SBU, New York Law School Kicks Off Series on Civic Leadership, Law and Social Welfare

Stony Brook University School of Social Welfare Dean Shari Miller, Mandy Cohen, MD, director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and New York Law School Dean and President Anthony Crowell at the "Civic Leadership, Law and Social Welfare" event on November 25.

Stony Brook University and New York Law School hosted the first event in a new program series on "Civic Leadership, Law and Social Welfare" on November 25 at New York Law School in Manhattan.

The conversation with Mandy Cohen, MD, director for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), was moderated by New York Law School Dean and President Anthony Crowell and Stony Brook School of Social Welfare Dean Shari Miller.

The collaborative program series between Stony Brook's School of Social Welfare and New York Law School will feature high-profile speakers who will explore issues confronting a broad range of institutions that seek to build the public trust and drive responsible law and policy making.

This inaugural event, attended by a group of representatives from Stony Brook University and Stony Brook Medicine, focused on the work of the CDC, the strategies it employs for public engagement and building trust, and expectations for the future work of the agency. The discussion also focused on the impact of misinformation and public well-being and examined strategies to help drive civic engagement and build stronger partnerships and trust between government and civil society. The event included questions from the audience.

"As a society, we find ourselves at a significant crossroads, and the people we serve, and the institutions and organizations in which we serve them, are at significant and increasing risk," said Miller. "Systematic exposure to misinformation and disinformation not only threaten the health and well-being of the public, but also undermine and distort public health, social welfare, and justice systems, and erode civic engagement."

"This partnership relates to shared commitment to fostering public trust and engagement," Crowell said. "A recent example is a book project of mine with 13 other law deans where I coined the phrase 'civic anemia' to describe a deficiency suffered in civics readiness by many in the American public, and a resulting inability to discern truths and develop trust in institutions."

From left: Kevin Reed, Kara Desanna, Rick Gatteau, William Wertheim, MD, Anthony Crowell, Mandy Cohen, Shari Miller, Wendy Pearson, Kevin Gardner, Braden Hosch and Matt Gewolb.

Stony Brook Interim President Richard McCormick provided opening remarks via Zoom, noting that Cohen was an excellent choice to begin the series and "speak to both the great importance of integrity within social media and the serious consequences that widespread misinformation can have on our health, well-being, and civic engagement."

"This interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary dialogue is a critical part of fostering a new generation of informed leaders - policy makers, journalists, lawyers, advocates, and public servants - who will work collaboratively under their shared passion for rigorous critical thinking, for problem solving and genuine civic engagement," McCormick said. "Today offers a great opportunity how government, corporate, and academic institutions can truly foster trust with one another and with the communities they serve."

Cohen is the director for the CDC and the administrator of the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). She is an internal medicine physician and led the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, where she was lauded for her outstanding leadership during the COVID crisis.

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