Nevada Humanities, in partnership with the Donald W. Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, is pleased to announce Linda Villarosa as the 2024 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer. Villarosa is a journalist, novelist, and educator, and she is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine where she covers race, inequality, and public health.
Join Linda Villarosa, author of Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation, and Melanie Duckworth, Executive Director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and Associate Professor of Psychology, University of Nevada, Reno, in a conversation about Villarosa’s reporting into how Black Americans’ health outcomes are disproportionately worse in the the United States and the underlying societal causes that led to this result. Villarosa and Duckworth will also discuss how struggles with mental illness for Black Americans are compounded by issues of racism, perception, and bias, and the ways in which psychological wellbeing can impact medical care. Linda Villarosa is the recipient of the 2024 Robert Laxalt Distinguished Writer Award, jointly awarded by the Reynolds School of Journalism at the University of Nevada, Reno, Nevada Humanities, and the Laxalt family.
This event is free and open to the public, but we ask that you RSVP in advance.
Linda Villarosa is a contributing writer for The New York Times Magazine, where she covers race, inequality and public health. Her award-winning work has examined HIV/AIDS, maternal health and infant mortality, environmental justice, COVID-19 racial health disparities and life expectancy. A former executive editor of Essence Magazine, she is the author of the book Under the Skin: The Hidden Toll of Racism on American Lives and on the Health of Our Nation. It was honored as one of the top 10 books of 2022 by The New York Times Book Review and was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize. Villarosa's contribution to The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning 1619 Project highlights race-based physiological myths that have endured in medical practice since slavery, and an expanded version of her essay was included in the book The 1619 Project: A New Origin Story. A graduate of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, where she is now a professor, Villarosa also teaches journalism, English and Black Studies at the City College of New York.
Melanie Duckworth is executive director of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and an Associate Professor of Psychology in the College of Science at the University of Nevada, Reno. As executive director, Duckworth works to ensure that the University’s commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion and access is manifestly evident as the University fulfills its mission around research, teaching and community engagement. As a faculty member, Duckworth directs the Health Risk and Traumatic Injury Research Program, where she conducts laboratory-based and clinical research that examines the factors that predict physical and psychological recovery following severe physical injury. Duckworth has authored and co-authored peer-reviewed journal articles and invited book chapters, and has served as lead editor for three internationally-disseminated books addressing physical injury and psychological trauma. Her publications also include articles and book chapters addressing the influence of culture on the prevention and treatment of chronic medical conditions and co-edited books addressing the influence of culture on the assessment and treatment of psychological disorders.
