A Message from Dean Fallin: Forging Ahead with Passion, Purpose, and Dedication to Dialogue

Message sent on behalf of Dean M. Daniele Fallin

Dear Rollins Community,

These past several months leading up to the U.S. election have been stressful, to say the least. Many of you have worked tirelessly to communicate the issues, educate voters, and encourage participation in our democratic process. I know that many of you have also worked hard to listen to those who don’t agree with you, even people you love, seeking to find common ground in a divisive world.

Today is an extremely difficult day for many in public health, particularly considering our dedication to health equity. As many of you process this news, there will likely be a myriad of emotions. I am certainly feeling many today. We must remember that we are not a monolithic community, and we should acknowledge that the election outcome will be received differently across our diverse group of people. I hope we can find grace for each other, give each other space to catch our breath, and to rest for the work ahead.

This outcome likely brings many challenges to public health, and it is easy to succumb to pessimism about our future. I want to encourage all of us not to go down that road. The needs of our communities and the inequities in health are still with us—maybe more so.

Our legal and structural lanes to promote health and save lives, with equity, may be narrowed in the months and years to come, but there will still be paths to our goals. I encourage us to take a practical public health approach—working toward health in the context of the landscape we exist in at the moment, while also fighting hard to change that landscape. We can do both simultaneously. And we must.

The next months and years will likely continue to be divisive. If we are to do the important work of public health, across our education, research, and practice missions, we must work with people we don’t immediately agree with. Sometimes with people we deeply disagree with. Our ability to have difficult conversations, and to connect with fellow humans even across deeply divisive issues, is critical to our success. The work we have done this fall to learn about ourselves in Courage in Conversations trainings, to listen to each other through small group dialogue via Living Room Conversations, and to plan for discussions of tough issues in seminars and panels will hopefully serve us well. We can find comfort in each other through challenging times, we can lean into each other across divides, and we can seek connection to those who voted differently in hopes of shaping public health and our society.

As you absorb this election outcome, please know that we are here for each other.

Sincerely,

Dani