Rhonda Dailey, MD, assistant professor, was a recipient to the Wayne State University’s inaugural, 2024 Community Engagement Award at the Academic Recognition ceremony held on April 25, 2024.  Dr. Dailey and five other faculty and staff were the first recipients of this award, which recognizes full-time or part-time faculty member(s) academic staff member(s)s or faculty-staff team(s) in recognition of community-based research, creative activities, teaching, and service collaborations that positively impact both the community and scholarship.   

Her program biography states, “Professor Rhonda Dailey is a highly skilled researcher and a powerful advocate for community-engaged research, bringing together healthcare providers, researchers, and community stakeholders to address behavioral and health disparities, specifically perinatal health, health equity, and disparities related to systemic racism and chronic disease, patient attitudes and beliefs about health, and healthcare quality. Through her work in community engagement, Dr. Dailey identified the urgent need for cultural competency for professionals in research and clinical care who interact with and treat community members. She addresses that need by conducting training on microaggressions and implicit bias within the School of Medicine and for healthcare professionals and organizations across Detroit and Michigan, with the goal of improving the quality of healthcare for community members. In addition, Dr. Dailey is also active in leadership positions for several local organizations committed to addressing health equity for community members. Dr. Dailey brings fresh ideas, energy, and passion to furthering the nature and quality of engagement between healthcare providers, researchers, and citizens in the Detroit community and highlights WSU as a committed and innovative partner for public health and well-being.”

Dr. Dailey is also the recipient of the 2023 Outstanding Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Faculty Scholar Award and was recently nominated by her peers to serve a three-year term on the School of Medicine Undergraduate Admissions Committee of the Faculty Senate.