African American and African Studies Community Extension Center

Message from the Director

New Initiative: Cultural Enrichment and Enhancement of Individual and Collective Health and Sustainable Well Being
Linda James Myers, Ph.D., Director

As a part of a public land grant institution, the AAAS CEC recognizes its legal and moral obligation to educate and enhance the quality of life for Ohioans and, as a good global citizen, the world. Our requirement is to address the most pressing issues con-fronting the citizens of Ohio, particularly those to whom our curricula and research endeavors are devoted. Thus we have committed over the next four years to bring to bear the best resources available to us to improve in Ohio what are now the worst health outcomes for Black babies of any state in the nation, and in Franklin County, the worst health outcomes for Black babies of any county in the state. Emphasizing the social determinants of health, our aim will be to utilize a Wisdom Paradigm, that is a model which recognizes what is of value in life for oneself and others, including knowledge, know-how, and understanding, and giving intellectual and ethical priority to discovering possible solutions to the problems of living. We will begin our new initiative by acknowledging and exploring the strengths of Black culture identified among non-immigrant Africans brought to the Americas.

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