UNMC employees invited to community rally Tuesday

If you go … The Nebraskans United rally starts at 5:30 p.m. in the board room of Omaha Public School’s TAC building at 3215 Cuming St. Louis Sullivan, M.D., former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, will be a guest speaker at the rally, which is being held in opposition of an initiative in front of the Nebraska Legislature that would ban affirmative action in the state.

Nebraskans United, a group of citizens in support of equality and diversity, will hold a rally Tuesday against LR 233CA — an initiative that would eliminate affirmative action programs designed to provide equal opportunities to Nebraskans.

The rally starts at 5:30 p.m. in the board room of Omaha Public School’s TAC building at 3215 Cuming St.

Louis Sullivan, M.D., former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, will be a guest speaker at the rally. He works closely with UNMC faculty and staff with the Virginia-Nebraska Alliance. Dr. Sullivan said, if passed, LR 233CA would have a great impact on a program that provides career preparation, research opportunity and faculty exchanges for underrepresented faculty and students.

ReNee Dunman, president of the Washington-based American Association for Affirmative Action, also will speak at the rally. The American Association for Affirmative Action is a national professional organization for equal opportunity, affirmative action and and diversity practitioners. Dunman also is director of equal opportunity and affirmative action at Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Va.

The event is a kickoff before a Wednesday hearing on the initiative before the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee at the State Capitol.

Rubens Pamies, M.D., vice chancellor for academic affairs at UNMC, has been asked by University of Nebraska President J.B. Milliken to testify before the committee. Dr. Pamies plans to discuss the impact this initiative would have on UNMC’s pipeline programs (that target K-12 students), recruitment and retention efforts of diverse students and faculty.

UNMC’s faculty and student senates have both passed resolutions against LR 233CA.

For more information or to get involved, go to www.unmc.edu/diversity.