Promoting a Safe and Inclusive Departmental Culture

Message from the Environmental Health Sciences Faculty

We, the Environmental Health Sciences faculty at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, wish to acknowledge the hardships felt by our community these past several years and to update you on works in progress within the department and the broader school to improve campus climate and culture. We continue to stand in solidarity with those who were impacted by the misconduct perpetrated by Dr. Martin Philbert. On this webpage, we share our formal apology along with actionable efforts we have been working on to create a positive and welcoming environment for all within our department.

First and foremost, we wish to acknowledge the harm caused to our entire community by the sexual misconducts perpetrated by our former colleague Dr. Martin Philbert. When the WilmerHale Report was released in July 2020, we grappled individually and collectively with the gravity of Philbert’s misconduct. Like many of you, we experienced a range of emotions, including anger, over the harm done to members of our community and deep regret that it occurred. While we cannot reverse the past, we sincerely commit from our hearts to work towards positive change. Moving forward, we will stand behind any person who reports this kind of behavior and will do everything within our power to protect and support those harmed. We envision a constructive and safe environment for our students, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty to do what we do best – protect the health of populations and the environment throughout the world. We must all ensure a safe environment where everyone in our community can thrive. We are committed to stand in solidarity with our past and present Environmental Health Sciences community. We hope to keep accountable to you on our commitment to create a welcoming and safe environment in our department. 

Vision for Environmental Health Sciences

The Environmental Health Sciences department is dedicated to creating a diverse, equitable, and inclusive community for students, staff, postdoctoral fellows, and faculty, where individual voices are heard, welcomed, and respected. Our aim is to build a community that embraces difference, providing a comfortable and collaborative environment for everyone. Fostering diversity, equity, and inclusion within our department is essential to improving public health and to achieving excellence in research, education, teaching, and outreach. 

Actions Taken

The Environmental Health Sciences Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committee has put forth initiatives over the past few years to improve our work culture, teaching, and research. Highlights from some widely attended events are as follows:

In September 2021, we collaborated with others in the School of Public Health to screen the documentary “Picture a Scientist.” This film features interviews with several female researchers, highlighting the barriers they have faced, including discrimination and harassment, as they pursued their scientific and academic goals. We co-sponsored an event which included a virtual group viewing of the film, panel discussion, and breakout sessions. The panel discussion was moderated by two Environmental Health Sciences doctoral students and included female faculty experts from across the University of Michigan and an educator from the university’s Sexual Assault Prevention and Awareness Center. Through the discussions, we received helpful, positive feedback on ways to continue the momentum around addressing sexual and gender-based discrimination and harassment in academia. 

In November 2021, we hosted a University of Michigan Center for Research on Teaching and Learning (CRLT) Players’ workshop titled “Moving the Needle - Shifting the Conversation around Sexual Harassment.” A goal of this workshop was to expand our understanding of what sexual and gender-based harassment is and how it differentially impacts individuals and communities. In addition, we discussed current institutional approaches to addressing sexual harassment and how we can change the culture specifically within the department to be resistant to sexual harassment.

Additional events and initiatives include:

  • Collaborating with the CRLT Players to provide interactive and engaging DEI-related training opportunities for our faculty, staff, postdocs, and students at least once a year
  • Holding department DEI open meetings once a semester to gauge the needs and challenges within, as well as recommendations from the community
  • Engaging the Environmental Health Sciences community around current events and DEI topics of concern during our monthly “EHS Community Conversation” events with resources ranging from podcasts, journal clubs, and more (Past topics include racism and white privilege in academia, anti-Asian racism and violence, gender equality, non-binary inclusion in the workplace, size diversity and inclusion, workplace bullying, and physical and learning disabilities in the workplace)
  • Informing about the importance of practicing DEI during prospective student recruitment events and new-student orientation
  • Organizing workshops about intercultural awareness, bystander intervention, anti-racism, and microaggressions
  • Arranging social events that embrace diversity within our community (e.g., Environmental Health Sciences staff cultural cook-off)
  • Promoting mentorship and guidance to our students with information about careers in academia, government, industry, and more by connecting students directly to Environmental Health Sciences alumni

Commitment to the Environmental Health Sciences Vision

We pledge to continue building on our progress to create a diverse, equitable, inclusive, safe, and respectful environment for everyone in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences through our own efforts and in collaboration with the School of Public Health and the University of Michigan. We reiterate our unyielding support for every faculty, staff, fellow, student, alumnus, and individual affected by sexual misconduct, racism, or any other form of maltreatment. We commit to building and promoting an environment within our department that enables the physical, mental, and emotional health of the community.

We invite you to engage with us as we strive towards a better future. Your feedback is important to us. If there is anything you would like to discuss with our current faculty, please email the members of our faculty executive committee at [email protected] to get in contact with us.  

Resources and Reporting

If you have questions about the school’s sexual misconduct prevention efforts or would like to report an incident or a campus climate concern, visit this page for more information.

For more information on school-wide initiatives, see the links below: