The University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Diversity and Inclusion has named Lydia Kennedy, MEd, as director of the office. Oscar Beita, MPH, who formerly served as its director, now will serve as assistant director of the Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence.
The UAHS Office of Diversity and Inclusion is directed by Francisco Moreno, MD, UAHS associate vice president and UA College of Medicine – Tucson deputy dean for diversity and inclusion. The office works collaboratively with diversity leaders throughout the UA Health Sciences colleges and UAHS leadership to improve diversity and inclusion in the recruitment, education and training of the nation’s future health care educators, practitioners, researchers and leaders.
The UA's "Never Settle" strategic plan includes initiatives to strengthen the diversity and inclusion of the campus community. Arizona is a diverse state with about 42 percent of its population belonging to a racial or ethnic minority group. The UA Health Sciences, together with programs housed within its colleges and its Office of Diversity and Inclusion, works to create a health-care workforce reflective of the community it serves.
The Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence (AZ-HCOE), a program within the UAHS Office of Diversity and Inclusion, is part of a national effort funded by the Department of Health and Human Services - Health Resources and Services Administration. As assistant director of the Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence, Beita will assist Dr. Moreno with the mission, goals, objectives and strategic actions of the Center to promote the health of the community by meeting the needs of the state’s growing Latino population.
The Center provides Spanish language instruction and cultural competency and immersion to students in the health professions and to medical residents and works to increase the number of Latino/Hispanic health providers, enhance health research that serves the Latino/Hispanic population in the Southwest and improve the cultural competency of health-care services for Latino/Hispanic communities.
Beita has been a part of the UAHS team since 1998, serving as the director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion since 2013. He also has served as clinical assistant professor for the UA Department of Family and Community Medicine since 2005.
Beita has served as co-investigator on the Arizona Health Opportunities Pathways into Excellence, a federal grant, as well as the FRONTERA Summer Research Internship sub-contract and the U.S.–Mexico Border Center of Excellence Consortium sub-contract. Moreover, he has served as grant manager for the Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence federal grant.
As director of the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Kennedy will work directly with Dr. Moreno in the mission of the office to increase the diversity and inclusion of the health sciences workforce. Together they will work to increase the knowledge and sensitivity related to social and cultural factors that influence health and health care and work to foster a climate of inclusion in which all members of UAHS and partnering communities contribute to the larger goal of increasing excellence and solving health disparities.
Kennedy most recently served at the Office of Diversity and Inclusion as the recruitment and development coordinator for the UA College of Medicine – Tucson Faculty Fellows Mentoring Program. A former small business owner and community leader with 20 years of experience in human resources management, corporate and diversity training and communications, Kennedy successfully brought the Arizona Hispanic Center of Excellence Grant funded Faculty Fellows Mentoring Program to fruition while providing creative solutions to complex challenges. The program collaborates with the Offices of Faculty Affairs and Diversity and Inclusion to increase the engagement, retention and promotion of faculty members from diverse racial and ethic backgrounds. Kennedy provided vision and oversight for underrepresented minority faculty development, including determining appropriate support, resources, programming and training opportunities to foster successful professional growth for faculty. She also designed and administered mentoring and training programs for faculty, including specialized curriculum for faculty underrepresented in medicine.
Kennedy serves as a committee member for Kind Colleagues at the UA College of Medicine –Tucson and co-chairs the Equity and Mentoring sub-committee for the Commission on the Status of Women, where she created campus-wide Outstanding Mentor Awards for faculty, appointed professionals and classified staff. Recently, she was nominated for both the Lura Hanekamp Award of Excellence and the UA Award of Excellence.
“We are thrilled for Lydia Kennedy and Oscar Beita and congratulate them both on their new roles. Their skills and insight are have made a tremendous impact on diversity and inclusion on our campus and I look forward to their contributions as our office moves forward,” said Dr. Moreno.
Kennedy and Beita began their new responsibilities at the UAHS Office of Diversity and Inclusion on April 28.
About the University of Arizona Health Sciences
The University of Arizona Health Sciences is the statewide leader in biomedical research and health professions training. The UA Health Sciences includes the UA Colleges of Medicine (Phoenix and Tucson), Nursing, Pharmacy and Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, with main campus locations in Tucson and the growing Phoenix Biomedical Campus in downtown Phoenix. From these vantage points, the UA Health Sciences reaches across the state of Arizona and the greater Southwest to provide cutting-edge health education, research, patient care and community outreach services. A major economic engine, the UA Health Sciences employs almost 5,000 people, has nearly 1,000 faculty members and garners more than $126 million in research grants and contracts annually. For more information: http://uahs.arizona.edu