The Annual Minority Health Conference was launched by the Minority Student Caucus in 1977 and has been conducted nearly every year since then. Major objectives are to highlight health issues of concern to people of color and to attract students interested in minority health to the School. Initially the Conference was held in Rosenau Auditorium in the School of Public Health, but when attendance increased to 300-400 during the 1990's, the Conference moved to the William and Ida Friday Continuing Education Center.

Planning and implementation of the Conference are led by the School's Minority Student Caucus, which designates the chair of the Planning Committee each year. The Planning Committee includes representatives of the sponsoring organizations (the Caucus, Dean's Office, NC Institute of Public Health, Minority Health Project) and student volunteers. The Conference is co-sponsored by various organizations in and outside the University (see co-sponsors for each year's conference).

William T. Small Jr.

In 1999, Dean William Roper named the Keynote Lecture after William T. Small, Jr., Associate Dean and Senior Advisor for Multicultural Affairs, who for over a quarter of a century worked on behalf of and won the respect and affection of public health students - enrolled students, former students, and prospective students, and their families - as well as faculty, staff, and administrators. (Dr. Roper's remarks)

Also in 1999 the Minority Health Project (about) began organizing webcasts of the Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture, and in 2001 added a satellite broadcast with support from the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services. Videotapes and/or DVDs of recent broadcasts are distributed by the Public Health Foundation. In 2009 student organizations at five other public health schools (see list) presented the broadcast of the Annual William T. Small, Jr. Keynote Lecture in conjunction with their own events, including the 1st Annual Minority Health in the Midwest Conference at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

31st Annual Minority Health Conference:
February 26, 2010 (link)

Conferences to date

Related conference series’ at UNC

- “Breaking the Cycle: Investigating the Intersection of Educational Inequities and Health Disparities”, June 9, 2009 (Archived webcast)
- “Men’s Health Disparities”, June 3, 2008 (Archived webcast)
- “Does Racism Make Us Sick?”, June 25, 2007, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History (Archived webcast)
- “Examining the Scientific Basis of Race-Specific Medicine”, June 26, 2006, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History (Archived webcast)
- “Tobacco Use Prevention Initiatives at Historically Black Colleges and Universities - The On the Ground Smoking Cessation & Prevention Project”, June 28, 2006, Morgan State University (Archived webcast)

Links