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Paul A. Godley Health Equity Symposium
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The UNC School of Medicine, UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and UNC Center for Health Equity Research are hosting the Inaugural Paul A. Godley Health Equity Symposium on March 5, 2020 to bring together faculty, staff, students, and the community to…
- Highlight and encourage health equity research;
- Promote collaboration and networking; and
- Encourage strategic planning and partnerships at the UNC School of Medicine.
Celebrating Paul A. Godley
This inaugural Health Equity Symposium will celebrate the contributions of Dr. Paul Godley to the UNC School of Medicine in health equity research, and workforce diversity and inclusion. Dr. Godley became the UNC School of Medicine’s first Vice Dean for Diversity and Inclusion in 2017. In this role, Dr. Godley led the School of Medicine’s efforts to build a diverse and inclusive work and learning environment. Prior to this role, he served as Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Associate Dean for Finance and Administration.
While serving as Executive Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs, Dr. Godley, founded The Academic Career Leadership Academy in Medicine (ACCLAIM) program. The one-year program provides leadership training and career development opportunities to faculty members, with a particular emphasis on those underrepresented in medicine. More than 100 faculty members have participated in the program since it was founded in 2012.
As the Rush S. Dickson Distinguished Professor of Hematology/Oncology in the Department of Medicine and a member of the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center, Dr. Godley dedicated his career to researching and treating prostate cancer. He also worked tirelessly to identify, understand, and eliminate racial health disparities, directing the Program on Ethnicity, Culture and Health Outcomes (ECHO) and co-directed the Program on Health Disparities at the Sheps Center for Health Services Research. This UNC-wide initiative uses multidisciplinary research, education and training, and community partnerships to advance understanding of racial health disparities in order to eliminate them.
Dr. Godley was also an avid traveler and passionate photographer. Photographs of people taken during his travels lined the walls of his office. In this 2012 video, he discussed his love of photography and how it related to his work as an oncologist.
Dr. Godley grew up in a home where health care was front and center. His father was an internist, and his mother was a nurse. When he attended Yale University as an undergraduate, his sister was in medical school. As he was earning his MD from Harvard Medical School, his mother died of colon cancer, which influenced his choice of medical specialty and sparked a research interest in cancer prevention.
Dr. Godley earned a Master of Public Policy degree from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He completed his internship and residency at the Case Western Reserve University Hospitals, University Hospitals of Cleveland, and the Cleveland VA Medical Center. He came to UNC in 1987 for a research fellowship in cancer epidemiology, earning a PhD from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health in 1993, and completing his subspecialty training in hematology and oncology at the UNC Medical Center.
Dr. Godley’s loss continues to be felt deeply across the UNC and Chapel Hill community; his contributions to research, our community, and our institutional commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion cannot be overstated.
Registration
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required for the Symposium and Keynote. Please register by Wednesday, February 26. Register online.
