The University of Louisville recently announced the creation of the Health Equity Innovation Hub, an integrated, multi-disciplinary collaboration among Humana, The Humana Foundation and the university. Led by UofL's Monica Wendel, a national thought leader in health equity, the Hub focuses on groundbreaking research, community engagement, talent development, entrepreneurship and innovation, with a focus on health equity and social determinants of health. UofL News reached out to Wendel to gain a better insight into the Hub. UofL News: How was the idea for the Health Equity Innovation Hub developed? Monica Wendel: The Hub is a collaboration between UofL, The Humana Foundation, and Humana Inc. aimed at closing health equity gaps. It became clear that health equity was a shared goal between the organizations. Realizing this shared goal, UofL Executive Vice President of Research & Innovation Kevin Gardner invited me to lead the development of the collaboration. Not long after,
UofL's Faculty Senate met using a hybrid format on Oct. 6, and senators received updated vaccination rates, information on student retention, record-breaking figures in research and innovation funding and the Faculty Grievance Officer's annual report. Executive Vice President and University Provost Lori Gonzalez provided senators with updated COVID-19 vaccination rates for the university community. As of Oct. 5, 2021, students reported the highest rate of vaccination at 86.1%, followed by 82.7% for staff and 82.1% for faculty at UofL. During the month of October, vaccinated students have the option to enter a drawing for a variety of prizes including priority registration, a blue parking pass, a year of free coffee from the campus Starbucks or a semester of undergraduate tuition. Gonzalez also addressed enrollment figures. Gonzalez encouraged senators and their constituents to aide in the retention effort by submitting progress reports to identify students in need of academic