Health, food equity expert to discuss pandemic effects on food inequities at upcoming conference

The Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS) will present an expert in the areas of health promotion and food equity as part of the Clemson University Tigers for Inclusion, Diversity and Ethics (TIDE) Conference on Tuesday, March 30 at 5 p.m.

The speaker, Samina Raja, serves as professor of urban planning and regional planning as well as associate dean for research and inclusive excellence in the School of Architecture and Planning at the University of Buffalo. She also serves as director of the Food Systems Planning and Healthy Communities Lab (the “Food Lab”) at the University of Buffalo.

According to Leslie Hossfeld, dean of CBSHS, Raja is a leading expert on linking community food systems and community economic development through planning. Hossfeld said CBSHS is proud to present Raja as a speaker because so much of her work aligns with the College’s mission of “building people and communities” and how food and nutrition insecurity play a vital role in that mission.

“I have known Dr. Raja and followed her work for over a decade and I have been fortunate to have her speak at three conferences over the years,” Hossfeld said. “Her expertise on ‘planning communities as if people eat’ is ever more salient given the COVID-19 pandemic and the struggles families and communities face daily. We are very fortunate to have her lend her expertise to this conference.”

In addition to her work as a leading scholar in her field and active leader in shaping food systems policies for healthier communities in Western New York, Raja is also an invaluable mentor for students. As director of the Master of Urban Planning Community Health and Food Systems specialization, Raja engages her students in the classroom and through graduate studio courses that have worked to develop food systems plans alongside community partners in Buffalo and Trivandrumpuram, India.

Organized by Clemson University’s Rutland Institute for Ethics, the TIDE Conference seeks to inform participants of ethical dilemmas created by the intersection of diversity and inclusion as it relates to specific academic disciplines and to move participants to address those dilemmas. Tracy Fasolino, associate professor in the Clemson University School of Nursing, served as the conference representative for CBSHS and helped to coordinate the college’s role in the conference.

This year’s theme, “The Ethics of Pandemics,” highlights the effects of the pandemic on every facet of life, regardless of academic discipline. As part of the conference, each of Clemson’s seven colleges has selected a speaker to address the intersection of ethics and diversity as it relates to that particular discipline. The conference will also include a keynote session looking at the effects of the pandemic holistically. The keynote speaker will be Dr. Dayna Bowen Matthew, dean of the George Washington Law School. For more information on all speakers and the event, click here.

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The Clemson University College of Behavioral, Social and Health Sciences (CBSHS). Established in July 2016, CBSHS is a 21st-century, land-grant college that combines work in seven disciplines – communication; nursing; parks, recreation and tourism management; political science; psychology; public health sciences; sociology, anthropology and criminal justice – to further its mission of “building people and communities” in South Carolina and beyond.