International Fest Celebrates Cultures of UAMS

By ChaseYavondaC

More than 100 employees and students gathered in the Education II building to make their way around the globe, learning and enjoying the various cultures and nationalities displayed.

Participants could sample lo mein dishes from China, cookies from Iran, sauerkraut from Germany or cake from the Philippines; observe art from Egypt and Korea; read literature from Ghana; hold currency from India; and watch Chinese dances.

UAMS International Fest

UAMS employees take part in Chinese dance numbers.

“International Fest has always given us as an institution the opportunity to display and celebrate the many nationalities at UAMS,” said Billy Thomas, M.D., M.P.H., vice chancellor for diversity and inclusion and director of the UAMS Center for Diversity Affairs.

The event, hosted by the Center for Diversity Affairs, capped off a number of events as part of Diversity Month. The month-long celebration began on Sept. 12 with UAMS honoring faculty, staff and students for contributions to the understanding and value of diversity on campus and throughout the community.

This year’s winners in the student, staff and faculty categories were Trevor Johnson, a College of Medicine student; Sheila Robinson, B.S.N., A.P.N., coordinator and instructor in the Schmieding Home Caregiver Training Program in the UAMS Donald W. Reynolds Institute on Aging; and Kate Stewart, M.D., M.P.H., a professor of health policy and management in the UAMS Fay W. Boozman College of Public Health.

On Sept. 20, a panel of UAMS employees and students took part in a passionate discussion of sensitive topics in America, including recent gun violence, police shootings, race relations, biases and discrimination.

The panel included Sara Tariq, M.D., assistant dean for undergraduate clinical education in the College of Medicine; Austin Porter, Dr.P.H., M.P.H., an instructor in the College of Public Health; Salil Joshi, a student in the College of Public Health and secretary of the Associated Student Government; Carmelita Smith, M.Ed., manager for diversity in the Office of Human Resources; Samuel Jackson, M.D., resident physician; and Robert Barrentine, chief of the UAMS Police Department.

The Center for Diversity Affairs also hosted a panel discussion on suicide prevention Sept. 27 moderated by Alex Marshall Ph.D., M.P.H., assistant professor in the College of Public Health, with Tiffany Haynes, Ph.D., assistant professor in the College of Public Health, Dani Archie, Ph.D., an adjunct faculty member in the College of Public Health and licensed psychologist, and Katy Allison, M.P.H., a doctoral student in the College of Public Health.

UAMS International Fest

UAMS employees and students view African games and literature

The forum gave panelists and attendants the opportunity to discuss mental health, depression, stigmas and disparities within the general population and particularly among African-American and the LGBTQ communities.

“It’s time we, as a society, begin to talk about these things and in the open. Through this event, we wanted to bring this topic to the forefront and just have a discussion,” said Thomas.

Panel forums on such sensitive topics create more opportunities for UAMS to reach its employees and foster a positive work environment, said Thomas.

“We can’t feel like we’re in a vacuum and not being influenced by these things in our daily lives or immune to what is happening in our society,” he said. “The only way to get at our feelings and actions is through open discussions like these. It helps us continue the process and figuring out the next step in moving toward solutions.”