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Culturally Enriched Communities

CEC WEEKLY TIES – Returning to the office

August 10, 2020 | Comments Off on CEC WEEKLY TIES – Returning to the office

Dear colleagues,  This Harvard Business Review article on “The Implications of Working Without an Office” reveals the opportunities that lie ahead as we rethink what work and workplaces can mean in our lives. After surveying over 600 U.S.-based white-collar employees, the study concluded…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

CEC WEEKLY TIES – Humility and architecture

August 3, 2020 | Comments Off on CEC WEEKLY TIES – Humility and architecture

Dear colleagues,  What we do matters, but how and why we do it matters even more. The challenge, as Solon declared around 550BC, is unlearning old habits. Hundreds of cancer patients‘ treatments have been impacted by the pandemic, including mine. Breast cancer came into my life at a…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

CEC WEEKLY TIES – Safeguarding global connections

July 20, 2020 | Comments Off on CEC WEEKLY TIES – Safeguarding global connections

Dear colleagues,  On July 6, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) created a directive which would require non-immigrant students (F-1 and M-1 visas) who take a fully online course load this Fall to immediately leave the United States. The University of Minnesota…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

Cleaning and disinfecting

July 13, 2020 | Comments Off on Cleaning and disinfecting

Dear colleagues,  CDC guidelines for reopening heavily rely on cleaning and disinfecting, both of which intersect with the creation of healthy and connected communities in which everyone can thrive, because: They involve design elements frequently touched, such as tables, doorknobs, light switches,…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

A man, a donkey, and a child

July 6, 2020 | Comments Off on A man, a donkey, and a child

Dear colleagues,  Many of us are struggling to make sense of our times, to decide what to take on and what to leave out or what to say and how to say it. All that can be exhausting. In a…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

Lessons from Copenhagen

June 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Lessons from Copenhagen

Dear colleagues,  As we reflect on the role design can play in moving toward recovery from the pandemic and global racial justice, lessons from Copenhagen might help us set a trajectory. Copenhagen is one of WHO’s Healthy Cities in a country that consistently…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

The kitchen table

June 19, 2020 | Comments Off on The kitchen table

Dear colleagues,  Yesterday, the Supreme Court rejected efforts to end legal protections for young immigrants under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Blanca Morales is a poster child for DACA and her story marks the introductory and conclusion chapters…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

Spaces for dialogues

June 11, 2020 | Comments Off on Spaces for dialogues

Dear colleagues,  “In the end, we are what we do to change who we are,” Eduardo Galeano, a Uruguayan poet wrote. These past months, a global pandemic and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis brought people around the world face-to-face…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

Landscapes of agony

May 29, 2020 | Comments Off on Landscapes of agony

Dear colleagues,  The death of George Floyd at the hands of Minneapolis police and the protests that ensued all over the country unveiled the hard work ahead of us. Creating healthy and connected communities in which everyone can thrive is tied to…

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Culturally Enriched Communities

Covid-19

May 23, 2020 | Comments Off on Covid-19

Dear advocates for healthy and connected communities in which everyone can thrive, The pandemic brought to the foreground the hidden nuances behind the “We are all in this together” motto. In the US, communities of color are disproportionately affected, experiencing…

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