The first dean of multicultural affairs and global health at the School of Medicine officially began work on Monday. She will work on promoting diversity at the graduate school through the recruitment of underrepresented minorities and a focus on culture in education.
Joyce Sackey, a general internist at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and an assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, was appointed to the position in November after a months-long selection process. University President Lawrence Bacow presided over the search committee.
The combination of multiculturalism and global health is "unique," Sackey told the Daily, as it confers upon her an essential twofold mission: adapting to globalization and enhancing students' skills and sensitivity.
"The world gets smaller and smaller, so global health and taking care of all kinds of patients is very important," Sackey said.
Diversity and global health have an important connection, according to Sackey. Raising students' awareness about issues of diversity in a multicultural country such as the United States increases their sensitivity to foreign cultures and global concerns, she said.
Sackey will first focus on continuing existing programs for medical students created by the medical school's Office of Minority Affairs, which has recently been involved with programs for high school students, encouraging them to pursue careers in science.
Sackey has much experience with college-level education. She is currently a primary care physician at Harvard Medical School, where she interacts with students as an academic advisor and mentor.
She co-founded the Foundation for African Relief, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit organization that creates opportunities for medical exchange in many African countries.
Sackey said she is enthusiastic about her new position and very eager to collaborate with the team of deans at the medical school as well as with the medical students.
"I am new at Tufts University, but I suspect that people have ideas about what they want to see happen," she said. "And that's [what] I am very interested to see from them."
