Dean's Lecture Series | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Dean's Lecture Series Special Event — Vaccine Hesitancy

Missed Opportunities with COVID-19 Vaccination – Maybe it’s not too Late

Dean's Lecture Series Special Event - Vaccine Hesitancy

Daniel Salmon, professor of international health and health, behavior and society and Director of the Institute for Vaccine Safety at Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, presented the lecture “Missed Opportunities with COVID-19 Vaccination – Maybe it’s not too Late” on Wednesday, September 15.

The lecture reviewed the trajectory and distribution of COVID-19 immunization uptake in the United States, summarized existing evidence-based around factors known to influence vaccine coverage, discussed the role of perceptions of vaccine safety in vaccine hesitancy, and explored the pros and cons of options for promoting increased COVID-19 immunization coverage in the U.S.

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Recordings of Previous Lectures

Nature Matters for Black Lives: Disrupting Narratives about Race and Place

Myron Floyd, Dean of the College of Natural Resources at North Carolina State University, presented the talk, “Nature Matters for Black Lives: Disrupting Narratives about Race and Place."

Floyd discussed the ways that access to nature supports human health and the consequences resulting from Black Americans’ lower access to public greenspace.

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When The Goal is Racial Justice: Learning from Youth, Families, and Educators

Racism permeates the everyday experiences of youth in schools, among peers, and in their communities. This can affect young people's psychological, academic, and physical health.

This installment of the Dean’s Lecture Series featured Deborah Rivas-Drake, professor of psychology and education at the University of Michigan, who outlined strategies that families and schools use to build adolescents’ capacities to navigate and disrupt racism in their daily lives.

Racism can be disrupted in daily life through the construction of social justice and civically oriented identities. Rivas-Drake used examples from her research to illustrate how developmental science can be used to advance racial justice.

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Screening of the film 'The Skin You’re In' followed by live Q&A with producer Thomas LaVeist

Thomas A. LaVeist, dean and Weatherhead Presidential Chair in Health Equity at Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, screened The Skin You're In, a documentary he produced that explores why black Americans live sicker and die younger than any other ethnic group in the nation and offers real solutions. Dr. LaVeist then participated in a question and answer session with attendees of this virtual event.

The introduction and Q&A are part of this recording. To learn about future screenings and the official release, visit The Skin You're In official website at tsyi.org.

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Previous Dean's Lecture Series

Perspectives on the Pandemic

About the Dean's Lecture Series: Impact of Structural Racism and Racial Discrimination on Health, Wellness, and Well-Being

College of Health and Human Development will offer a series of virtual public lectures from leading national and international scholars to discuss the Impact of Structural Racism and Racial Discrimination on Health, Wellness, and Well-Being.