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BUILDING ON LEGACY

Ann Gakumo joins the UC College of Nursing to lead diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and build on Greer Glazer’s legacy.

Ann Gakumo has worn a lot of hats throughout her 20-year nursing career. Armed with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Tuskegee University and a PhD in nursing from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, she has served as a critical care nurse, research scientist, educator, administrator and community organizer, to name a few. In August, she added another cap to her collection by filling the UC College of Nursing’s Greer Glazer Endowed Chair in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion — the first position of its kind at a nursing college nationwide. In this role, Gakumo will collaborate with faculty, staff and students to lead the college’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts.

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It's about more than academics. We have to provide the tools, support and an inclusive environment so that students, faculty and staff can feel a greater sense of belonging.

– Ann Gakumo, PhD

“I have full confidence that under Ann’s stellar leadership and the tremendous commitment of faculty, staff and students, the UC College of Nursing will tackle the difficult issues and come out stronger,” says Greer Glazer, PhD, RN, FAAN, the college’s dean emerita for whom the position is named.

Glazer established the role before she retired in June to continue strengthening the college’s culture of inclusive excellence and to diversify the nursing workforce and reduce health disparities in the Greater Cincinnati region. Gakumo, a Black woman who has worked with many diverse populations, says she understands the importance of those priorities.

“I consider myself to be an authentic leader and I’m dedicated to preparing the next generation of diverse nurses to be successful and helping empower them to reach their full potential,” says Gakumo, PhD, RN, who, prior to joining UC, served as an associate professor and department chair of nursing at University of Massachusetts Boston’s college of nursing and health sciences. “It’s about more than academics. We have to provide the tools, support and an inclusive environment so that students, faculty and staff can feel a greater sense of belonging.”

To build on the DEI initiatives already underway at the college and help guide future activities, Gakumo is organizing a taskforce of faculty, staff and students to create a DEI-focused strategic map. She is also collaborating with the college’s Committee for Equity and Inclusive Excellence to ensure equity through the tripartite mission.

Health equity has always been a primary focus for Gakumo, who in 2014 was one of just 12 people selected nationwide as a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Nurse Faculty Scholar. She says the development, mentorship and support she gained from this experience motivates her to “pay it forward” and support future nurse leaders.

“The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a leading organization focused on reducing health disparities. As one of only 90 nurses sponsored by the RWJF in the U.S., Gakumo

is emulating the focus of the foundation and the Nurse Faculty Scholars program in her new role as the endowed chair,” says Gordon Gillespie, PhD, DNP, RN, FAEN, FAAN, professor, associate dean for research and PhD program director. “Specifically, she will facilitate a program of research at the college focused on addressing health disparities while also promoting an internal culture of diversity, equity and inclusion.”

In addition to her DEI efforts at the college, Gakumo conducts research on literacy-based approaches to improve health disparities in Black people living with HIV. In September, she received funding from the Merck Investigator Studies Program to assess what Black people living with HIV understand about informed consent, assess their preferences related to the process and develop tools for use in the informed consent process in HIV clinical trials. She brings with her previous training from the Tuskegee University Bioethics Center in conducting ethical research. When she is not brainstorming DEI strategies or conducting research, Gakumo is cherishing time spent with her husband, Charles, and young son, Charles Jr., as new residents of Cincinnati.

Like Gakumo, Glazer also came to UC from the University of Massachusetts Boston, where she served as dean of the college of nursing and health sciences for seven years. Although Gakumo did not join the faculty in Boston until after Glazer left to begin her nine-year decanal career at UC, she is very familiar with Glazer’s impact on both universities. In fact, Gakumo led efforts to increase the diversity of registered nurses in the Boston metropolitan area, an initiative that was spearheaded by Glazer in 2007. Ultimately, Gakumo hopes to continue to build on Glazer’s legacy at UC and bring the nursing college’s DEI efforts to the forefront of every decision, strategy and activity.

“It’s essential for the college’s efforts to be more visible to the outside community, and in turn that will help to reaffirm our commitment to fostering an equitable and inclusive community,” Gakumo says. “This should be evident in all that we do.”

By: Katie Coburn

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