Dr. Mahtab Jafari, professor and former equity advisor in the UC Irvine School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences, has been recognized as the 2024 recipient of the Carol Connor Equity Advisor Impact Award.
An initiative of the ADVANCE Program through the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence, equity advisors are responsible for developing and enforcing best practices for faculty recruiting and setting up faculty development programs to further promote a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion within their school.
The Carol Connor Equity Advisor Impact Award is awarded to equity advisors at UCI who exceed the responsibilities of the role and exemplify what it means to be a champion for diversity, equity, and inclusion at UCI and beyond. Established in honor of Carol Connor, who served as equity advisor in the UCI School of Education from 2017-2020, the award is given to one equity advisor annually.
As described on the UCI Office of Inclusive Excellence website, “Nominators have pointed to ‘[Dr. Jafari’s] sense of justice, her dedication to promoting equity and inclusion in her School, and her resilience and relentless,’ in improving the climate in the [UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences]. Dr. Jafari has made concrete structural changes to the school such as revolutionizing their approach to recruitment and advancement, and promoting equity in workload with multiple school-wide equity self-studies. She has been, again in the words of her nominators, a ‘staunch advocate and mentor,’ who ‘has had a seismic impact’ on the school.’”
Dr. Jafari’s three-year term as the UCI School of Pharmacy & Pharmaceutical Sciences equity advisor ended on August 1st, when she was succeeded in the role by Dr. Amal Alachkar.
