Campus Communication

Connecting with our community

This page contains important communications from the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. Communications are shared via university email and/or announcements to faculty, staff and students.

A Response to the Ukraine Invasion (Mar. 8, 2022)

As a diverse and vibrant academic community of students, faculty, staff, and researchers, we must come together in times of great pain. The news, images, stories and social media covering the ongoing war in Ukraine, as well as the courageous resiliency and bravery of the Ukrainian people, certainly instills a range of emotions including heavy distress and grief.

It is important to remember that in this moment of global conflict, we are indeed a community. We stand upon a values-based culture, one that applies not just to our affiliation to this institution, but to the way in which we live our lives, treat our neighbors, and serve others.

So, I want to encourage anyone who has a desire respond during this geopolitical crisis, to remember that our values call on us to demonstrate kindheartedness and going beyond service as we support the needs of others with generous hearts.

Below are links to organizations that are directly supporting relief efforts and ongoing support for refugees affected by the war.

Doctors Without Borders
International Medical Corps
International Organization for Migration
International Committee of the Red Cross
Cordelia Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims

As we continue to witness the events taking place in Ukraine, please keep in mind the well-being of our international students, colleagues, and friends.

If any of our students are struggling during this difficult time, I encourage you to utilize our Student of Concern reporting form available online on the Student Affairs website. Team members may also reach out to the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for general support. Additionally, the Counseling Center @TTUHSC is a great resource available to our employees and students who may be in need of counseling support.

Sincerely,

Jody C. Randall
Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

TTUHSC Resources in Response to the Conflict in Eastern Europe

The Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) will be hosting the Virtual Community Dialogue Space on March 17 from 4:00 – 5:00 p.m. Central Time and March 18 from 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Central Time. Interested TTUHSC students, faculty, and staff may join the space at any point during these times.

This space is intended to foster community among those who have been impacted by the ongoing conflict in eastern Europe and those who want to take time to reflect on the situation. Staff from the Counseling Center @ TTUHSC will be present in spaces to facilitate a dialogue on mental well-being, resources available through TTUHSC, and any related topics that participants may find relevant. If participants wish to break into small discussion groups around identity, interest, or experience, facilitators will be prepared to utilize breakout rooms for this purpose.

More Communications

TTUHSC Community,

This weekend, a member of the Lubbock community lost her life in a tragic and senseless attack that took place in northwest Lubbock. This shocking event has emotionally affected many people across our campus as well as the greater Lubbock area.

We recognize that members of the TTUHSC community may have personally known the victim who was an active and beloved member of the Lubbock LGBTQIA community. Today, we want to communicate resources that are in place for those who may need assistance processing and grieving.

It is disturbing, and shocking, that a crime of this nature would take place in our community. As a values-based institution, it is embedded and deeply woven within our core values to create and promote an inclusive and welcoming environment that engages and welcomes all students, faculty, staff, visitors and patients.

The TTUHSC values of One Team, Kindheartedness, Integrity, Visionary and Beyond Service, together, compel us to embrace a community of inclusivity, compassion, and kindness.

That is who we are and what we will continue to stand for as an institution.

As we continue to process these events and details of the ongoing investigation emerge, please utilize the resources below if you feel you need assistance.

Student, Faculty and Staff Resources

Student Health Services
Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
Report Incidents of Discrimination
Report Students of Concern
TTUHSC Counseling Center
806-743-1327
counselingcenter@ttuhsc.edu

Sincerely,

Darrin D’Agostino
Provost and Chief Academic Officer

Jody C. Randall
Vice President of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Dear TTUHSC Community,

On March 16, the occupants of three Asian-owned businesses in Atlanta were violently attacked. Among the eight people who were murdered, six were identified as Asian women. While this event is alarming and heartbreaking, it is far too common in our country. Thousands of hate crimes directed at Asian American Pacific Islanders (AAPI) have been reported since March of last year according to the advocacy group Stop AAPI Hate.

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center family denounces such violence, and we offer condolences to all who have encountered this kind of hate. It is at times like these that we must all reflect on and condemn the racism and xenophobia that still persist in some aspects of our lives and our communities.

Now more than ever, it is important that we listen with compassion and understanding, remember what unites us, but also recognize the areas in which we fall short. Through the influence of our institution, we can stand with our different communities and maintain our resolve to be inclusive of and caring to all.

If you ever feel like there is a need for additional support, please be aware of the services and resources available for students, faculty, and staff, including:

In living out our values, we are committed to treating each other consistently with compassion and respect. Let’s use this time to advocate for diversity, equality, and wellness for our entire TTUHSC family. As we know it takes all of us to improve the human condition, both, inside and outside our campus walls.

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students of our Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center Schools,

"There comes a time when silence is betrayal. Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter. In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends."
-- attributed to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The recent deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and others of the Black community can no longer be ignored. Now is the time that we must be united in our message: at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) Black lives matter.

We must stand together to support and uplift our Black and minority communities that have been plagued by systemic racism and oppression for generations. The painful reminders of the injustices that still divide us have become more apparent.

We must condemn any form of discrimination and racism. We must acknowledge that these are not isolated issues, and we must come together as a community to fight these injustices.

We stand together with our TTUHSC team during this difficult time. When one person in our family hurts, we all hurt. The COVID-19 pandemic has disproportionately hurt minority communities throughout our nation and in our local community. Now, more than ever, we must show the world that TTUHSC can be a beacon of hope not only for our West Texas community but also for the rest of the nation.

We must demonstrate that we will provide loving, compassionate care for all people, but especially for our minority communities. We must and will do better.
We must be able to create an environment where our Black and minority students’ voices can be intensified and strive to create a community where no voice is left unheard.

We will not be silent:

We will maintain schools that foster and take care of the most vulnerable in our community.
We will be proactive in how we teach our students about the health care disparities that afflict our minority communities.
We will continue to train our students and faculty in implicit bias.
We will stand in solidarity and be leaders in the fight against injustice and inequality.
We will have members of our Student Government Association and representatives of our diverse student organizations meet with local community leaders through our Deans’ offices so their voices can be heard without fear of consequence.

As shared in the message by President Lori Rice-Spearman, Ph.D., in our commitment to treating each other constantly with compassion and respect, we will show the world that we are truly a kindhearted family united as one team in this fight for justice, inclusion, and equity.

School of Medicine