ADDI Update – February 2021

Dear Friedman Community, 

I hope you had a meaningful Black History Month and were able to take in some of the many events that occurred across Tufts and beyond. The month offered an opportunity to learn, reflect, and honor, and we will move forward with yet a deeper commitment to ongoing action.  

This month, the five workstreams issued their final reports with recommendations for making Tufts an anti-racist institution, and the university has committed $25 million over the next five years to implement the recommendations. Many recommendations are to be implemented at the school level and are in line with what is already underway as part of the Friedman action plan. More information about the workstreams and links to the reports here: https://president.tufts.edu/tufts-as-an-anti-racist-institution/

The Friedman Office of Student Affairs is already starting to plan for orientation for next year’s incoming class and considering how to incorporate DEI. If anyone has suggestions for a book, other reading, podcast, video, or anything else that would be appropriate for incoming students to review and discuss as part of orientation, please send them to Matt Hast. 

SJID Internship Funds are available! The Giving Tuesday challenge was very successful, and there are funds available for a DEI-related internship. Many thanks to Katie Stebbins, Executive Director of Friedman’s Food & Nutrition Innovation Institute, for providing matching funds for this challenge. Funds will be awarded as part of the internship scholarship process. Lori Rodriguez can answer any questions. 

Scholarships are a key part of increasing diversity at Friedman, and an exciting new fundraising matching challenge will help support these. For more information: https://nutrition.tufts.edu/giving

As always, please just reach out if you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions. 

Best,
Sara C. Folta, PhD
Associate Dean for Diversity and Inclusion

EVENTS: A reminder that the student-led 2021 Research and Data Symposium for Food and Nutrition is next week! https://sites.tufts.edu/friedmanresearchsymposium/

Food Solutions New England will be running their 21-Day Racial Equity Challenge again this year, April 5 – 25, 2021. Join with thousands of others across the US (and further afield) to learn more about race and racism in our food systems and get inspired by practical ways to dismantle white supremacist patterns while building equity, justice and liberation into the food system we are creating together. More info and registration

RESOURCES: From Michigan State University, the newly released Annotated Bibliography on Structural Racism Present in the U.S. Food System, Eighth Edition provides current research and outreach on structural racism in the U.S. food systemfor the food system practitioner, researcher, educator, and advocate.