Professional Education

Significant gaps in health exist across people of different races, ethnicities, and socioeconomic groups. Learn why, and learn what can be done.

Melissa Thomasson, Ph.D.

Melissa Thomasson is Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs & Personnel and Professor of Economics at Miami University. She studies the economic history of health insurance and health care. Thomasson is a Research Associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research, serves or has served on the editorial boards of four journals in her field, and is on the Board of Trustees of the Economic History Association. She is also the Executive Director and a former Trustee of the Cliometric Society. Thomasson has testified before Congress, and her findings have been cited in the New England Journal of Medicine, the Yale Law Journal, in reports prepared for the U.S. Senate and the United Nations, and by Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI). Thomasson's work has been featured on "This American Life" and "All Things Considered," in articles in the New York Times, the Financial Times, a Washington Post podcast, and numerous other outlets.

The Miami Writing Institute will help participants rethink how writing works in their daily lives, and what it means to be a writer. They will end the course with specific actions and strategies to help them be more effective communicators.

Elizabeth Wardle, Ph.D.

Elizabeth Wardle is the Howe Distinguished Professor of Written Communication and directs the nationally-known Howe Center for Writing Excellence. She is the co-creator of a national movement to change writing instruction, called Writing about Writing, and a related textbook used at hundreds of schools in the US and Canada. She has written numerous books about how to understand and teach writing effectively, including Naming What We Know: Threshold Concepts of Writing Studies (2015), (Re)Considering What We Know: Learning Thresholds in Writing, Composition, Rhetoric, and Literacy Changing Conceptions (2020), Changing Practices: Innovating Teaching Across Disciplines (2022), and Writing Expertise: A Research-Based Approach to Writing and Learning Across Disciplines (2022). She regularly provides workshops and consulting around the country on writing, writing instruction, and writing curriculum design. With a team at the Howe Center, she created the online Miami Writing Institute to share research-based conceptions of writing beyond university walls.

This module is designed for organizational leaders who want to implement evidence-based DEI strategies.

Darryl Rice, Ph.D.

Darryl B. Rice, Ph.D. or "Dr. Ice" to his colleagues and students, is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Farmer School of Business at Miami University. Dr. Rice earned his Ph.D. in Business Administration from the University of Central Florida, his M.B.A from Jacksonville University, and his B.S. in Finance/Multinational Business Operations from Florida State University. He is an award-winning scholar and teacher. His research examines the relationship between leadership and justice in three areas: organizational justice, behavioral ethics, and diversity/equity/inclusion. His work has been published in leading academic journals such as the Journal of Management Studies, Journal of Business Ethics, Human Relations, and Journal of Business and Psychology. He teaches (1) Introduction to Management and Leadership and (2) Cross Cultural Management. Additionally, Dr. Rice is involved with The PhD Project and currently serves as President of the Management Faculty of Color Association.