FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – 06/08/2022
Shaw University is the First HBCU in the Nation to Achieve Gold Standard Employer Status
RALEIGH, N.C. – On June 6, 2022, Shaw University joined the Gold Standard Community, receiving accreditation as a Gold Standard employer from the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. Gold Standard employer recognition is extended to universities that champion health and well-being by advancing prevention, diagnosis, and quality treatment of cancer for students, faculty, staff, alumni, parents and communities. Barbara Powell-Jackson, Gold Community Engagement Coordinator and an adjunct professor in the Shaw University School of Business and Professional Studies, led the accreditation process. She said: “This is an honor – a great accomplishment that speaks volumes for the Shaw University legacy and our stance as we continue to embrace, empower and educate our community.”
Robert A. Ingram, founding chairman of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer, said in a statement to the university: “As the first Historically Black College and University to earn Gold Standard accreditation, I trust Shaw’s example will inspire other HBCUs to embrace the tenets of the Gold Standard and bring the life-saving benefits of cancer prevention, early detection and quality of care to their employees, students and communities.”
The CEO Roundtable on Cancer’s Going for Gold program is a multi-year initiative in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Hispanic Serving Institutions, global health care companies spearheaded by CEO Roundtable on Cancer members Amgen and Merck (known as MSD outside the United States and Canada), along with analytics leader SAS. With a focus on improving health equity, education, navigation, and access, the program has the capacity to impact more than 20 million lives within 7-10 years. The mission of the CEO Roundtable on Cancer is to make continual progress toward the elimination of cancer as a personal disease and public health problem through initiatives that reduce the risk of cancer, enable early diagnosis, facilitate access to treatment, and hasten the discovery of effective therapies.
Earlier this year, Shaw University’s School of Business and Professional Studies received a $60,000 renewable grant from the CEO Roundtable on Cancer to support a community engagement program that focuses on reducing health inequities. The Shaw University Center for Racial and Social Justice is also a supporting partner of this initiative. On March 30, the university also sponsored a community 5K Cancer Awareness Run/Walk event in partnership with the CEO Roundtable on Cancer to raise awareness about cancer.
Dr. Paulette Dillard, President of Shaw University, said: “Shaw University is extremely proud to become the nation’s first Historically Black College or University to achieve Gold Standard accreditation with the CEO Roundtable on Cancer. We are pleased to be a partner in this initiative and dedicated to leading a national movement to improve positive health outcomes within our communities. This recognition is a very high honor, and we hope to inspire other organizations and educational institutions to follow suit.”
Shaw University, located in Raleigh, North Carolina, is the first historically Black institution of higher education founded in North Carolina and is among the oldest in the nation. The University was founded in 1865 by Henry Martin Tupper. Dr. Paulette Dillard currently serves as the University’s 18th President. For more information, visit: www.shawu.edu.
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