Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine's decision to close the Center for Health Equity Transformation (CHET) has immediate and far-reaching consequences, especially for Black, Brown, immigrant, low-income, and historically marginalized communities in Chicago. Since 2018, CHET has been a critical force in reducing health disparities through groundbreaking research, trusted community partnerships, and transformative educational initiatives.

Led by Dr. Melissa Simon, CHET built vital connections between Northwestern and the people most impacted by systemic barriers in healthcare. It advanced work in cancer prevention, maternal health, clinical trial access, survivorship, and more. Through community-driven initiatives and nationally recognized research programs, CHET has improved health outcomes, strengthened communities, influenced healthcare policy, and contributed to innovations in clinical care, especially in women's health and cancer care, through inclusive public events from Juneteenth and Hispanic Heritage Month gatherings to CHETChats and environmental justice forums. CHET created spaces where health equity wasn't just studied but lived.

CHET also helped shape the future of healthcare by training and mentoring the next generation of medical professionals, scientists, and leaders through programs like the Chicago Cancer Health Equity Collaborative, the Community Scientist Program, the Faculty Institutional Recruitment for Sustainable Transformation (FIRST), Health Equity Scholars, and Career 911. It opened doors for students and early-career professionals from diverse backgrounds, building a more skilled, just, and representative health workforce.

We recognize that universities nationwide are facing mounting fiscal pressures. Science and health are under attack now more than ever. 

However, dismantling centers like CHET undermines the principles of truth-seeking, academic freedom, and service to the public good that higher education institutions strive to uphold. More than that, it is not just research centers like CHET that are being erased; communities themselves are being threatened and erased.

At a moment when federal support for health and science is being rolled back across the U.S., shutting down this Center does not happen in a vacuum; it reflects a larger trend of silencing equity work, eliminating opportunities, and marginalizing communities. Now, more than ever, medical schools like Northwestern must uphold their commitment to improving human health by protecting the people and programs advancing that mission.

Health equity is not optional, and the need is urgent. Restoring CHET is more than reinstating a program; it's about standing up for justice, accountability, and community. Northwestern must lead, not cave.

We urge Northwestern University to reinstate the Center for Health Equity Transformation and recommit to advancing health equity for all.

Please sign this petition to support the students, patients, researchers, and community members whose lives have been shaped by CHET and whose futures depend on its return.