060: How Diversity In The Veterinary World Benefits Everyone w/ Allen Cannedy

Feb 26, 2019

Often the topic of diversity and inclusion is overlooked in veterinary medicine, and Allen Cannedy is dedicated to changing that. The Director of Diversity and Multicultural Affairs at North Carolina State University College of Vet Med, Allen is a mentor and recruiter of students from all groups that are underrepresented in the veterinary world. Today we are diving into racism, socioeconomic status, and how we can do a better job of making the veterinary world, and the world in general, a more inclusive place.

We are touching on sensitive topics that deal with years of oppression and looking to the future and ways we can increase inclusion to better serve all humans and animals. Allen is passionate about bringing the necessity of diversity and the benefits of welcoming someone different than you in. We are reliving my childhood innocence about race, and looking at the modern landscape of how our society operates today and how we can improve going forward.

By recognizing and appreciating that a diverse group is a stronger one, we can continue to expand as a profession. Allen is changing the way we view diversity in the veterinary field and encourages us all to be champions for diversity and inclusion.

What are your experiences with the topics discussed today? Share with us in the comments on the episode page!

 

In This Episode

• Race, religion, and acceptance in veterinary schools and admissions processes
• Key points that any organization needs to do before bringing diversity change
• How as a society of human beings we need to start helping each other out
• Why Allen chose to specialize in goats, sheep, lamas, and alpacas
• What are HBCU’s and why they are important to the American education system

 

Quotes

“To make diversity and inclusion a reality, you've gotta invest, you cannot just talk about it to make it happen” (4:30)

“Those individuals are telling them things that are wrong. It is up to me and others like me to raise awareness, correct those misconceptions and hopefully correct them with individuals that are different from me so those individuals can correct the thinking in those like them” (11:42)

“Looking at people and appreciating people and accepting people for who they are is really all we need to be doing. And not passing judgment based on what someone looks like and the assumptions that come with those things” (17:50)

“I question them to think about what they are saying because it's highly possible that nobody has ever questioned it before” (44:38)

 

Links

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Find the full show notes here 

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