Cultural Highlights and Celebrations

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• The Robert A. Winn Diversity in Clinical Trials Award Program is seeking applicants for its program created to increase diversity in clinical trials and transform the clinical research landscape. Sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University through a grant from the Bristol Myers Squibb Foundation, the program is seeking URM students and early career physicians who are African American or Black/Hispanic or Latino/American Indian or Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander/Southeast Asian (Bhutanese, Cambodian, Cham, Hmong, Indonesian, Lao, Malaysian, Mien, Myanma, Thai, and Vietnamese).
• The diversity, inclusion, and belonging event hosted by Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine titled disAbilities at Work: Thriving in an Abled World with speakers Mark Nichols, David Hartman, and Carrie Knopf was posted to our website, complete with transcript and resources for each of our speakers, linked below.
  • Mark Nichols: “My parents instilled in me that diversity and inclusion is beautiful.”
  • David Hartman: “The obstacle was not what I could or could not do as a blind person, it was society's low expectations of what I, as a blind person, could do.”
  • Carrie Knopf: “The economic and educational difference that it can have on someone's life to have equal access to education through accommodations and technology is just really profound.”
• Holidays and observances in the month of November:
  
  • National Native American Heritage Month
  • National Family Caregivers Month
  • 1:  All Saints’ Day 
  • 1-2: Dia de los Muertos
  • 2: All Souls’ Day
  • 8: Election Day
  • 11:  Veterans Day
  • 13–19: Transgender Awareness Week
  • 19:  International Men’s Day 
  • 20:  Transgender Day of Remembrance
  • 20:  Feast of Christ the King
  • 24:  Thanksgiving Day
  • 25:  Native American Heritage Day
  • November 28–January 6:  Nativity Fast 
  • November 27–December 24:  Advent
  • 30:  St. Andrew’s Day

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• The October Diversity, Inclusion, Belonging event disAbilities at Work: Thriving in an Abled World will take place at 5:30 p.m. on October 11 and will feature speakers David Hartman, Carrie Knopf, and Mark Nichols. Hartman is associate professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral medicine and psychiatrist with Carilion Clinic. Knopf is student affairs coordinator and liaison for services for students with disabilities. Nichols is the senior director of universal design and accessible technologies at Virginia Tech.
• Holidays and observances in the month of October:
  
  • Sept. 15 to Oct. 15: Hispanic Heritage Month
  • National Disability Employment Awareness Month
  • LGBTQ+ History Month
  • Global Diversity Awareness Month
  • 1: Native American Women’s Equal Pay Day
  • 4: St. Francis Day, feast day for St. Francis of Assisi
  • 4–5 (sundown to sundown): Yom Kippur
  • 5: Dasara, Dussehra, or Vijayadashami, marking the end of Durga Puja
  • 7–8: Mawlid Al-Nabi, observance of the birthday of the prophet Muhammad
  • 9: Eid Milad un-Nabi, Islamic holiday commemorating the birthday of the prophet Muhammad
  • 9–16: Sukkot
  • 10: Canadian Thanksgiving
  • 10: World Mental Health Day
  • 11: National Coming Out Day (United States)
  • 11:  National Indigenous Peoples Day
  • 16–18 (sundown to sundown): Shemini Atzeret
  • 17–18 (sundown to sundown): Simchat Torah
  • 20: Sikh Holy Day, in celebration of Sri Guru Granth Sahib
  • 20: International Pronouns Day
  • 24: Diwali
  • 25–26 (sundown to sundown): Birth of Báb, Bahá’í holiday celebrating the birth of the prophet Báb
  • 26–27 (sundown to sundown): The birth of Bahá’u’lláh, the founder of the Bahá’í religion
  • 29: Latina Equal Pay Day
  • 31: All Hallows’ Eve (Halloween)
  • 31–November 1 (sundown to sundown): Samhain, a Gaelic festival marking the end of the harvest season and the beginning of winter

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• VTCSOM had such a great day hosting a group of amazing kids from An Achievable Dream Middle and High School last month! They spent the day exploring the health care field by touring the medical school, Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, and practicing their suturing and ultrasound skills. Not too many people get a selfie from the helipad at the top of Carilion RMH!
• NL Bishop hosted students from the incoming class of 2026 for a pre-orientation field trip to the Harrison Museum. Afterwards, he took the students for a guided tour around Roanoke to show them the landmarks exhibited in the museum.
• The next Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging event Black Bodies and Racialized Medical Technologies will take place Tuesday, August 9. Speaker Jariah Strozier will give her talk “A Black Feminist’s Critique of the Crooked Room of Medicine (CRoM): Innovation of Thick Studies and the Gender, Race, Weight Matrix.”
• The InclusiveVT Summit (formerly the Advancing Diversity Summit) is Wednesday, August 10 at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center. This is mostly an in-person event, but parts will be available in hybrid format through Canvas.
• The Health Sciences and Technology (HS&T) Center for Inclusion, located in 1 Riverside - Room 205B will open in August. In celebration of the opening, there will be a ribbon cutting on August 18 at 2:30 p.m.
• VTCSOM will be represented at the Annual National HBCU Week Conference in September. The event is sponsored by the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities.
• Holidays and observances in the month of August:
  • 1: Lughnasadh, a Gaelic festival marking the beginning of the harvest season
  • 1: Fast in Honor of Holy Mother of Jesus
  • 5–6: Tisha B’Av, a fast in commemoration of the destruction of two holy and sacred temples of Judaism
  • 6: Transfiguration of the Lord (Feast of the Transfiguration)
  • 7–8 (sundown to sundown): Ashura
  • 11: Raksha Bandhan
  • 12: Hungry Ghost Festival
  • 13: Black Women’s Equal Pay Day
  • 13–15: Obon (Ullambana)
  • 15: Assumption of Blessed Virgin Mary
  • 15: Dormition of the Theotokos, a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Catholic Churches that commemorates the “falling asleep,” or death, of Mary the Theotokos (“Mother of God”) and her bodily resurrection before ascending into heaven
  • 17: Marcus Garvey Day
  • 18–19: Krishna Janmashtami
  • 21: Khordad Sal (Birth of prophet Zoroaster)
  • 23: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition and the anniversary of the uprising in Santo Domingo (Haiti and the Dominican Republic) that initiated the abolition of slavery in the Caribbean
  • 24: Paryushana Parvarambha
  • 26: Women’s Equality Day
  • 31: Ganesh Chaturthi

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• More than 20 sophomores from Martinsville, Danville, Roanoke County and City schools visited Virginia Tech’s Blacksburg campus to participate in a four-day capstone experience through the Health Professions Enrichment Program (HPEP), aimed at exposing students to the variety of health careers available, whether the patients are humans or animals. “HPEP is just one of the VTSCOM and College Access Collaborative initiatives that aims to diversify the United States workforce,” says Karen Eley Sanders, associate vice provost for college access. “Research confirms that individuals who are underrepresented in the health professions are more likely to serve medically underserved communities.”
  Prior to the weeklong camp at Virginia Tech, HPEP consists of three Saturday sessions where students gained the experience of working with heart and lung simulations and had access to technology. During the weeklong on-site campus visit at Virginia Tech's Blacksburg campus, the group of 21 were divided in three groups, Team Heart, Team Brain, and Team Lungs, and worked on retired medical cases during dedicated group work time each day, culminating with final presentations on the last day. The on-campus visit included DNA Extraction and a Genome Facility Tour at the Biocomplexity Institute, as well as a tour and activity at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine. 
• The Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion team is proud to announce the Dean’s Diversity Champions Award, which recognizes significant achievements of faculty, staff, and students toward developing a more diverse, equitable, and inclusive community. Nominations (including self-nominations) are welcome from any member of the VTCSOM community. Up to ten awards will be given each year.
  Deadline for nominations: Friday, July 8 at 5:00 p.m.
  Submit nominations.
• On July 14, the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is hosting Robert Winn, renowned cancer center director, for a talk on Generational Health: An Intimate Conversation on Black Men and Health Disparities.
• The Advancing Diversity Summit is Wednesday, August 10th, from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center.
• Holidays and observances in the month of July:
  • 1: Canada Day/Fête du Canada
  • 4: Independence Day
  • 8-9 (sundown to sundown): Waqf al Arafa
  • 9: The Martyrdom of the Bab
  • 9-10 (sundown to sundown):  Eid al-Adha
  • 11: World Population Day
  • 13: Asalha Puja/Dharma Day
  • 14: International Nonbinary People’s Day
  • 14: Bastille Day
  • 15: St. Vladimir of the Great Day
  • 18: Nelson Mandela International Day
  • 23: The birthday of Haile Selassie I, former emperor of Ethiopia
  • 24: Pioneer Day
  • 26: Disability Independence Day, celebrating the anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act
  • 29-30:  Hijri New Year
  • 30: International Day of Friendship

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• In honor of Jewish American Heritage Month, Mia Edelson, class of 2025, and Courtney Powell, community and culture manager, researched and highlighted Jewish physicians and scientists who have helped to advance medical education and patient care. 
• On June 14, the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Team will host Literacy Towards Health: Understanding Immigrant and Refugee Patient Perspectives and Experiences in Healthcare as part of the diversity and inclusion belonging series. At this event, panelists and presenters will discuss and explore cultural nuances, historical perspectives, and diversity of the immigrant population and the stories they tell that are critical when caring for displaced populations.
• Holidays and observances in the month of June:
  • Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Pride Month
  • Immigrant Heritage Month
  • 4–6 (sundown to sundown):  Shavuot
  • 5: Pentecost
  • 12: Trinity Sunday
  • 14: Flag Day (United States)
  • 15: Native American Citizenship Day, commemorating the day in 1924 when the US Congress passed legislation recognizing the citizenship of Native Americans
  • 16: Martyrdom of Guru Arjan Dev
  • 16: Corpus Christi
  • 19: Juneteenth (Freedom Day, Emancipation Day)
  • 20: World Refugee Day
  • 21: National Indigenous Peoples Day or First Nations Day (Canada)
  • 24: Litha, the summer solstice
  • 24: Feast of the Most Sacred Heart
  • 26: LGBTQ+ Pride Day (United States), commemorating the Stonewall Riots that occurred on June 28, 1969
  • 29: Feast Day of Saints Peter and Paul

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• The Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine is pleased to host our second M.E.D.S. Experience (Medical Exposure for Diverse Students) from March 4 to 6. The program targets first-, second- and third-year Virginia Tech students who are members of groups underrepresented in medicine and are planning careers in medicine and research. If you know someone who might benefit from this unique experience, encourage them to apply.
• Holidays and observances in the month of February:
  
  • February is Black History Month
  • 1: Lunar New Year
  • 1: National Freedom Day, celebrating the signing of the Thirteenth Amendment
  • 1–2: Imbolc, a Gaelic traditional festival marking the beginning of spring
  • 2: Candlemas
  • 2: Groundhog Day
  • 3: St. Blaise Day (The Blessing of the Throats), the feast day of St. Blaise of Sebaste 
  • 3: Setsubun-Sai (Beginning of Spring), celebrated as part of the Spring Festival in Japan
  • 3: Four Chaplains Day commemorates the fifty-fifth anniversary of the sinking of the US Army transport Dorchester and the heroism of the four chaplains aboard 
  • 5: Vasant Panchami
  • 14: St. Valentine’s Day
  • 15: Lantern Festival
  • 15: Parinirvana Day (or Nirvana Day)
  • 16: Maghi-Purnima, a Hindu festival especially for worshippers of Lord Vishnu
  • 16: Magha Puja Day (Buddhism)
  • 21: Presidents Day
  • February 25–March 1: Intercalary Days or Ayyám-i-Há (Bahá’í)

Diversity and Inclusion Notes

• Did you know that you can find events related to diversity, equity, and inclusion at VTCSOM all in one place? Events are continuously being added to the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion calendar, which can be found on our website.
• The 2021 VA Pride Scholarship is now accepting applications. Light up your future with this amazing opportunity. VTCSOM medical students are eligible to apply for this scholarship. Applications will be evaluated on how the applicant says they will apply their education to advancing LGBTQ equality. Deadline to apply is September 10, 2021. 
• Virginia Tech hosts Inclusive VT Week Speaker Series:
  • September 7: Dr. Lisa Nunn will present Fostering College Belonging: Practical strategies for fostering student success by strengthening students’ sense of belonging, with a focus on first-generation college students.
  • September 9: Presentation by Dr. Fred Bonner II, author of Square Pegs and Round Holes: Alternative Approaches to Diverse College Student Development Theory.
  • September 10: Dr. Margaret Price will present Creating an Inclusive and Accessible Campus.
• Holidays and celebrations in the month of September:
  • Hispanic Heritage Month is observed from September 15 to October 15
  • 4-11: Paryushana Parva
  • 6: Labor Day
  • 6-8: (sundown to sundown): Rosh Hashanah
  • 10: Ganesh Chaturthi
  • 11: Ethiopian New Year
  • 15-16: (sundown to sundown): Yom Kippur
  • 18: International Equal Pay Day
  • 20-27: Sukkot
  • 22: Ostara Mabon
  • 24: Native American Day
  • 27: Elevation of the Life-Giving Cross (Holy Cross)
  • 27: Meskel
  • 27-29: (sundown to sundown): Shemini Atzeret
  • 28-29: (sundown to sundown): Simchat Torah
  • 29: Michaelmas

Diversity and Inclusion

• The next #VTCUnfinished event will be held virtually on Thursday, February 4 from 6 to 7 p.m. Titled “Black Maternal Health,” this session seeks to provide space to discuss how implicit racial and gender biases can change health care outcomes, what disparities currently exist, and how to begin dismantling health injustice. By disseminating best practices to address critical issues in Black maternal health from different sectors including research, care, policy, and culture; we can frame health equity and reproductive justice for Black Women.
  The event is hosted by the VTC Chapter of the Student National Medical Association, the VTC Refugee in Medicine Association, the VTC Group on Women in Medicine and Science, and the VTC Obstetrics & Gynecology Interest Group. Registration required.
• Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine has obtained a number of licenses for interested parties to view the documentary Black Men in White Coats on their own devices from February 23 - 25. It will also be shown in the Auditorium (M203) on February 25 at 3 p.m. A discussion will follow both live and on Zoom. Registration for online or in-person participation is required. 

Diversity and Inclusion

• Registration is open for Virginia Tech’s Advancing Diversity Virtual Gathering on Jan. 12, 2021.
• Online diversity pathways and inclusive pedagogy spring courses.
  There are new courses on the TLOS professional development network for diversity and inclusion. In addition, new SafeZone courses are available for the spring. 
• The Breakthrough Inclusive Action Tool Kit is available for anyone ready to become an agent of change in the academy! Although it is written for students and faculty in STEM fields, the content is adaptable to any academic unit. This excellent resource was produced in collaboration with Science Friday and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute Tangled Bank Studios. 

Diversity and Inclusion

• Registration is open for Virginia Tech’s Advancing Diversity Virtual Gathering on January 12, 2021.
• Do you have aging relatives? Will they need your support to age well?
  Our recent Lunch and Learn focused on relevant information about what caring for an aging relative entails and why you and your loved ones should prepare. This session was full of great information and resources.

Diversity and Inclusion

Last month’s Lunch and Learn featured a discussion about inclusive language and terminology and was led by Charlotte Baker with the Department of Population Health Sciences at Virginia Tech. The graphic from her presentation is an excellent visual of the difference between the terms “equality” and “equity.”