).
Conference co-chairs: May Chen and Eleva Rivera
2014 35th Annual Conference: Innovative Approaches to Youth Health: Engaging Youth in Creating Healthy Communities”   (trailer)
Conference co-chairs: Charla Hodges and Maryka Lier
2013 34th Annual Conference: Constructing the Foundation for Health Equity
Conference co-chairs: Adrienne Gill and Chassidy Hanley
2012 33rd Annual Conference: Translational Research: The Road from Efficacy to Equity
Conference co-chairs: Turquoise Griffith and Kea Turner
2011 32nd Annual Conference: The Promise of Health Equity: Advancing the Discussion to Eliminate Disparities in the 21st Century
Conference co-chairs: Kristin Black and Paul Gilbert
2010 31st Annual Conference: Building Community in the Age of Information: Fighting Health Inequality in the Modern World” (planning meeting slide show)
Conference co-chairs: Aprajita Anand and Emily Brostek
2009 30th Annual Conference: Our World, Our Community: Building Bridges for Health Equality
Conference co-chairs: Stephanie Baker and Kevin Wu
2008 29th Annual Conference: The Impact of Poverty, Culture, and Environment on Minority Health
Conference co-chairs: Janelle Armstrong-Brown and Eboni Taylor
2007 28th Annual Conference:   “AIDS at 25: It’s Time to Deliver
Conference co-chairs: Nancy DeSousa and LaToya White
2006 27th Annual Conference:   “Community-Based Research and Practice: How Do We Make it Work for Everyone
Conference co-chairs: Christopher Heaney and Aisha Moore
2005 26th Annual Conference:   “Health and the Built Environment: The Effects of Where We Live, Work and Play
Conference co-chairs: Christopher Heaney and Danielle Spurlock
2004 6th Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture by Mary E. Northridge, Ph.D. (the Conference was cancelled due to adverse weather)
Conference co-chairs: Marisa Guptarak and Danielle Spurlock
2003 25th Annual Conference:   “The Evolution of Health Policy: Influences, Interpretations and Implications
Conference co-chairs: Kacey Hanson and Angela Thrasher
2002 24th Annual Conference:   “Social Determinants of Health: Assembling Pieces of the Puzzle
Conference co-chairs: Shelley Francis and Maceo Thomas
2001 23rd Annual Conference:   “Race, Class, and Environment: The State of Minority Health
Conference chair: Melissa Green
2000 22nd Annual Conference:   “Public Health 2000: Reflections on the Past, Directions for the Future
Conference co-chairs: Renee Johnson and Lisa Pullen
1999 21st Annual Conference:   “Raising Resilient Children: How Communities of Color Respond to the Challenge” 1st Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture
Conference chair: Rashmi Agarwal
1977-98 All conferences to date
 

Related conference series’ at UNC

National Health Equity Research Webcast (formerly known as the Annual Summer Public Health Research Institute and Videoconference on Minority Health) - Recent broadcasts:
 

- “Political Power, Policy, and Health Equity”, June 7, 2016 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Advancing a Community-Based Model for Violence Prevention”, June 2, 2015 (Information and archived webcast)
- “School-to-Prison Pipeline”, June 3, 2014 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Early Childhood Development: Investing in Our Children and Our Future”, June 4, 2013 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Social Determinants of Health Disparities: Moving the Nation to Care about Social Justice”, June 5, 2012 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Health Equity: Progress and Pitfalls”, June 7, 2011 (Information and archived webcast)
- “What Will Health Care Reform Mean for Minority Health Disparities?”, June 8, 2010 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Breaking the Cycle: Investigating the Intersection of Educational Inequities and Health Disparities”, June 9, 2009 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Men’s Health Disparities”, June 3, 2008 (Information and archived webcast)
- “Does Racism Make Us Sick?”, June 25, 2007, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History (Information and archived webcast)

Annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Birthday Celebration
Zollicoffer-Merrimon Lecture
Conference on Race, Class, Gender and Ethnicity

Links

Minority Student Caucus
About Dean William T. Small, Jr.
Scenes from the 23rd Minority Health Conference
Scenes from the 22nd Minority Health Conference
Scenes from the 1992 Minority Health Conference
National Health Equity Research Webcast (formerly the Annual Summer Public Health Research Videoconference on Minority Health)
Minority health-related links at UNC and elsewhere
Minority Health Project

Office of Continuing Education | North Carolina Institute for Public Health
Campus Box 8165 | UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health | Chapel Hill, NC 27599-8165
Phone 919-966-4032 | Fax 919-966-5692 | E-mail oce@unc.edu

Last updated: 9/24/2014, 9/13/2015, 11/26/2016 by Vic Schoenbach