From its inception, the Henrietta Project has involved collaboration and in 2014, the Council Collaboration received a special from the Provost as part of the President's Diversity Council Awards Program.
The theatrical production and the film involve interdisciplinary approaches to creative problem solving as represented by four colleagues from three separate disciplines within the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences. The result was "Bringing Henrietta to Life: The Art of Adaptation," a student theatrical performance that evolved into Bringing Henrietta to Life, a film made entirely by CLASS students majoring in theatre, dance, technical theatre, and digital film working in collaboration.
The conference model developed through collaboration between five of the College Deans Diversity Councils representing the Colleges of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Law, Sciences and Health Professions, Education and Health Services, and the School of Nursing. The Council collaboration broadened student outreach for both conferences, expanded campus participation, introduced like-minded faculty, and identified faculty interested in future collaborations.
As educators the faculty who collaborated on this project recognize The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks to be not only an important text, but one that is unique in its ability to introduce readers to such a broad range of topics in medical humanities.
