Jan. 20, 2021

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. 鈥� The intersection of blackness and U.S. Healthcare was a major theme for this year鈥檚 annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Teach-In. Dr. Stephanie A. Whyte helped spearhead the conversation as she delivered her keynote address entitled 鈥淐OVID 19: The great disruptor鈥� on Wednesday, January 20, 2021 at 5:30 p.m. The Teach-In was free and open to the public and can be  here.

Dr. Stephanie A. Whyte is a 1991 91黑料专区 Graduate and 2015 recipient of the University鈥檚 Distinguished Alumna Award. Furthermore, she is a board-certified pediatrician, author, and media spokesperson with a bachelor鈥檚 in Biology from Illinois Wesleyan University and an M.D. from Chicago Medical School (from which she received another Distinguished Alumna Award in 2013). Additionally, Dr. Whyte also holds an MBA in Public and Nonprofit Management from Saint Xavier University. Now, having also served as Chicago鈥檚 first Chief Health Officer for Chicago Public Schools previously, Dr. Whyte is a Senior Solutions Medical Director at Aetna Medicaid.

The virtual presentation followed by a Q&A segment covered a range of topics, beginning with her Journey as a first-generation college student, but soon tackling numerous issues concerning diversity and discrimination in the workplace, academic settings, and especially healthcare environments.

Specifically, Dr. Whyte began her presentation by briefly outlining her path to Wesleyan and how she became the first Chief Health Officer for the CPS District. Whyte described how she had a few inspirational mentors growing up, so she was always certain she wanted to pursue the medical field. She came to IWU as a Pre-med Biology major, and successfully completed her degree despite some disheartening experiences during her time as an undergraduate. After she graduated, Whyte earned her M.D. from CMS and completed her residency in pediatrics at Louisiana State Medical Center. Soon after, she began working at the Mobile CARE Foundation, a non-profit organization in the city of Chicago. She explained that she began to enjoy the business side of the organization as much as providing asthma care and education to kids across the city. She completed her MBA by taking local college courses, emphasizing in her talk that she had to learn to 鈥減ivot and embrace what the next thing was.鈥� Shortly thereafter, she went to the CPS District and began her new role of Chief Health Officer.

With her presentation falling on Inauguration Day, Whyte addressed her enthusiasm about the historic day and the new Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris. With a similar background to Harris, Whyte spoke about pioneering and the difficult road ahead for the new Vice President. She connected this to her time at IWU, speaking about representation and her experience interviewing Wesleyan鈥檚 first minority director. 

In the Q&A portion of the presentation, a larger conversation about activism and race