Newswise — Rutgers School of Public Health dean, Perry N. Halkitis, has been appointed to the American Psychological Association’s inaugural Ad Hoc Committee on Health Equity.

The Committee on Health Equity’s mission is to advance health equity and reduce disparities, with a particular focus on addressing the systems, policies, regulations, and institutions that promote and maintain inequities and the resulting adverse health conditions and outcomes among marginalized communities and populations.

“I am honored to serve on the inaugural Ad Hoc Committee on Health Equity,” says Halkitis. “In order to have people and populations achieve their optimal health, we must tackle the structural and social constructs that drive health dipartites, leading through a lens of health equity and social justice.”

The Committee on Health Equity consists of six American Psychological Association members and one public member serving staggered 3-year terms.

Halkitis has previously served on and been chair of the American Psychological Association’s Committee on Psychology and AIDS and Committee on Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity. In 2020, the association recognized him with the Award for Distinguished Senior Career Contributions to Psychology in the Public Interest.

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