Historically Black Meharry Medical College in Nashville has announced the launch of its new Global Health Equity Institute. This is the first step in achieving the goal of creating a School of Global Public Health at Meharry. Meharry’s goal in launching the new institute is to advance educational opportunities and research that will counter structural discrimination in public health locally, nationally, and globally, address upstream determinants and drivers of health, and develop innovative and sustainable solutions to improve public health for all population groups.
Daniel E. Dawes, an internationally-recognized health policy expert, researcher, and attorney will lead the institute in generating a strategic plan to launch the future school, which will be the first school of its kind at a historically Black college or university. The future school will advance educational opportunities for current and prospective students while working to eliminate health disparities and increase health equity worldwide. Meharry expects the school to serve as a model of health equity research and service, as well as a pathway to expand education and knowledge that provides new resources and discoveries in public health worldwide.
With the goal of launching the school by 2026, the first step is to create a blueprint through an anti-racist lens – laying the groundwork to align with Meharry’s long-term mission of decreasing inequities in health care throughout the world. Dawes will lead Meharry’s efforts in establishing the business and strategic plans, acquiring accreditation and licensing, staffing, and recruitment of a 21-person faculty, and determining the resources needed for a successful launch to enroll the first cohort of students.
“As an advocate for marginalized communities, I have spent years helping shape inclusive and meaningful health policies, establishing national networks and alliances, developing novel public health and healthcare educational programs, and creating tools to track health inequities to reform the public health and healthcare system and address the social and political determinants of health that negatively impact racial and ethnic minorities,” Dawes said. “I am honored to lead the new Global Health Equity Institute at Meharry and found the future School of Global Public Health. This effort is a natural extension of Meharry’s mission to serve the underserved and achieving equitable health outcomes for all populations, no matter their circumstances.”
Dawes has been serving as the executive director of the Satcher Health Leadership Institute and professor of health law, policy and management in the department of community health and preventive medicine at the Morehouse School of Medicine in Atlanta. He holds a bachelor’s degree in both business administration and psychology from Nova Southeastern University and a juris doctorate from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
