Thank you for your participation in this year's Juneteenth Festival

I would like to take a moment to recognize the great participation from the Jacobs School in this past weekend’s celebration of Black pride at the Juneteenth Buffalo Festival.

In particular, I would like to express my gratitude to members of the Jacobs School’s Office of Inclusion and Cultural Enhancement, especially Anyango Kamina, PhD, interim unit diversity officer, for their efforts in coordinating our presence at the parade and engaging with the community in various activities.

Many dedicated individuals gave of their time, including members of the Jonathan Daniels Chapter of Black Men in White Coats at Jacobs School, the Department of Surgery, the Department of Orthopaedics, members of the Office of Medical Education, and many other Jacobs School students, faculty and staff, who interacted with hundreds of festivalgoers, giving them the chance to learn about CPR and the microbiome, receive screening kits, discuss their potential for careers in medicine and biomedical sciences, and so much more.

Thank you to each of these groups, as well as to Steven D. Schwaitzberg, MD, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Chairman of Department of Surgery, and Leslie J. Bisson, MD, June A. And Eugene R. Mindell, MD Professor and Chair of Orthopaedic Surgery, for their involvement in Juneteenth. I could not be prouder to see their expertise and passion at work in our community.

As faculty and staff of the Jacobs School, it is our shared responsibility to support our friends and neighbors, share in their celebrations (and sorrows) and help to shape a more equitable and inclusive community.

Thank you to everyone for your continued support of these efforts.

Gratefully yours,

Allison Brashear, MD, MBA
Vice President for Health Sciences and
Dean, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
University at Buffalo